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Call on candidates for the Hua Zong President election to declare their stand on the single most important issue for the next few decades – whether Malaysia is to uphold and defend Tunku’s nation-building formula of a secular nation with Islam as official religion or to become an Islamic State  ala-PAS or ala-UMNO’s “929 Declaration” Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya,  Thursday): DAP is not involved in the Hua Zong President election this Sunday and will not side any particular candidate. The three candidates for the post of  Hua Zong President have issued their separate manifestos declaring their stand on the political, socio-economic, educational and  cultural rights of the Malaysian Chinese in the 21st century, but they have all conspicuously omitted reference to the single most important issue for the next few decades – the second great crisis in the 46-year history of the nation, whether Malaysia is to uphold and defend Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman’s nation-building formula of a secular nation with Islam as the official religion or to become an Islamic State whether ala-PAS or ala-UMNO’s “929 Declaration”. Something is very amiss if on the most critical issue currently confronting not only the Malaysian Chinese but the entire Malaysian population of 23 million people, with far-reaching political, economic, socio-economic, religious, legal and citizenship implications for future generations, the candidates for Hua Zong President shy away from the challenge to declare their stand. Recently, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had repeatedly reminded Malaysians to remember, protect and enhance  the nation-building formula of Bapa Malaysia and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia – and one of the pillars of Tunku’s nation-building formula is that Malaysia shall be a secular nation with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic State, whether ala-UMNO or ala-PAS. But this secular pillar of Tunku’s nation-building formula has been forgotten and ignored by Mahathir and all the Barisan Nasional leaders, including those like the Gerakan President, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik who was  present at the Tunku’s mammoth 80th birthday dinner on 8th February 1983 hosted by Barisan Nasional where Bapa Malaysia publicly and pointedly called on Barisan Nasional leaders and Malaysians “not to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State”.  The question is whether the Chinese community leaders have also forgotten Tunku’s legacy message to all Malaysian leaders, communities and people  “not to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State”. The critical question whether Malaysia is to make a tectonic and irreversible shift in the 46-year nation-building foundation as agreed by the major communities on achieving  Independence and written into the 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, the 1970 Rukunegara and the 1991 Proclamation of Vision 2020 that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic state, whether ala-PAS or ala-UMNO, has become  the acid test of the quality of  leadership in every sector of Malaysian life today. This is fully in the spirit of the injunction of the great Chinese scholar of “First to worry before the world worries, last to enjoy after the world  enjoys”. It is for this reason that the  candidates for the Hua Zong President election should declare their stand on the single most important issue for the next few decades – whether Malaysia is to uphold and defend Tunku’s nation-building formula of a secular nation with Islam as official religion or allow it to be jettisoned  to become an Islamic State whether ala-PAS or ala-UMNO’s “929 Declaration”. (18/9/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman