I concur with New Malaysian in his/her letter Practise what you preach, Dr M . As Malaysians, we are bombarded with various pronouncements on a daily basis and even if we were to

follow all those pronouncements, we would simply end up "less than" what our leaders want us to

be. This is because their pronouncements are full of inconsistencies and often they contradicted one another.

On the surface, it reflects the quality of leadership and the general malaise of the cultural

milieu in the country. Take for example Dr Mahathir's grandstanding pronouncements about the use and misuse of religion. Who is he to talk about it? Remember the time when he was challenged by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for Umno's presidency.

Notice how Mahathir used an inconsequential picture of a Kadazan headgear worn by his challenger and how he lambasted the Tengku for all sorts of "sins, treachery, blasphemy, etc" in that instance, was it okay to use religion to garner votes for Umno presidency?

We Malaysians need to go back to the basic constitutional framework in which the nation was formed that Malaysia is a secular state. Period with no 'ifs' and 'buts'. I dare the present Malay leaders to state equivocally that they support and would fight for a secular Malaysia. So far, no one

has.

All leaders are trying to out-Islamise the rest

and as a result we see the stupidity of a Malay Muslim

group calling for a boycott of Coca-Cola. So far no

Malaysian leaders have dared to state that the move is stupid because they want to appear more Islamic than the next person.

The cultural milieu in Malaysia is getting too

Malay- and Islamic-centric. It seems that everything in

the country is centred around Malay and Islamic

dominance. From school curriculum to cultural norms in

the civil service and public services at large,Malaysians are subjected to the dominance to Malay

culture and Islamic religion.

Non-Malays and non-Muslims are tacitly required to kowtow to Malay and

Islamic rules, norms and customs without further

thought. While non-Malays and non-Muslims are

studying to understand and tolerate the Malays and

Muslims, that is, expanding their cultural outlook,

their Malay and Muslim counterparts are kept

completely in the dark, far removed from the reality

of external world.

Thus we witness how a Malay Muslim

consumer group is trying to boycott Coca-Cola but only

the drink, mind you, not any other things made in the

United States such as lipsticks, computers, television

programmes, medical technologies, etc. The group

has done a very great disservice to the country if not to the

Malays and Muslims at large, but then they only see

what katak di bawah tempurung (the frog in the well) sees. This is

indeed a good metaphor for Mahathir for he only

sees what he wants to see.

During my childhood, I remember the late

Tunku, the prime minister, officiating at the opening of a

Buddhist temple near Bukit Mertajam. The Tunku was

instrumental in getting the temple built. That

deed did not diminish the Tunku as a Malay and a

Muslim. Instead it built his reputation for

humanity.

Yassir Arafat, a Muslim, was prevented from attending

the annual celebration of Christmas eve mass at a church in Bethlehem. He is a

man of great courage and principle. He thinks he is a

father to all Palestinians, regardless of whether that

Palestinian is a Muslim or Christian. Malaysian leaders have

yet to demonstrate such courage.

I have yet to read and see a picture of a Malaysian leader of Malay

and Muslim background attending a religious service in

a church, temple, synagogue and other ethnic minority

holy places. Why? Is a leader of a

country only a leader of the Malays and Muslims?

Attending those services as a leader of acountry does not make him or her an apostate, but

augurs well for multi-racial tolerance and symbolic

acceptance of equal treatment of all citizens

irrespective of race and religion. Isn't this what we

aspire to and want others from outside Malaysia to

know about us?

I also firmly believe that religion is a matter between me and my

God and that was what Malaysia as a country was built

upon.

The state has no business in spying into my

bedroom to check for possible khalwat (close proximity) or inspecting a

restaurant where I dine to see if I consume liquor

or not. The state has no business to enforce

religious discipline on citizens or it is no different

from the Taliban.

Malaysian leaders need to genuinely

embrace multi-culturalism to the fullest. Not only in

words but also in actions as New Malaysian

alluded to. Only by accepting diversity and

not giving preferential treatment to one sector of

population can Malaysia prosper and be

counted as a major player in years to come. It seems

from a distance that Malaysia is regressing to

the Taliban era.

So far, the forms that they are projecting are cause

for concern for I, as a Malay and Muslim, believe that

the present leadership is doing the country a great

disservice for allowing such religious fanaticism and

the use and abuse of religion by all parties, Barisan

Nasional, Umno, PAS and others included, to flourish

far too long. Now we reap what we have sowed.