SHAH ALAM – Mature democracy, especially among the people, needs to be understood through education or the process of political literacy, said the Board of Directors of the Darul Ehsan Institute (IDE), Senator Ismail Yusop.
He said mature democracy cannot happen spontaneously or coincidentally, but instead requires a planned process.
“This is an important element in the formation of a mature democracy, with the freedom of expression extended to irresponsible people to use for their own agenda,” said Ismail.
He said this while presenting the title of Freedom of Speech and Responsibility for Maintaining Harmony at the Fiqh Ta’Ayush Round table Conference at the IDE Seminar Room, here on 8 August.
Ismail said this could be proven by the announcement of adding in ‘khat’ writing into the syllabus of the ‘Bahasa Malaysia’ subject, as well as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) which received widespread opposition.
“People also need to be exposed to a way of thinking that meets the aim of living together in harmony or Fiqh Ta’Ayush As Silmi,” he said.
“Fiqh Ta’Ayush As Silmi should also be developed amidst the rising society in order to foster unity and to stop the hatred between people who should not be relevant as a polemic,” he added.
Earlier, the conference also included presentation sessions from several panels and among the topics discussed were al-Ta’Ayush: Looking at the Sirah Angle; University’s Role in Promoting Fiqh Ta’ayush and Managing Diversity and Religion in the Malaysian Youth Council.
