Deputy Minister comes under fire from Upko, opposition
Published on: Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Senator Datuk Dr Asyarf Wadji Dusuki, came under fire by Barisan Nasional component Upko and opposition parties for saying that the BN's agenda is to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State. United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation Information Chief Albert Bingkasan said Malaysia was founded as a secular state and that Upko would fight to ensure it stays that way. He said BN has never stated that Malaysia is an Islamic state in all our election manifesto and that under the leadership of Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak, has always upheld a secular Malaysia as enshrined in the federal constitution.
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"Malaysia is no longer under an autocratic leader unlike in 1973 when Islam was forced to be made an official religion of Sabah in utter disregard of the spirit of the founding of this country as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Inter-Goverment Committee report," said Bingkasan.Asyraf said on Saturday that development of Islam in the country which is being strengthened from time to time is a clear signal that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is not shirking its responsibility to make Malaysia an Islamic state. He said not only the people but also other nations could the see the development of Islam in Malaysia over the last 60 years since the country gained independence and that this was possible because of the wisdom of BN which is led by Umno. Opposition Warisan Member of Parliament for Penampang, Darell Leiking, called for Najib to take strong action against the deputy minister.
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"(Asyarf) Wadji must be held accountable to what he had said and should be reprimanded by the BN Chairman himself and better still, be removed from his post," he argued.Leiking who is the Deputy President of Parti Warisan Sabah also said that he is perplexed to see how more and more religious and racial issues are coming out from BN camps.
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"When we talk about the future or halatuju of Malaysia, I am perplexed to see several BN Federal Ministers having perspectives (on Malaysia) that are in total contradiction to what the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj and other founding forefathers of Malaysia intended it to be.""What is more alarming is that, in the midst of the many nonsensical religious and racial issues suddenly cropping out in Malaysia these past five years … the Prime Minister Najib Razak is nowhere to be seen," he said, citing the laundry segregation issue at Johor as an example. He claimed that Najib wanted to make Hudud a Government Bill and also allowed the controversial preacher Zakir Naik into Malaysia."Now a Federal Minister who believe that the Islamic State of Malaysia is the way forward for the country. This is simply intolerable because it is against what had been agreed to and can cause great anxiety, suspicion or division between Muslims and non-Muslims," he said. In SANDAKAN, State DAP Chairman Stephen Wong labelled Dr Asyarf as ignorant and extreme, saying his statement could further divide the nation.He said the BN must give up the idea of making the country an Islamic state as historical documents show that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion. "If BN component parties can't stop Umno from doing this, they will pay a heavy price," he warned. He pointed out that the Cobbold Commission clearly underlines that "Islam should be the national religion of the federation" but must be "in no way jeorpadise the freedom of religion in the federation, which in effect would be secular."More importantly, it's a condition set by Sabah and Sarawak, and was agreed by Malay leaders. It's a consensus before the formation of Malaysia as a federation," he said in a statement.He also reminded that the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman himself declared that the country is not an Islamic state."He actually said the following, "I would like to make it clear that this country is not an Islamic state as is generally understood. We merely provide that Islam shall be the official religion". This was said in parliament on 1 May 1958," said Wong.He said the second Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn had also made the same declaration."Any attempt to change it is actually breaking the social contract and consensus made during the formation of Malaysia," he added.Speaking as a Sabahan, he said the state BN leaders must bear in mind that making the country an Islamic state is a betrayal to the people of the state.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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