Najib's Rewriting Malaysian History

That's right-that's what he's doing by claiming Malaysia is an Islamic state. It would be interesting to hear what our beloved founding father and great horse-racing lover, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman have to say if he were alive today about Najib Razak's
outrageous statement. He has forgotten our Malaysian history and the social contract that was honed by Malaysia's multi-racial races. There's no mention of an Islamic state or a theocracy. Here's the latest uncensored news response from Malaysiakini dated 18/7/07 following his provocative statement.

I will neither celebrate Malaysia Day again nor touch a Malaysian flag if this so-called 'Islamic state' nonsense is the dark backward tunnel this country is heading down.

Najib's 'Islamic state' remark draws protest

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Jul 18, 07 4:21pm

The assertion by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak yesterday that Malaysia is an Islamic state has drawn flak from various quarters. Malaysia is not, and was not meant to be, an Islamic state, said members of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST). They urged the “government, the judiciary, and all Malaysians” to respect the social contract formulated in 1957 that balanced the citizenship rights of minority communities with the special privileges accorded bumiputeras. That agreement is now being changed “surreptitiously” by certain quarters within the government and the judiciary, jeapordising the fundamental liberties of all Malaysians, said MCCBCHST president A Vaithilingam. “There have been numerous statements by our politicians and judges that Malaysia is, and was always meant to be, a secular nation. “In this sense, secular undoubtedly means a country where religion, religious principles and religious dogma do not influence the business of governance,” he added in a media statement. 'We are concerned' Speaking at an international conference on the challenges of globalisation facing Muslim countries, Najib said Malaysia has never been a secular nation as the government has always been driven by the fundamentals of Islam. "Islam is the official religion and we are an Islamic state," he told reporters after officiating the conference. "But as an Islamic state, it does not mean that we don't respect the non-Muslims. The Muslims and the non-Muslims have their own rights," he added. Expressing doubts about this, Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Hermen Shastri said non-Muslims’ objections to Najib’s statement derive not only from its departure from the Federal Constitution but the boost it would give to proponents of the Islamisation process. “We are not happy because we don’t know what this means going by what is happening in society today,” he said when met at his office in Petaling Jaya today. “This includes cases involving the dissolution of marriages, custody over children, the claim over bodies of the deceased, and the acts of vigilantism committed by religious officials bent on policing morality,” he added. Shahstri said it’s one thing for ordinary people to say Malaysia is an Islamic state, but when top government officials such as Najib says this, “we are concerned.” Stick to the constitution Meanwhile MCA also joined in the fray in disputing Najib’s pronouncement. The party’s Secretary General Ong Ka Chuan said that all historical documents pertaining to the formulation of the federal constitution and the formation of an independent state indicated that Malaysia was a secular state. “This was the consensus and social contract agreed upon by our forefathers,” he said in a statement. He said that documents prepared by the British authorities before granting independence to Malaysia in 1957 clearly stipulated that “the members of the Alliance delegation...had no intention of creating a Muslim theocracy and that Malaya would be a secular state”. Chinese-based MCA is the second largest coalition partner in the Umno-dominated ruling BN coalition. Another MCA leader, MP for Kota Melaka Wong Nai Chee said Najib’s interpretation was not in accordance with the spirit and intent of the federal constitution. “The fact that we have Muslims being the majority does not in itself make Malaysia an Islamic state. Rather, Malaysia is a secular state with the majority being Muslims,” he said. Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang yesterday said Najib had cast a dark cloud over the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations this year with his statement. “It would appear as though the Merdeka social contract becomes a political pawn when political parties or individual political leaders find it expedient to manipulate and exploit it to shore up their political support,” he said.