Malaysiakini.com (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
(1) Islamic state may become a reality, 29 February 2008
by Kannan
One of the important questions every voter should be asking before voting in the coming general election is when will Malaysia become truly an Islamic state? Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when he was in power, declared Malaysia was already being indeed an Islamic state. MIC, MCA and Gerakan kept quiet, meaning they have accepted Umno’s idea of an Islamic state for a multi-religious Malaysia.
However, our constitution clearly states that Malaysia is a country where Islam is the official religion while all other religions are free to be practiced, which means it is not an Islamic state. In actual fact, Malaysia is a Muslim majority country, just like Indonesia and or for that matter just like Turkey.
The present PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Razak have also reconfirmed that Malaysia is indeed an Islamic state and have been implementing the Islam Hadhari concept stage by stage. Again MIC, MCA, and Gerakan also have been keeping quiet; again meaning they have accepted the Islamic state declaration by present PM, the leader of the Umno-led BN.
How will Islam Hadhari affect non-Muslim rights in this country? With recent developments such as even 100-year old temples being demolished, incidents of bodies due for non-Muslim funerals being taken away by the Islamic authorities for Muslim burials, young children being converted by a parent converting to Islam without the consent of mother etc, Malaysian voters need to think carefully before voting. On all these issues, MIC, MCA and Gerakan have been very silent.
Can we, Malaysians trust the MIC, MCA and Gerakan to object if Umno wants to amend the constitution to make Malaysia truly an Islamic state after the general elections? This possibility of the constitution being amended to make Malaysia a true Islamic state cannot be dismissed without serious consideration.
We, voters have to ensure BN is not given a blank cheque to do what they want by voting 80 to 90 opposition members of parliament to the 222-member Parliament. If that happens, BN cannot amend the constitution but can still run the government effectively.
When Umno decides to amend the constitution to make Malaysia true Islamic state, all BN MPs will vote blindly for the amendment as usual and it will be passed if they have a two-thirds majority.
Reducing BN’s majority should be the major objective of everyone in the coming general election.
We should also demand for a Non-Muslims Affairs Department to be set up to ensure rights of all non-Muslims to practice their respective religions without fear or hindrance as provided for in the original 1957 unamended federal constitution.
(2) Am I naive to expect equality in Malaysia?, 25 February 2008
by Malaysian for Equality
A country without equality for all is a country without conscience. For many decades, non-Malay Malaysians have been living amidst the NEP and see the bumiputeras getting scholarships, university places, business licenses, government jobs, etc., that are almost unavailable to non-bumi Malaysians. Non-bumis ask, ‘Why is this happening and continuing to happen; are not all Malaysians equal? Non-Malay Malaysians have for decades been unable to explain to their children why the colour of skin matters so much in Malaysia.
Why are colours of skin and names used to separate Malaysians? How can non-bumi Malaysians explain to their children that meritocracy does not count but colour of skin does? Why are there so few bumi Malaysians speaking out against this inequality that has been occurring for almost four decades? I believe the non-bumis thought it will end after a short period of time so they said, ‘It is alright. Just tolerate for a few more years’. But it looks like the NEP and Ketuanan Melayu will go on and on. When will this end? Can someone from Umno tell Malaysia when it will end?
I know it is a dream but is it wrong for all Malaysians to dream of equality for all? Is this illegal and morally wrong in Malaysia? Why should Malaysians be arrested under the ISA if they wish to see a Malaysia that upholds equality for all? Why would Malay politicians who champion equality for all like Anwar Ibrahim be branded a ‘traitor’ by his fellow Malays?
Should not all conscientious bumiputeras support equality for all? Surely, there are poor Malays, Chinese and Indians. We should help them based on income and not implement polices based on the colour of one’s skin. Why do politicians from the MCA and MIC not tell their Umno brothers to go for equality and meritocracy? Is equality morally wrong? How can someone from MCA and MIC be elected representatives and not champion equality for all? I do hope they can explain this to their fellow Malaysians.
I really want to know why they are in government and not championing equality. Am I being naVve（sic） to expect equality in Malaysia? What is it that I do not know? Is the present situation favoring the bumis crucial for national security? Please educate the non-bumi Malaysians on this.
Why would Umno not uphold equality for all Malaysians? Our country will move by leaps and bounds if we remove the disunity that is being caused by politicians talking about Ketuanan Melayu (or Malay supremacy) and the NEP.
The international and local media keep on painting the picture that Chinese Malaysians control a big portion of the Malaysian economy. Are they behind time or getting the wrong statistics? Perhaps there are a few (only a few) rich Chinese who are lucky to have dominant stakes in Malaysian economy. They are the exceptional few. I get together with my Chinese friends from high school from time to time and they were all good students in secondary school based on their MCE and HSC examinations.
Many could not afford to go to universities and could not get places even though they qualified. None of them are making the big money and many are struggling in their businesses and jobs to making ends meet. Where are the many rich Chinese? Who is really controlling the Malaysian economy today? Is it really the Chinese who are dominant in the economy? I beg to differ.
There are only a few rich Chinese. The rest are struggling to keep afloat as they have to work hard to save and pay for the education of their children overseas or in twinning programmes. How can the majority of Chinese and Indians and their children look forward to the future when Umno will be returned to power with a big majority and Umno leaders will continue to champion Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP so that they can keep their power bases? Meritocracy and equality are unheard of in Umno general assemblies.
Why would so few bumi professionals come forward and support equality when they have studied in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, etc.? Why would championing equality lead to jail for some? Why wouldn’t bumi professionals and politicians embrace their fellow Chinese and Indian Malaysians and tell them we are one nation where everyone is equal under the Malaysian sun?
Malaysia will certainly leap to greater heights if all Malaysians go for equality, embrace meritocracy and really implement policies that are not race-based but Malaysian-based. You will see a very strong Malaysia that would be the envy of its neighbors. Malaysians of all races are smart, hard-working, and educated and when they come together and work together, they will create synergies and create more economic growth that will propel our country to great heights.
Malaysians have unfortunately been living under a very strange system for so many decades where equality is not being supported by governmental institutions. Why is that so? Can we allcome forward and support equality for all Malaysians regardless of race, gender, background, religious belief etc? Can divisions and disunity stop? If there are poor Malaysians, by all means help them.
I really look forward to the day when all Malaysians are together as one nation and all Malaysians are indeed equal under the Malaysian sun. As Martin Luther King, said, ‘I have a dream’. All Malaysians should strive for this ‘equality’ dream.
(3) ？
Only lost a battle with the Islamic authorities who said he had converted, his son said today.
Police seized the body of Gan Eng For, who died on Sunday aged 74, after his oldest son - himself a Muslim convert - said he had switched to the religion last year.
Other family members said Gan could not have converted because he was senile and paralysed after suffering two strokes.
"He could not even move his arms or talk," his other son 42-year-old Gan Hock Sin told AFP.
"It is shocking that Islamic authorities say he recited some Islamic words when he was being converted last year," he said.
Gov't not being fair
The dispute, the latest in a series of conversion rows in Malaysia, came shortly after a court ordered a Christian woman's body be returned to her family after Islamic authorities admitted she had not converted.
The cases have fed accusations over the growing "Islamisation" of Malaysia, where the population is dominated by Muslim Malays living alongside ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.
Gan criticised the conduct of the state Islamic authorities who buried his father in a Muslim cemetery yesterday on the orders of a religious court.
"They have been cruel to my mother and my family. We could not see his body before he was buried. This government is not fair," he said.
"Before my father died, he had told my mother that he wished to be buried according to Chinese rituals."
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