Aug 6, 07 Malaysiakini
A veteran lawyer-politician has rebutted Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi's statement that Malaysia is neither a secular nor a
theocratic state.
"There is no doubt that Malaysia is a secular state," DAP chairperson
Karpal Singh said in a media statement in respond to the premier's
remarks.
According to Karpal, the views that Malaysia is a secular state were
of those from the former prime ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun
Hussein Onn.
"This was also the view of a five-man bench of the supreme court
which unanimously ruled as far back as Feb 29, 1988 as follows, 'we
have to set aside our personal feelings because the law in this
country is what it is today, secular law...'", added the opposition
politician.
Against constitution
Karpal also argued that the Federal Constitution - the supreme law of
the land - declared Malaysia as a secular state with Islam as the
official religion as provided under Article 3 (1).
"The framers of the constitution intended Malaysia to be a secular
state and not an Islamic state. Any person or authority which
publicly states that Malaysia is an Islamic and not a secular state
contradicts the provisions of Article 3(1)," he said.
Karpal also pointed out that Abdullah's stand on the matter was
contradictory with his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak who recently
declared that Malaysia has never been a secular state.
Abdullah's remark was reportedly made during a mass gathering held in
Penang over the weekend.
Although news reports did not state in what context Abdullah made the
stand, it was however clear that his remarks were made following his
deputy's 'declaration' that did not go down well among the non-Muslim
community.
Last Friday, one of the nine non-Muslim cabinet ministers, Bernard
Dompok became the first to break rank by stating that he disagreed
with the notion that Malaysia is an Islamic state.
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