K Shanmuga, secretary in the legal think tank of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, said the general view appears to be that only Muslims can make policy.

He said a draft constitution for an Islamic state found on the Internet stated that non-Muslims in the governing body (a Cabinet, legislative assembly or Majlis as-Syura) are only allowed to participate in the execution of the policy and to raise objections on the implementation method.

He also presented excerpts from the draft in the website of an organisation he described as "radical" called Hijb-ut-tahrir.

During a presentation at a recent seminar, Shanmuga noted that although the draft was an extreme version, the "underlying philosophy appeared to be essentially similar to those of other more moderate commentators".