Top Apologist

MCA has described as a purely “political statement” the assertion by Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki that Barisan Nasional is committed to make Malaysia an Islamic state.

Its Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said it was a gimmick to win over Malay and Muslim votes as the next general election approaches.

“MCA disagrees with the public assertion by Dr Asyraf. “There was never any discussion on this in Barisan’s supreme council or the Cabinet.

According to reports, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said this during a political dialogue in Kelantan.

Ti said MCA firmly supports the Council of Malay Rulers’ call to uphold the social contract on moderation and preserve multiracial harmony, in line with the spirit of the Federal Constitution.

“All actions, including the need to be ‘syariah-compliant’, should be ‘constitutional-compliant’ first as the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Since the Malay agenda as a race is no longer politically attractive, the Islamic state agenda is now being revived by politicians and political parties,” he said.

Ti said MCA, together with other component parties in Sabah and Sarawak, would ensure that Barisan continues to uphold the spirit and supremacy of the Constitution, which provides that Islam is the religion of the Federation.

“But this should not be expanded or misinterpreted to mean an Islamic theocratic state,” he said. He said Dr Asyraf’s assertion was similar to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement in 2001, which was done to appease the political sentiment of the day.

“This was when he lost control of the popular support of Malay voters in the 1999 general election during the reformasi years when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PAS seemed to be having the Islamic moral ground,” Ti said.

Dr Mahathir had declared that Malaysia was already an Islamic state when he opened the Gerakan delegates conference in 2001.