KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, July 19, 2007: The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism is very unsettled by the comments of the Deputy Prime Minister that Malaysia is an “Islamic State” and that “We have never been secular because being secular by Western definition means separation of the Islamic principles in the way we govern a country. We have never been affiliated to that position. We have always been driven by our adherence to the fundamentals of Islam.”
Islam may be the “religion of the Federation” but Malaysia is not and ought not to be considered an “Islamic State.” 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.
We urge the Government, the Judiciary and all Malaysians to respect the social contract which was formulated in 1957 and reaffirmed in 1963 and object most strongly to attempts by the Government and the Judiciary to now change the status quo surreptitiously and thereby jeopardizing the democratic freedoms of all Malaysians.