I refer to the malaysiakini report PM: Yes, we ARE an Islamic state .

Finally Pak Lah has decided to not quite coming out of the closet, so to speak. He agrees with his deputy's previous declaration that Malaysia is a 'Negara Islam' which can mean either Islamic country or a Muslim country. The first term refers to a country governed by Islamic laws while the second refers to a Muslim majority country.

The prime minister is trying to have it both ways by being deliberately vague to not offend everyone but his wishy-washy stance may actually end up achieving just that. As the saying goes, one cannot be half pregnant. You are either pregnant or not. After hearing his creative obfuscation, one can be excused for being more confused rather than enlightened. His non-committal attitude can be interpreted by both sides of the debate as a weakness to stand by a principle.

As he failed to provide a definite answer, one has to look for clues from other sources. Taken together with the recent chief justice's view to abolish the English common law in lieu of Islamic law, it is apparent that the Umno-led government is seeking to mould Malaysia into a fully Islamic theocratic state, without saying in so many words.

That is their not-so-hidden agenda. However, it is not because of piety that drove them to yearn for an Islamic state, but rather to strengthen their grip on power. Religion is but another tool in their ever expanding tool chest of draconian laws to whip people in line. Constitutionally, we are still a secular state, but that offers little comfort for as they keep repeating their proclamation, some people may start believing it and others demanding for it.

They would not deign to have dialogues with those who are different for having a dialogue is tantamount to indirect admittance that Muslims and non-Muslims are equal and that would lower their perceived stature. With the Islamisation of the country, non-Muslims will further be marginalised from their currently meagre position and relegated to being mere bystanders and dhimmi-hood.

One has to worry why the prime minister and his deputy are so brazen in declaring the country as an Islamic state. Do they know something we don't? Are they so confident that they can forgo the support of the entire non-Muslim population and some sections of the Muslim population and still be able to push through their agenda? What other statistics than the bumiputera ownership equity did the government deliberately fudge?

At least PAS has the decency to declare up-front what their agenda is. It is rather ironic that the familiar refrain often bandied about during every general election describes Umno as the 'enemy we know' vis-a-vis PAS. Better the enemy you know then the enemy you don't, we say. The question is, do we know which is which?