Bede Hong and Hon Yi Wen
Aug 2, 07 12:04pm
A senior cabinet minister broke ranks today on the Islamic state
issue by arguing that the nation's founders did not have that in mind
when the Federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963.
"I think my colleagues in the government will forgive me for saying
that I will not agree that we are an Islamic state," said Minister in
the Prime Minister's Department Bernard Dompok, who hails from Sabah.
"For all intents and purposes, I think Malaysia was not meant to be
an Islamic state," he said at the launch of 'The Merdeka Statement'
by the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) in Kuala Lumpur.
Dompok is the first minister to speak out on the controversial issue
after a gag order was issued in wake of Deputy Prime Minister Najib
Abdul Razak's 'Malaysia is an Islamic state' remark two weeks ago.
Speaking at the launch of the social document that commemorates
Malaysia's 50th year of independence, Dompok said Sabah and Sarawak
decided to form Malaysia because the Federal Constitution provided a
measure of protection for its ethnically diverse citizens.
"Knowing that the spirit on the formation of Malaysia, as far as I
come from, (where secular governance) is one of the central points,
therefore I cannot subscribe to what has been claimed," said the
former Sabah chief minister.
"I think people that I know would be very unhappy if this type of
thing persists. But again the government has allowed a lot of
divergence on views. I think we have to contend with that for the
time being," he said.
'Judiciary playing football'
Dompok, who resigned from the Parliamentary Select Committee on
Integrity in March, also felt that the courts are indecisive on
religious cases.
"It is a big challenge that today that the judiciary seems to play
football with cases. There are cases where it is neither with the
syariah nor the civil courts," he said.
He felt that court cases in which one spouse had converted to Islam
should be heard by the civil courts.
"After several years of marriage they decided to split, or the man
finds another woman, or he converts to Islam, (then) the wife has a
problem.
"My feeling is that it should be settled where it started. When they
get married, they didn't intend to get divorce. Circumstances along
the way might have forced upon them this separation. But when
separation comes I think it should be settled where they started
which is the civil courts ... It should end where it started. I've no
qualms expressing my views," he said.
He, however, described the cabinet as having a "diverse membership"
with a "collective spirit".
"I feel that unity in the country is not the sole responsibility of
the government of the day - it is on all of us," he pointed out.
"I think the government welcomes constructive criticisms from the
public, from NGOs labelled as anti-government. In this country, there
is room for divergence of views. In the cabinet meeting, it is very
open, you can say anything you like ... everything can be discussed
amicably," he said.
"Despite what you hear ... that action was not taken as fast you
wanted ... we are dealing with a democracy that is 44 years old. I
think there is a lot of room for us to improve. After all, life
begins at 50 - we are just starting," he added.
Freudian slips
Meanwhile, Dompok lamented that Kadazans and Dayaks were categorised
under the 'lain-lain' (others) category.
"I'm a humorous person, I can take this kind of thing, but I think it
does reflect something that is not quite right in the country. I
would like to see (Malaysians) referred to as Chinese Malaysians,
Indian Malaysians ... much like the blacks in America call themselves
African Americans or the Chinese, Chinese Americans," he said.
He also joked that the Eastern Corridor Development referred to the
eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia, rather than East Malaysia.
He also recalled a "welcome to Malaysia" greeting from a stranger in
Kuala Lumpur after he said he hailed from Sabah.
"These are the little Freudian slips in which people still think
Malaysia as just being Semenanjung (Peninsular Malaysia). All these
regional problems should be resolved. Sabah and Sarawak should be
part of the single Malaysian identity," he added.
The Merdeka Statement is a non-government nation-building initiative
towards creating equal opportunities and stronger civil liberties.
The document is to be discussed and finalised today before it is
presented to the government.
Present at the launch were CPPS chairperson Dr Ramon Navaratnam and
Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) chief executive
officer (CEO) Dr Michael Yeoh.
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