KUALA LUMPUR: Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has called on the country's political leaders to forgive one another, saying it would help the country "heal in many ways".
In a Facebook post, Zaid said many episodes in Prophet Muhammad's life placed great importance on forgiveness.
"Forgiveness purges the venom of hatred and releases new light and energy to enable us to do good.
"If corruption destroys the soul of the giver and the receiver, an act of forgiveness cleans the mind and body of both the one asking for forgiveness and the other who forgives."
Zaid said it would be "great" if political leaders including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and Lim Guan Eng were seen embracing one another in an act of forgiveness.
"If the Holy Prophet could forgive those who killed his best friends and companions, why is our political rivalry so full of hatred that no forgiveness is possible?
"I know we are practitioners of a new system called democracy and the rule of law, but that system should coexist with Islamic tenets as well."
Zaid said a system that has no place for forgiveness is a system managed by ego.