May I comment on the National Fatwa Committee's recent proposal through Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria to introduce the edict against Kongsi Raya celebrations, a long-standing cultural practice.

A realistic way out of this dilemma is to have an urgent public discourse on whether we are still secular or have become Islamic. This should be mindful of the fact that secularism has always been the incumbent and that our constitution is still in place.

The outcome of this discourse will provide us with a clear sense of direction and clear the path blocked by Dr Mahathir Mohamad who arbitrarily declared Malaysia an Islamic state not long ago. However, such a discourse is possible only if rational people debate and they stay rational to the end.

On his recent proposal, Harussani and his peers definitely hold the higher ground than most commentators on Islam. What is clear is that Harussani demands the setting aside of a long- standing cultural practice in favour of a longer standing Islamic prescription and he does not have to apologise or patronise anyone in his demand for it.

The issue here is not whether a non-Muslim has the right to comment, but whether Harussani was in line with true Islamic teachings for proposing the edict. He and his peers are held as experts in their field and are paid by the government for their expertise in providing edicts. Therefore, without any clear direction, we will end up shouting ourselves hoarse on this and other issues which are definitely in the pipeline.

Paradoxically, polite Malay culture opens its arms to the 'open house' concept but a true practitioner of Islam who belongs to the same culture is faced with the non-halal issue. While I'm thankful that politeness is a default of the Malay culture, I see Harussani telling the ones running the government that his office is the real thing and not a window dressing.