Stanley Koh | October 20, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
In 2001, when Dr Mahathir spoken Malaysia an Islamic state, MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik pronounced he as well as alternative non-Muslim leaders upheld a budding minister's position
COMMENT
What is a role of religions in politics? Is Islam compatible with democracy? How do you deal with a conflicts in between a inherent supplies for fundamental liberties as well as equivalence with eremite laws as well as policies which might violate them?
Should a state legislate upon morality? Is it a avocation of a state to bring about a some-more moral society?
Can there be a singular truth as well as a singular last understand of Islam which contingency be legislated as well as govern a lives of each Muslim citizen of a country?
These were some of a questions lifted in 2001 during a MCA-organised forum attended by Dr Hamid Othman of a Prime Minister's Department, Shad Saleem Faruqi of Universiti Teknologi Mara, Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam as well as member of a Inter-Religious Council of Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism as well as Buddhism.
The forum came in a midst of public disquiet over afterwards budding apportion Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration, in September 2001, which Malaysia was an Islamic state. Many Malaysians were confused as well as quite a series were in fear which a republic would in a future be run similar to a Taliban state.
Hamid, whose job was to advise a PM's Department upon eremite matters, pronounced he did not have answers to a questions raised.
"I would similar to a dialogue to begin upon these really critical issues," he said. "This dialogue as well as plead have begun, quite in Muslim countries similar to Iran as well as Indonesia. And a search for answers as well as solutions cannot be a disdainful safety of a ulamas.
"All c itizens have a right to rivet in this dialogue as well as in this plead because zero less than a future of this republic is during stake. The peace, political fortitude as well as prosperity, a jubilee of our rich, multiracial as well as multireligious birthright which you have enjoyed, contingency be a birthright which you leave to our children."Why did Mahathir have a surprising declaration? Veteran political observers interpreted it as purely as well as simply a pierce to outdo PAS in a foe for Malay voting support. They pronounced Mahathir had no alternative considerations detached from a political. Some interpreted it as a desperate political stratagem occasioned by increasing await for PAS as which party pushed a own brand of Islamic Malaysia, a singular which would embody hudud punishments underneath Islamic law.
MCA's stand
BN's vital member parties, quite MCA, were caught in a bind. To a credit, MCA organised a forum upon short notice to seek construction as well as answers to end a difficulty as well as fears.
What was a MCA president's own response to Mahathir's declaration? Dr Ling Liong Sik claimed which many non-Muslim leaders upheld a budding minister's position. The following were a expect difference he used during a forum, as available upon tape:
"Can we contend my personal indicate of view? Now via a world, there's conflict, struggle, war in between a moderates as well as a extremists. In any society, sometimes even inside of a eremite societyyou name themfundamentalists, some moderates, some of them reasonables.
"Now in Malaysia, we, in BN, are taking a moderate-centre stand. We try to plead all in between races. That is why you have invited eremite councils to give your views. Now you know, you know, a wearing away of Malay await is serious.
"It is serious. And in Selangor, prior election, let us contend in Shah Alam, won by 41,000 votes. Last choosing (1999), dropped to 2,400 votes. In Gombak, prior choosing won by 30! ,000-ove r votes, though last election, kalah 800 votes.
"This is a wearing away of Malay support. And it is starting a alternative way to a nonconformist call. The hudud laws, Islamic state, this as well as that, right away non-Malay taking a middle road.
"Are you starting to await a moderates? Because even if withdrawing support, being silent, is ancillary a nonconformist line."
Ling elaborated which ancillary Mahathir's stipulation was merely a proof of await for moderates.
"Now, if Dr Mahathir pronounced you are starting to change a constitution as well as have this a theocratic state, we think it will be completely different.
"This is a constitution drawn up by our forefathers as well as everyone concluded to it. And it is a autarchic law of a land. And it should not be changed. And which is what he said.
"By definition, you can right away call ourselves an Islamic state. we am not observant Dr Mahathir's observant is right though he has great reason in perplexing to stem a erosion."
Only a duty
Hamid gave his understand of what Islam expects of Muslims who reason political power.
"Islam recognizes any values not contradicting to Islamic teachings," he said.
"The doing of hudud laws is only a duty, as well as not a pillar of Islam.
"If PAS refers to books upon Islamic jurisprudence, PAS will contend a same things as Umno. If PAS says which hudud is a pillar of Islam, they cannot surprise Islamic scholars.
"The governance as well as administration of Malaysia is run in suitability to Islamic teachings, particularly, in a expulsion of poverty, or some-more correctly, hunger. Secondly, expulsion of disturbances, definition efforts to say assent as well as harmony for a country. From a really beginning, a Alliance, as well as after Barisan Nasional (BN), was run to grasp these objectives. It has been a objective of a government.
"You can call it an Islamic objective or secular. Islam accepts (what is) secular, though not s! ecularis m.
"Secular in Islam equates to in this life, essay for betterment, upon condition which services for a wellbeing as well as gratification of associate men whilst carrying out your duties as well as responsibilities.
"Islam cannot accept secularism, which equates to which there is no hold up after death. Secularism equates to there is no punishment after genocide as well as this runs discordant to Islamic teachings."
Neither Islamic nor secular
Shad concluded which there is no a singular model of an Islamic state, just as there is no such thing as a singular model for communism, socialism, capitalism or secularism. "It is a matter of semantics," he said.
He pronounced a Reid Commission did "a great job" of drafting a "detailed inherent document" for Malaysia, though he remarkable a "significant omission" in which a constitution does not have a preamble.
"Maybe it was a deliberate move," he said. "Most inherent papers have a preliminary saying a republic supports possibly secularism, socialism or social mercantile justice. Our constitution lacks a preamble. Neither a word 'secular' nor 'Islamic' appears anywhere.
"Article 4(1) states which a created constitution is a autarchic law of a federation. Though Islam is a sacrament of a federation, it is not a simple law of a land. And Article 3 (on Islam) imposes no boundary upon a energy of Parliament to legislate.
"Islamic law is not as well as never was a general law of a land, possibly during a federal or state level. In such fields as criminal law, Islamic law has really small relevance. Thus, a hudud corruption of zina (fornication) cannot be punishable in Malaysia underneath syariah law. Article 160(2) of a constitution, which defines law, does not embody syariah as partial of a definition of law.
"All in all, it can be pronounced which Malaysia is conjunction a bone-fide Islamic state nor wholly secular. On a a singular hand, it maintains Islam as a state sacrament as well ! as is de eply committed to a graduation of sacrament in a hold up of Muslims. On a other, it places a Yang di-Pertuan Agong as well as a state sultans as heads of a eremite hierarchy as well as adopts a supremacy of a constitution as a simple order of a authorised system."
According to a professor, a authorised complement is "mixed". "It avoids a extremes of American character secularism or Saudi, Iranian as well as Taliban sort of eremite carry out of all aspects of life. It mirrors a abounding farrago as well as pluralism of a population. It prefers pragmatism over ideological purity, mediation over extremism. It walks a middle path.
"Islam provides a simple norms for Malay society as well as culture. In perspective of a actuality which Muslims constitute a majority of a population, as well as Islamisation is being energetically enforced, Malaysia can indeed be described as an Islamic or Muslim country."
To be continued in Part 3
This entry was posted upon Friday, twenty-one October 2011, 9:56 am as well as is filed underneath Islamic state, MCA. You can follow any responses to this entry by RSS 2.0.
Lim Kit Siang
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