Malaysia celebrates, this August, 50 years of independence under the slogan ‘one legacy, one destiny,’ reiterated through posters in public places depicting representatives of various races happily holding hands and walking into the sunset.
But through the contrived camaraderie deep divisions have surfaced among the majority Malay Muslims and minority Chinese and Indians over the future shape of the country.
Simmering discontent exploded into bitter public debate after the country’s deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, a product of elite British boarding schools, stunned the nation with an announcement in July that Malaysia is an Islamic state.
…
“The statement that we are Islamic and not secular has put the country squarely at a crossroads at a time when we should be celebrating the secular constitution,” said opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.
“Instead of celebrating 50 years of multiculturalism and restating the secular foundations of our plural society and the supremacy of the constitution we are at loggerheads over religion,” Lim said.
“Our short-sighted leaders have put us in this quandary by playing to the Muslim gallery,” Lim who is ethnic Chinese told IPS in an interview. “The statement that we are Islamic and not secular panders to narrow religious sentiments and seriously damages the country’s secular core.”
…
As the nation ‘celebrates’ its 50th anniversary, the independent Centre for Public Policy Studies issued a public statement on Aug. 1 calling ‘Merdeka’ or Independence Statement that seeks to reinstate the founding principles of the nation. It called for political, financial and social reforms to promote a just, fair and united society and has been endorsed by dozens of think tanks and human rights, economic and religious organisations and NGOs.
“Recently the state of unity has been fraying at the edges,” the statement said adding, “ethnic, linguistic and religious divides have deepened and are causing genuine pain and hurting the nation.”
The movement demanded the government set up an independent panel to review all laws and policies that might undermine harmony and the secular foundation and investigate complaints of ethnic and religious discrimination.
It also wants a truth and reconciliation commission to help Malaysians come to terms with the past so that the nation can move forward.
…
Disagreement surfaced again last week when one minister publicly said he disagreed with the notion that Malaysia is an Islamic state as pronounced by Razak.
Minister Bernard Dompok, a Christian, said the founding fathers did not intend to turn the country into an Islamic state. His comments were, however, blacked out by the powerful mainstream media.
Another voice that is gaining momentum is that of the crown Prince of Perak state, Dr Nazrin Shah, an Oxford and Harvard-educated reformist who is championing an “open, tolerant and forward-looking” society without extremism, chauvinism and racism.
“The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It guarantees the rights of every Malaysian. The integrity of that document must be protected at all cost,” he declared to applause at a summit of student leaders on Sunday.
Matters of faith, he said, have become issues of immense controversy. “They promote overzealousness and coercive action, and drive Malaysians further and further away from each other,” he said.
The solution, he said, is to uphold the Constitution, ensure economic and social justice for all and practice good governance and civil society.
Source: Inter Press Service
Read:
Raja Nazrin exhorts Malaysians to defend integrity of Constitution
Raja Nazrin:Constitution must be adhered to ensure economic and social justice for all
MALAYSIA: Umno officials ‘behind seditious postings’
Najib starts controversy with Malaysia is Islamic state statement
