Wednesday October 18, 2006
Fauzi says sorry for e-mail
KUALA LUMPUR: Takaful Malaysia Syariah head Mohd Fauzi Mustaffa has apologised for his e-mail advising his colleagues against wishing Hindus Happy Deepavali.
He has also retracted the contents of his e-mail sent early this month.
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Azmi: ‘We realise the mistake and we have apologised’ |
Fauzi, in his e-mail, had advised his colleagues not to extend greetings for Deepavali, Durga Pooja and Laksmi Pooja, claiming that this was blasphemous and against Islamic teachings.
Takaful Malaysia CEO Md Azmi Abu Bakar has also apologised for any ill feeling the e-mail may have caused.
Takaful Malaysia, which is part of the Bank Islam group, also posted an apology on its website over any confusion arising from the misinterpretation of the e-mail.
“The company has apologised to its staff. The content and views in the e-mail did not in any way represent the views of Takaful Malaysia,” Azmi told reporters during a peace protest by the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) at the Takaful Malaysia headquarters here yesterday.
“It is no sin to extend festive greetings to our non-Muslim friends. It (the e-mail) was meant for internal circulation and served as advice or opinion. We would like to apologise for any confusion and ill feeling that may have arisen from the e-mail.
“Such a statement issued by the Syariah Department head will send out the wrong message to the public and our investors. It is not good for business.
“We realise the mistake and we have apologised. There is no point in pursuing the matter. After all, there will be a change in the company’s internal mechanism, which will be beneficial for all races.”
GCC co-ordinator Charles Santiago said such an insensitive statement had broken the diversity of the country.
“We should celebrate diversity and not break it. The country belongs to all of us – the Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous people,” he said.
The DAP, in a statement, said it accepted Fauzi’s apology.
“We had a meeting with Takaful Malaysia CEO Md Azmi today (yesterday). We accept Fauzi’s apology with an open heart and hope something like this will not be repeated in the future,” it said in a statement.
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