{
  "id": 2303878,
  "title": "Are Malaysian Muslims less corrupt? PAS leader skewered over divisive politics",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/are-malaysian-muslims-less-corrupt-pas-leader-skewered-over-divisive",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-21T04:54:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3364775/are-malaysian-muslims-less-corrupt-pas-leader-skewered-over-divisive-politics"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Malaysian Islamist opposition leader Abdul Hadi Awang has faced criticism for making unproven claims that Muslims are less corrupt than non-Muslims. In a social media post, Hadi suggested that Muslims are protected from corruption due to their connection of worldly affairs to religion, including the reckoning of sins and rewards. He argued that Malays, who make up a large portion of Malaysia's civil service, are particularly vulnerable to bribery.\n\nHowever, official data from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission contradicts Hadi's assertions. Between 2015 and June 30, 2024, Malays accounted for the highest number of arrests for accepting bribes, with 3,690 out of the 4,896 arrests. Chinese Malaysians, Indians, and other ethnic groups made up the majority of the remaining arrests.\n\nSocial media users responded to Hadi's comments by demanding evidence to support his claims. They argued that corruption is a matter of human nature, not race or faith, and pointed out that integrity is about character, not religion. Hadi has a history of linking corruption to race and religion, such as when he blamed non-Muslims for the \"roots of corruption\" in 2022, leading to condemnation and a police investigation.\n\nThe PAS leader's recent comments have also drawn criticism from DAP, a predominantly ethnic Chinese party in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's ruling coalition. Four Malay DAP leaders urged Hadi to stop promoting racially charged politics, pointing out that PAS and DAP had previously governed together under the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition. They emphasized that politics in Malaysia should be based on arguments and policies, not fearmongering towards other races and religions.",
  "summary": "Malaysia’s Islamist opposition leader Abdul Hadi Awang has sparked outrage and ridicule with unproven claims linking religion to dishonesty, suggesting that Muslims are less corrupt than non-Muslims. Hadi’s remarks, which drew demands for evidence, came amid a series of attacks by his Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) on the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a predominantly ethnic Chinese party in…",
  "key_points": [
    "PAS leader Abdul Hadi Awang claims Muslims are less corrupt than non-Muslims.",
    "Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission data shows Malays had highest arrests for bribery 2015-2024."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The PAS leader's comments have heightened concerns about divisive politics in Malaysia, suggesting that corruption is tied to race and religion rather than character, and prompting criticism from various groups.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}