DAP has commended Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for publicly abandoning the assimilation policy in favour of racial integration as the building block for a plural society.

Its chairperson Lim Kit Siang also praised him for having the "courage of publicly admitting such a change of mind and policy about a decade ago".

"The DAP can feel proud that we had succeeded against great odds to stop and change the Malaysian nation-building policy from one of assimilation to that of integration," Lim said in a statement today.

"(This is after) we had fought many battles and campaigns from the 60s to the 80s like the 'No to One Language, One Culture, One Religion' campaign highlighted by the Kepayang by-election in Ipoh in 1983 and the 'Save Bukit China Campaign' in 1984."

Can be stopped

He said Mahathir's assurance of racial integration is the strongest evidence yet, that the implementation of the Islamic state can be stopped if Malaysians voiced their views through the ballot box.

Lim was commenting on Mahathir's off-the-cuff opening speech at Gerakan's 32 nd national delegates conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Yesterday, Mahathir, citing the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and repeated his message that the people should uphold and enhance the original nation-building formula.

He said the Barisan Nasional government was not keen on assimilation in a plural society and was more interested in their integration.

He also said that differences among the various communities should not be an obstacle for citizens to work together and integrate as one Malaysian race.

An inspiration

Commenting further, Lim said the success to face up to such a test of rejecting assimilation and establishing integration should serve as an inspiration where the formula of a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion, instead of an Islamic state, would triumph.

The DAP, he said, fought at least in five general elections before succeeding in its 'integration instead of assimilation' objective, and to hear Mahathir himself publicly admit that assimilation was not a viable option for plural Malaysia.

But now, the party was faced with a daunting task of stopping the implementation of an Islamic state, especially with the general election around the corner, added Lim.

He said the Islamic state policy would be "a tectonic and irreversible shift" that would be totally against the 'social contract' entered upon attaining independence, the 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the 1963 Malaysia Agreement and the 1970 Rukun Negara.

Lim also berated "irresponsible leaders and voices who will try to resort to the politics of fear and falsehoods by claiming that the anti-Islamic state campaign was aimed at pitting Muslims against non-Muslims.