Newly-minted NGO Negara-Ku chairperson Zaid Kamaruddin has challenged Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer Khalif Muammar A Harris to spell out the objectional liberal aspects of the movement.

“The onus is on him to prove which part about us is liberal,” Zaid told Malaysiakini .

Zaid ( right ), who is also Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram) secretary-general, pointed out that the anti-racism movement was based on the federal constitution, the Malaysia Agreement and the Rukunegara.

“As such, I don’t understand why he said we have joined the liberal fight. Is he saying that all those documents are against Islam?” he said.

He however conceded that Khalif might have come to the conclusion due to Negaru-Ku’s association to NGOs such as Seksualiti Merdeka.

“But this is an effort for Malaysia by Malaysians, so anyone is welcome,” he said, adding that Khalif was not careful in making his comment about the new NGO.

Superficial understanding

Khalif in a Facebook post yesterday criticised that the movement’s Muslim members for having joined the “liberal fight of the non-Muslims”

"They think they are fighting for justice, equality, freedom and also believe that Islam, according to their superficial understanding, allows for their efforts," Khalif ( left ) had said.

Zaid meanwhile believes that if Khalif had read the movement’s charter properly, it was clear that “Negara-Ku is about re-establishing unity and mutual understanding among Malaysians".

“I think it’s a good and noble aim,” he stressed.

Negara-Ku, which aims to be a ‘people's movement to reclaim our nation’, was formed on Thursday by former Bersih co-coordinators Ambiga Sreenevasan and A Samad Said.

The coalition, endorsed by 68 other NGOs, was established to battle racism and extremism in Malaysia.