Parliament should not end its two-month parliamentary meeting next week
without holding a comprehensive debate on the threat and challenge of
terrorism after the Sept. 11 and Bali terrorist attacks
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
(Petaling Jaya, Friday):
Parliament should not end its two-month parliamentary meeting next week
without holding a comprehensive debate on the threat and challenge of
terrorism after the September 11 and Bali terrorist attacks, or it would
have abdicated from its fundamental responsibility as the highest political
forum in the country to discuss the most urgent and contemporaneous issues
confronting the nation and people.
Such a parliamentary debate is particularly compelling after the analysis by
the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yesterday that Osama bin
Laden has "succeeded beyond his wildest dreams" by creating global fear and
raising the possibility of a clash between Muslims and non-Muslims, as
highlighted by the recent political developments in the United States and
Muslim nations.
Mahathir was referring to the US mid-term elections victory of US President
George Bush and the Republican Party to win control of the Senate and retain
command of the House of Representatives showing support for Bush's
unilaterist and war-mongering foreign policy while in other countries like
Turkey, Bahrain, Pakistan and Morocco, Islamist parties have fared well in
recent elections and become more popular.
If, as Mahathir posits yesterday, the world is poised on the verge of a
global clash between Muslims and non-Muslims, where does Malaysia stand when
Malaysia is a plural society of diverse races, religions, languages and
cultures where Islam is constitutionally provided as the official religion
but the nation is not an Islamic state?
If there is a global clash between Muslims and non-Muslims as postulated by
Mahathir, should Malaysia take the side of the Muslims because of his
unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional "929 declaration" at the Gerakan
national conference last year that Malaysia is an Islamic state and his
forthcoming chairmanship of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) or
should Malaysia seek to be a bridge of conciliation between the Muslim and
non-Muslim world because of our unique constitutional position where Islam
is the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state as laid down
by the 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the "social contract" and the 1963
Malaysia Agreement?
The position that must be taken by the country if such an unfortunate
eventuality of a global clash between Muslims and non-Muslims materializes
should be one which represents the position of all Malaysians transcending
considerations of race, religion, culture or political affiliation.
Parliament should begin the national process to think through the nation's
position in such an unfortunate eventuality and to also debate whether we
should allow the war against terrorism to further undermine democracy and
human rights in Malaysia and adversely change the character of our
governance..
Parliament had failed to make use of the past 14 months after the September
11 terrorist attacks to focus national attention on this grave problem, and
it should not continue to sweep the issue under the carpet.- especially as
Parliament will not meet until four months later on March 11, 2003 after its
adjournment next week.
In my media statement a fortnight ago (26th October 2002), I had urged the
government to get its act together and not send out confusing and
conflicting signals about the threat of terrorism in the country giving
instances of such inconsistent and contradictory positions by different
government leaders and spokesmen on this important issue.
The situation has got worse instead of better in the past two weeks and this
is another aspect which should be debated by Parliament next week on the
great and grave issue of terrorism confronting Malaysia and the world.
(8/11/2002)
*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman
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