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A Malay-Muslim MP in DAP says she has directed more than RM1.2 million to mosques and suraus in her parliamentary constituency — and still gets called a traitor to Islam.

Syerleena Abdul Rashid, the first-term MP for Bukit Bendera in Penang, made that disclosure in a Facebook post today (22 June), two days after a separate post about her office funding renovation works at a Hindu temple drew public attention — and religious criticism.

The two posts, read together, sketch a picture of what she describes as an impossible standard: a Malay-Muslim lawmaker in a party seen as Chinese-majority, whose religious credibility is questioned regardless of what she funds or who she serves.

In her first post on Saturday (20 June), Syerleena wrote that her office had allocated funds for ongoing renovation works at Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple in Batu Gantong.

She framed the decision in straightforward terms.

Because my faith teaches me respect, compassion, and responsibility towards others.

The Theological Pushback

The post drew a response from Firdaus Wong Wai Hung, a Malaysian Chinese Muslim convert preacher and public commentator, who argued that her justification was theologically flawed.

Citing Surah Al-Maaidad 5:2, he wrote that Islam instructs Muslims not to cooperate in sin, and questioned whether funding a Hindu temple fell within that boundary.

“Demi undi gadai akhirat?” he wrote — loosely translated as: trading the afterlife for votes?

Wong, who occasionally criticises certain attitudes and behaviours within the Malaysian Chinese community, said his criticism came from concern for Syerleena as a fellow Muslim.

He urged her to consult a mufti or Islamic scholars before invoking her faith as justification.

Syerleena’s second post did not address the temple question directly.

Instead, she described a pattern she said had persisted throughout her time as an MP.

A Decade In Public Life, Still Proving Herself

She wrote that she had been called kafir — an unbeliever — and a traitor to Islam repeatedly, despite channelling more than RM1.2 million to mosques and suraus in Bukit Bendera for religious activities and infrastructure, including surau construction.

She said she had once raised her distress over this with a religious figure she described as widely respected, whose response she quoted at length.

“Syerleena, they will never be satisfied with you even if you gave RM1 billion to every mosque and surau in the country — because the reason is simple: you are not with their party,” she quoted him as saying.

The same figure, she wrote, told her that her deeds would nonetheless count as pahala — religious merit — in the afterlife, regardless of whether they were acknowledged in this life.

Alhamdulillah. May it become my reward in the hereafter.

Prior to her federal role, she served as a councillor for the Penang Island City Council (2015–2018) and as the elected Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) for Seri Delima (2018–2023)

Syerleena is known for her active presence on social media and her vocal advocacy for multiculturalism, frequently pushing back against what she describes as the exploitation of race and religion for political gain.

@syerleena_rashid

♬ Indian music – Hollywood Labo

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