Does Najib now respect the “social contract” as always threatened by UMNO whenever the Others question sensitive issues, or is this another case of different rules for them?

We don’t seem to be islamic state since we don’t fully practice syariah laws in all areas of the country’s administration, finance, law etc. My muslims friends say that we are not Islamic country.

On the other hand, we are not exactly secular as well since Islam plays a significant role in many areas, indirectly.

Overall, I think we are secular if we clearly understand that some of the things happening is due to racial discrimination, rather than religious discrimination. The racial trend is hiding behind religion, for example bumiputera status and points like all malays are muslim. Oops, am i questioning the social contract now?

The Star and NST both highlighted MCA’s stand and Bar Council stand, and NST even added MCCBCHST two cents as well. Itu PPP, IPF, MIC, Gerakan, mana pigi? Tarak baca paper ka?

Groups: We are secular

source
KUALA LUMPUR: Various groups have disagreed with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s statement that Malaysia was never a secular state, saying that he had ignored the country’s constitutional history and social contract.

They referred to several important events, including those that led to the country’s independence and formation of Malaysia, to show that it had always been stressed that Malaysia was a secular state.

MCA secretary-general Datuk Ong Ka Chuan quoted the Alliance memorandum to the Reid Commission on Sept 27, 1956, that stated:

“The religion of Malaysia shall be Islam. The observance of this principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals professing and practising their own religion, and shall not imply the State is not a secular state.”

He cited notes prepared by the Colonial Office dated May 23, 1957 at the London Conference Talks which said: “The members of the Alliance delegation stressed that they had no intention of creating a Muslim theocracy and that Malaya would be a secular state.

“This was the unequivocal original intention of Umno, MCA and MIC,” Ong said.

He added that the documents and facts had given a true picture of Malaysia, whereby a secular state was the foundation of the formation of Malaya, and this consensus made by the country’s forefathers should always be remembered and obeyed.

Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee said that the issue of Malaysia as a secular state was vigorously debated again during the 1962 Cobbold Commission before the entry of Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia.

He said the secular nature of the Federal Constitution had been the basis for nation-building since 1957 and re-enforced in 1963.

“The constitutional position of Malaysia being a secular state has also been confirmed in the 1988 Supreme Court decision in the case of the Public Prosecutor versus Che Omar.

“Therefore, legally, we cannot see how it can be interpreted differently now,” he said.

Wong added that the fact that Muslims were the majority did not in itself make Malaysia an Islamic state but “rather, Malaysia is a secular state with the majority being Muslim.”

Bar Council Malaysia president Ambiga Sreenevasan said that one had only to look at the Articles in the Federal Constitution, the system of government and administration of justice to know that Malaysia was not an Islamic state.

“The civil courts set up under the Constitution dispense secular justice on a daily basis to all the citizens of the country.

“Secular law governs contracts, commerce, international relations and trade and every aspect of lives of a citizen.

“Islamic law governs specific matters set out in the Federal Constitution in relation to persons professing Islam,” she said.

She added that in the context of the country’s history and the Constitution itself that proclaimed supremacy, the council did not doubt that Malaysia was a secular state.

“It is time that the proposition that Malaysia is not secular, (which is rewriting of the Constitution), be put to rest once and for all and that there is due recognition and reaffirmation of the clear legal and constitutional position that Malaysia is, and has always been, a secular state,” she said.

MCA: We are a secular nation
By : Eileen Ng
source

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is a secular state, insists the MCA.

It said the position was clear as evidenced by numerous historical documents, including the Reid Report, the Cobbold Commission and a 1988 Supreme Court decision.

After reviewing the documents used in the process of drafting the Federal Constitution, the party’s secretary-general, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, said Malaysia was a secular state based on the consensus and social contract agreed upon by the nation’s forefathers.

“The documents showed that a secular state is the foundation of the formation of Malaya and this consensus was made by our forefathers,” he said yesterday.

He said this in response to the statement by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Monday that Malaysia is an Islamic nation that protects the rights of non-Muslims.

Citing an example, Ong said according to the Alliance’s memorandum to the Reid Commission dated Sept 27, 1956, it was stated on Page 19 that “The religion of Malaya shall be Islam. The observance of this principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals professing and practising their own religion, and shall not imply the state is not a secular state.”

Ong said former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj had said during a meeting on April 17, 1957, that “the whole constitution was framed on the basis that the federation would be a secular state”.

Ong said notes prepared by the Colonial Office dated May 23, 1957, at the London Conference Talks mentioned that “the members of the Alliance delegation stressed that they had no intention of creating a Muslim theocracy and that Malaya would be a secular state”.

Additionally, Ong stated that when former MCA president, who was Finance Minister, Tun Tan Siew Sin spoke in parliament on July 10, 1957, in support of the Constitutional Bill, he said that although Islam would be the official religion, “this does not in any way derogate from the principle, which has always been accepted, that Malaya will be a secular state and that there will be a complete freedom to practise any other religion”.

Ong added that all these documents showed a true picture of Malaysia, which is a secular nation.

MCA central committee member and Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee said Najib’s interpretation was “not in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Federal Constitution”.

He said that the issue of Malaya as a secular state was vigorously debated again during the 1962 Cobbold Commission before the entry of Sabah and Sarawak, forming Ma- laysia.

“Again, the secular nature of Malaysia was reiterated as having been stated in the Reid Commission. The secular nature of our Federal Constitution has been the basis for our nation building since 1957 and reinforced in 1963.”

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism president, Datuk A. Vaithilingam, urged the government and all Malaysians to respect the social contract agreed to in 1957.

The council also strongly objected to attempts by the government to change the status quo.

The Bar Council said that in the context of the country’s history and the constitution itself that proclaimed its supremacy, there was no doubt whatsoever that Malay- sia was a secular state.

“It is noteworthy that the prime minister in his speech delivered at the conference yesterday and in his propagating Islam Hadhari has never referred to Malaysia as an Islamic state,” the council’s president Ambiga Sreeneva- san said.

“It is time that the proposition that Malaysia is not secular (which is a rewriting of the constitution), be put to rest once and for all and that there is due recognition and reaffirmation of the clear legal and constitutional position that Malaysia is, and has always been, a secular state.”