Chinese Muslim Leader Urges Show of Faith from Hong Kong Government to Support Muslims
Ebrahim Yeung Yee-woo, honorary secretary of the Chinese Muslim Cultural and Fraternal Association - one of the most influential Muslim organisations in the city - criticised Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying for "not showing much support" to the Muslim community.
He said non-Chinese Muslims still face discrimination and struggle to adapt to life in Hong Kong.
Last month the Zubin Foundation think tank recommended that a top official such as the chief secretary or chief executive should spearhead a committee to address problems faced by ethnic minorities. The foundation commissioned a study which found that dropout rates before Form Five for Pakistani students were much higher than for their Chinese counterparts.
Educators also complain that Hongkongers who do not speak Chinese are increasingly looking to the mainland for post-secondary studies, while minority advocacy group Unison says some landlords appear reluctant to rent flats to families from ethnic minorities.
In an interview with the Post, Yeung suggested it is high time the government did more to help.
"After the 1997 handover, a lot of ethnic minority people came to Hong Kong. They struggle to adapt to [life] here and people look at them in a strange way," the 75-year-old complained. "The government should seek to improve their living environment."
When asked whether Leung has shown the Muslim community enough support, Yeung said: "There wasn't much. At least he should provide more schooling opportunities and help them with language learning because they see Hong Kong as their [home]."
According to official statistics, half of Hong Kong's 300,000 Muslims are Indonesian, followed by about 40,000 Chinese, 30,000 Pakistani and some Indians, Malaysians and Africans. These figures suggest Muslims account for roughly a third of the 600,000 non-Chinese residents in Hong Kong.
Apart from the government's ethnic minority policy, Yeung, one of the 1,193 Election Committee members who elected Leung as chief executive in 2012, also expressed reservations about Leung's governance in general.
When asked whether Leung has done a good job, he replied: "This is a question for Leung's team [to answer]. Leung really has his heart working for Hong Kong, but whether people have a good relationship with him is another matter."
But Yeung added that if Leung decides to seek re-election, he might support him again to ensure continuity in public policy.
"If we don't choose him again, maybe many of his works will be left unfinished. Would [his successor] have a different thinking or approach regarding those works?" Yeung asked.
"If policy changes all the time, the people will suffer."
This desire to avoid suffering is also why Yeung believes it is Islam, rather than a new political leader, that will make Hong Kong harmonious again.
"According to the Quran, the first and foremost thing for us is to believe and to submit to the Lord. It means we have to rely on Allah and not to force our way through [anything]," he said.
"We should also head towards the right direction, such as leading society on the way to stability, not conflicts."
He added that it is unfortunate that Muslims around the world are "misunderstood" because of terrorism carried out in the name of their faith.
Source: SCMP
