Forum wants Jeff Ooi's head

A tit-for-tat? I wonder when it's going to end.

The Forum Penyelarasan Umat (Forum), a group of Islamic NGOs, has launched a signature campaign to get Jeff Ooi to apologise and resign or be sacked as chief of staff to the chief minister and Jelutong Member of Parliament for having implied that Syariah law and the Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) were extremist.

Forum representative, Md Roslan Hashim, said the group had targeted 100,000 signatures to prove that the people rejected leaders who did not respect or insulted Islam.

"Our campaign has the support of more than 30 NGOs in the state," he told reporters here.

At a news conference early last month, Ooi had reportedly asked for the resignation of Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Mohd Razali Abdullah from the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) for his association with JIM, an Islamic missionary organisation.

Ooi was quoted as saying that the state government should not allow a "religious extremist" in its administration as JIM's objective was the implementation of Syariah law in Malaysia.

Md Roslan also said that he planned to meet Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in an attempt to resolve the issue.

"We will have a meeting with Lim to get his explanation as to why Ooi was reluctant to apologise and had not vacated his post yet," he said.

At a news conference on Aug 9, Ooi retracted his statement but declined to apologise. — Bernama

TheStar (10 Sept) reported that Forum spokesman Mohd Hafiz Nordin said the signatures would also be obtained from Muslims worldwide. "We will put the posting in our website and the websites of our affiliated Muslim NGOs to solicit public support," he said.

A check on JIM's website did not reveal anything about the above campaign. However we found one Media Statement by JIM President, Zaid Kamaruddin, dated August 4 2009 entitled Answering Jeff Ooi - an official sort of statement on defending Mohd Razali Abdullah, the Penang Municipal Councillor named by Jeff Ooi in the spat.

A check on the comments page of Malaysian Insider's article by Adib Zalkapli, Now Penang Islamic exco wants Jeff Ooi to retract his ‘extremist’ remark (totalling 14) - at least 6 commentors want Jeff Ooi to either resign, apologize or be penalized.

The final one written by Eric Wisemann, August 09, 2009 was really harsh: Very very stupid Jeff, very very stupid. Do you think the Malays will forget what you said? Fat chance my friend. You are dealing with Islam here, the nadir of their pride. See whether you will still be the YB next election. Stupid.

However there were also moderate criticism and apologetic undertones like these two:
written by Molineux, August 08, 2009
Yes, you can criticize J Ooi, you can disagree with him and you can let the world know what you think of him but you cannot barbarically impose your views on him neither can he do that. To force someone to apologize or force someone to retract his view is reacting as pig-headed as the person who may have been insensitive. Let your argument win over with the public, he will surely apologize if the public views start to turn against him. This is the rule of civilized people.
...
written by carol, August 09, 2009
hello? people? if we keep demanding for resignations for minor slip of tongues, what kind of precedent is that setting? sure, jeff ooi may have said the wrong thing, at the wrong time and at the wrong place. he made a mistake. is that not human? does that then make everything he's done so far irrelevant? does that REALLY justify a resignation?

i think not. come on. in times like these, i think we could do with a little more forgiveness and understanding.

There were also mix reactions in response to the article Penang JIM calling for Jeff Ooi’s sacking posted on Malaysian Today. While most of them wants Jeff Ooi to be pardoned, some insisted that he apologize.

One comment by ahli umno, September 10, 2009 wrote:
orang dah tarik balik kenyataan, cukuplah tu. itu kira macam mengaku salahlah. tak payahlah nak tuntut itu ini lagi. dia tak mau minta maaf biak pi lah. nak paksa buat apa. untung apa? kita buat kerja kita membantu saudara seagama yg susah diserata dunia, macam dok buat sekarang. itu lebih bermenafaat daripada berusaha cari 100 000 tanda tangan. besaq ke pahala bila dapat 100 000 tandatangan nanti?. mulanya dia tak faham apa jim, sekarang dah faham; elok dah tu. jangan jadikan dia musuh kita. bagi dia 'in' buat apa bagi dia 'out'. ingat , jim pertubuhan kebajikan bukan pertubuhan politik. yg sudah tu sudahlah. kita tak kalah pun. buat apa menang kalau selama ni tak da musuh kita dapat musuh.

......
Another by the name of imraz ikhbal wants Jeff Ooi to apologise
September 10, 2009 wrote:
why can't Jeff Ooi just apologise publicly and be done with it? isn't it basic upbringing to apologise when you've wronged someone? if he does so with sincerity, then i will support him & oppose JIM's petition to have him removed. but if he persist to be arrogant about it, then JIM is only doing a service to the nation with the petition for his removal. i support PR whole-heartedly but I wish no one who is arrogant to lead this nation. i'm sure you don't too.

In a Malaysiakini article by Abdul Rahim Sabri dated Sept 10, Memadai Jeff tarik kenyataan 'ekstremis', JIM president said it was suffice that Ooi retracted his statement.

Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) berpuas hati dengan ahli parlimen DAP Jeff Ooi yang menarik balik kenyataannya menuduh NGO itu sebuah pertubuhan ekstremis, kata presidennya.

"Keputusan JIM (Pulau Pinang) bersama-sama dengan Forum Penyelarasan Umat (Forum), kita (di peringkat pusat) tidak bantah walaupun ia dapat diselesaikan.

"Tetapi bagi JIM (pusat), beliau (Jeff) menarik balik, sudah memadai," kata Zaid Kamaruddin.

So if JIM and the people involved directly in the spat with Jeff Ooi would prefer to shake hands and bury the hatchet, why is it that others not linked with the matter insist on making a mountain out of a molehill?

What if Jeff Ooi still do not apologize, what are they going to do next? Go on a rampage and carry something to insult other people's religion like what those goons did with the severed cow's head? Common people, there are more civilized ways to tame even the most arrogant beast.

I rest my case.

My verdict: Trivial