IPOH: Some Muslims these days are not afraid of committing crimes, and to them Islam is treated like "pakaian luaran" (clothes), says Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
Sultan Nazrin said people who have committed various crimes and sins, choose to "tegakkan benang yang basah" in court while continuing to lie despite having taken an oath in the name of Allah SWT to speak the truth while answering questions in the witness stand.
The Sultan said often, when brought to justice, human beings who have sinned, find various excuses and use various arguments to deny the deeds of those who have sinned.
"They are willing to pay high legal fees, which are often funded from money obtained through criminal sources or as a result of sinful acts.
"The reality which is happening today, gives the impression that there are still many of the ummah who have not fully appreciated the teachings of Islam.
"The sins of fellow human beings are not only committed, but are committed continuously, repeatedly, more boldly, imagining among those who commit sins, there is absolutely no fear of what will happen in the realm of barzakh and the realm of the hereafter," he said in his speech at the appointment of Perak Syariah Judges and members of the Perak Islamic Religion and Malay Customs Council (MAIPk) at the Darul Ridzuan Islamic Complex, here, today.
Sultan Nazrin said the acts of cheating, stealing, smuggling, breach of trust, corruption and evading taxes, are among the criminal acts committed against an organisation, company or government.
"These crimes also have the implications of criminal conduct against the stakeholders of the relevant entities, whether they are shareholders, company owners or citizens of a country," he said.
Sultan Nazrin said people who embraced the teachings of Islam would be afraid to commit sins.
"People who appreciate the teachings of Islam, if they have committed a sin, they will immediately repent, or confess their wrongdoings, and apologize to the person they wronged.
"People who are successfully educated to appreciate the teachings of Islam, feel very afraid to commit sins. As more people refrain from committing sins, the incidence of crime will decrease, and the workload in the courts will become lighter," he said.
Sultan Nazrin said that history revealed many of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have sown devotion to help his efforts to develop Islam at a very young age.
He said among them were Abdullah bin Abas, Abdullah bin Umar, Muaz bin Jabat, Khalid ibnul Walid and Al-Mutsana bin Haritsah. Zubair al Awwam Az Zubai bin Awwan.
As such, Sultan Nazrin stressed that youths need to be given the confidence to be actively involved, be at the forefront, rejuvenate the programs under the auspices of the Council by injecting new dynamism.
"Teenagers must be accompanied, the voices of teenagers must be heard, the views of teenagers must be understood, the presence of teenagers must be recognized, so that programs organized in the name of Islam are more relevant to teenagers to succeed in attracting more of them to participate in activities in mosques and programs in the name of Islam," he said.
As such, for the first time ever, Sultan Nazrin today also appointed two youths including a woman as members of MAIPk.
"With the appointment of a young woman, MAIPk now has three female members," he said.