Cabinet should stop three creeping attempts towards an Islamic State

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Three matters which should be urgently addressed by Cabinet on Wednesday to assure Malaysians that there will be no creeping attempt to establish an Islamic State in violation of the 46-year constitutional guarantee of Malaysia as a democratic, secular, multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion

Speech
- DAP Segambut Branch Solidarity Dinner
by Lim Kit Siang

(Kuala Lumpur, Saturday): Last Saturday, when opening the Kapar Umno division meeting in Selangor, Acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi disclosed that after the longest-ever meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council, the component parties of the Barisan Nasional reached unanimous consensus and recognized that Malaysia is an Islamic State. (Nanyang Siang Pau 13.4.03)

He said that in the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, all the Barisan Nasional component parties were given an opportunity to give their views before reaching the unanimous consensus.

Abdullah did not say when this Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting was held, whether it was held recently, or whether he was referring to the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting held a week after the "929 declaration" by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at the Gerakan national delegates' conference on Sept. 29, 2001, that Malaysia is an Islamic state - when the greatest preoccupation of the MCA and Gerakan leaders was their competition to support Mahathir and UMNO in utter disregard of the founding principles of the nation, the 45-year Merdeka Constitution and the "social contract" reached by the major communities in pre-independence discussions on the fundamental basis of the nation.

Leaders of MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other Barisan Nasional component parties owe Malaysians a full and frank explanation as to why they had endorsed Malaysia as an Islamic state and abandoned their earlier position and those of their predecessors that Malaysia is a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state.

For the past 19 months since the "929 Declaration", none of the leaderships of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP had sought the endorsement and mandate of their highest policy-making body, whether the national delegates' conference or general assembly, for such a fundamental switch of party political principle. Is it because the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP national leaderships know that they had not been true and faithful to their party principles and have no confidence in getting support from their grassroots for such a total switch of party stand?
The "929 Declaration" that Malaysia is an Islamic violates both the spirit and letter of the 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the 'social contract" of the major communities and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement incorporating Sarawak and Sabah. It violates the clear-cut and repeated assurances given by the first three Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn that Malaysia is not an Islamic state.

Although the "929 Declaration" that Malaysia is an Islamic State has no basis in the Constitution, it is taken as a signal to the advocates of an Islamic state both in government and opposition that the future of Malaysia belongs to them.

Twenty-years ago, at his 80th birthday anniversary dinner given by the Barisan Nasional, Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman delivered a legacy injunction to all Barisan Nasional leaders, including the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, which was given front-page headline in all language newspapers the next day: "Don't turn Malaysia into an Islamic State".

In the spirit of the legacy injunction of Tunku 20 years ago, the Cabinet on Wednesday should urgently address three matters to assure Malaysians that there will be no creeping attempt to establish an Islamic State in violation of the 46-year constitutional guarantee of Malaysia as a democratic, secular, multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state, whether ala-PAS or ala-UMNO:-

Firstly, the Cabinet should revoke the ban on the Iban Bible and other Christian literature in Bahasa Malaysia as it violates the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The government should be sensitive to the fundamental right of freedom of religion and set up an inter-religious consultative council where all proposals to ban any Christian or other non-Muslim religious works should be first referred for discussion and consultation.

Secondly, the Cabinet should direct the International Islamic University (IIU) to set a good example of respecting the multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious sensitivities of Malaysians by removing all regulations and rules, direct or indirect, compelling non-Muslim female students to wear the tudong - especially as the IIU is funded by the Malaysian taxpayers from all races and religions.

Thirdly, the Cabinet should direct the Johore Bahru municipal councils to revoke their new regulations introduced in January this year requiring the written consent of Muslim neighbours before the issue of any dog licence - which can only be explained as the result of the "929 declaration" that Malaysia is an Islamic state with disturbing signs of lesser social tolerance.

(19/4/2003)

* Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman