Un-Islamic and Illegal, Penang Mufti says stop "merempit"
GEORGETOWN - Islam teaches all of its ummah to follow the laws and road traffic regulations that have been set by the government.
Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said Islam also demands its believers to value life as one of the main objectives in maqasid syariah.
He said Muslims have also been prohibited from harming themselves and others.
"The road is public property, not owned by any individual, everyone must obey the law and regulations of the road set by the government for the purpose of ensuring the comfort and safety of all road users.
"I am upset, disappointed and sad when accidents on the roads in our country have risen significantly recently. "Many lives were lost or people hurt, some lost paralysed permanently.
"From an Islamic perspective, every citizen and road users must obey the road rules and regulations other than preserving life as one of the main goal in maqasid syariah," he said when contacted on Monday.
He said the rempit activities, or illegal racing activities, was a nuisance and disturbed other road users.
Such activities, he said was also endangering everyone including themselves performing it. "This act is forbidden in Syariah law and is a sin. Looking at the frequency of accidents on the road caused by rempit activities I feel that it is time for parties involved to revise their existing laws and regulations.
"This includes tightening the conditions for the issuance of driver's license on the road which may also refine the age limit for driving eligibility," he said.
He said fines for the road violations should be added or increaseed to ensure users were more careful while driving.
"I hope parents and community leaders will play a role in advising young people to avoid participating in useless, pointless and dangerous activities such as this," he said.
In an accident on Sunday morning saw four motorcyclists killed and three others heavily injured in a crash with two cars at Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway here. Police had said the accident was caused from an illegal racing activity.
Police stated that initial investigations on scene saw a few motorcycle riders had lost control and crashed into one another.
The Four who died were Muhammad Eizreel Muhammad Roszaidi, 25, from Bayan Lepas; Muhammad Shazwan Hakim Mohd Abdul Sani, 22, from Pendang, Kedah; Ahmad Haikal Naif Ahmad Nazru, 19, from Bayan Lepas and Muhammad Harith Zikri Yusnizar, 17, from Georgetown.
Among the injured were Mohd Haziq Harris, 34, from Bayan Lepas who suffered head injuries while the other two were 19-year old Muhammad Rahimi Shukor from Ayer Itam who suffered face and head injuries and 22-year old Muhammad Shazwan Hafiz Mohd Abdul Sani from Pendang, Kedah who suffered injuries at his arms, legs and face.
