The re-emergence of the thorny issue of the Islamic state in Malaysian politics recently sounds more like a theatre of sorts. How is it that DAP is so vehemently opposed to the formation of an Islamic state when it has so much to gain whereas Umno appears to be pushing so hard when it has so much to lose? Or is this just another 'sandiwara'?

Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world but yet it has deliberately opted not to be an Islamic state. In the words of ex-President Abdulrahman Wahid, '... what is more important is to ensure that Islamic values are upheld'.

On Sept 29, 2001, Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared Malaysia an Islamic state in contradiction to and without attempting to amend the constitution of Malaysia. Obviously, such a remark, dubbed by DAP as the '929 Declaration', would have been deemed 'seditious' had it not come from the mouth of a premier who, no doubt, was accorded some special 'immunity' from the laws of this country.

Without a universally-accepted definition to base it on, what was Mahathir exactly saying when he declared Malaysia to be an Islamic state? Did Mahathir appear to be advocating specific Islamic values? Did his administration become less corrupted as a result?

While PAS issued a 31-page memorandum on Nov 12, 2003 to outline its Islamic state blueprint and is now having its hands full with damage control, Prime Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has yet attempted to define his nebulous Islam Hadhari. Will Abdullah end up busier than PAS, once he does that?

Ostensibly, Umno's persistent failure to form the state government in Kelantan is the 'raison d'etre' for its push to out-Islamise PAS. Traditionally, Umno's 'one size fits all' policy has not gone down too well with the Kelantanese and had ill-suited Terengganu. In its obsession to suit Kelantan, it has been prepared to change the 'size' without giving an iota of thought as to whether this would affect the other states, particularly Sabah and Sarawak.

Personally, I think that Umno should hold a state referendum in Kelantan and Trengganu to double confirm whether the people there do indeed want an Islamic state for themselves. If the outcome is a resounding 'yes', Umno should well allow these states to determine their own respective version of such a state, in so long as it does not affect national interests and national security.

Why should the government object to a PAS version or insist on an Umno version when the people of Kelantan and Terengganu may well decide that they do not want either, but prefer something in-between?

Nevertheless, the establishment of an Islamic state is neither suitable nor practicable in a plural society. If even a Malay-based political party like Keadilan can dissociate itself from an Islamic state proposal, what more the non-Malays? It is therefore preposterous to assume that all Muslims are in favour of an Islamic state.

An Islamic state will inevitably drive a very deep schism into Malaysia's multi-racial and multi-religious society such that racial integration and patriotism will be seriously undermined and irrevocably thwarted.

In attempting to rewrite the constitution to formally declare Malaysia an Islamic state, Umno's credibility will be destroyed for it then becomes crystal clear that not only does it show no respect for the 1957 Merdeka constitution and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, it does not even honor the 'social contract' on which Malaya gained independence.

An Islamic state will, no doubt, spell the death-knell for all non-Malay component parties within the ruling coalition. It would be preposterous for Umno to assume that non-Malays will continue to support them under the circumstances.

In its attempt to out-Islamise PAS, the Barisan Nasional may well end up losing its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time in history. And who would be the ultimate beneficiary of such a calamity, if not the DAP?