Yesterday I received several pieces of news reports about the banning of discussions on the Islamic State in Malaysia from a Christian researcher in the NECF and a library assistant in the STM. The below is one of the forwarded mails to me. (Lily)
Date: Jul 20, 2007 5:46 PM
Subject: FYI: On Najib's Islamic state and ban on debate
I'm afraid these two key statements will once again be blacked out, as we move closer to GE. Please do email them around; the internet is beginning to be the last bastion of information. I'm beginning to sense that something very disturbing and much bigger is a-brewing.
1. (20/7) DEBATE BAN HARMFUL FOR NATION
2. (19/7) NAJIB'S DISMAL IGNORANCE ON ISLAMIC STATE
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Press Statement
20 July 2007
DEBATE BAN HARMFUL FOR NATION
It is regrettable that the Internal Security Ministry's Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit, senior officer Che Din Yusof, has seen fit to ban the media from reporting and printing various views on the matter brought up in an official speech by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak that Malaysia is an Islamic state.
Every official announcement and pronouncement from the government and its officials must be subjected to public scrutiny. This is a fundamental aspect of any democratic system.
This latest ban, which comes at the heels of our 50th anniversary celebration of independence from the British, suggests that at our 'old age', the government still disallows Malaysians to conduct debates responsibly and maturely.
Not only is this mistrust misplaced, it harms the development of a nation and its people, attempting to grow into a mature liberal democracy.
A country, which allows only the voice of the Prime Minister and his deputy to be reported on national policies and matters of public interest, is in grave danger of tilting towards authoritarianism.
I call on the Ministry for Internal Security to rescind the ban imposed on the mass media and return the right to the media to facilitate responsible public discussions and views on this matter.
Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
President
People's Justice Party (KeADILan)
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MEDIA STATEMENT
19 July 2007
NAJIB'S DISMAL IGNORANCE ON ISLAMIC STATE
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's latest pronouncement about Malaysia being an Islamic state shows his dismal ignorance of what such a state really means. In an attempt to pander to communal and religious sentiments, Najib has chosen to blatantly disregard the provisions of the Constitution which, while stating that Islam is the religion of the Federation, safeguards the sanctity of other religions without discriminating one from the other.
As our nation approaches its 50th year of independence, it is both sad and shocking that we still have leaders who have no qualms about fanning the flames of communal fire for political mileage.
Instead of making such reckless claims, I call on the Deputy Prime Minister to focus on the real and pressing problems which beset this country: the escalating crime rate, the widespread corruption, the blatant abuse of police powers such as arbitrary arrests and wrongful detention of innocent individuals and the continuing violation of other civil liberties and the deteriorating state of the judiciary.
We must reject all forms of racist, communalistic, and opportunistic politicking and conscientiously work towards greater harmony and unity.
ANWAR IBRAHIM
