Umno's newly elected deputy permanent chairperson Badruddin Amiruldin has been told by Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang that Umno's three past presidents and former prime ministers were pro-democracy and had always defended Malaysia's secular state status.

Lim urged Badruddin to "honour the memory and legacy of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn who had publicly defended Malaysia as a secular democracy with Islam as the official religion but not an Islamic State".

He accused Badruddin of making irresponsible attempts to "snuff out legitimate democratic expressions by creating new sensitive and 'seditious' issues that could not be raised in the public domain".

"(He) for instance said during the Umno assembly debate yesterday that my open questioning in parliament on the status of Malaysia as an Islamic State was 'intolerable'," said Lim, referring to a Chinese daily report.

Demand arrests?

Badruddin who was elected as the party's deputy permanent chairperson at the Umno's 55th general assembly on Thursday is also the Jerai MP.

Lim, MP since 1969 and had served in parliament with Malaysia's first three prime ministers, took Badruddin to task for condemning his (Lim's) questioning of the country's constitutional status.

Lim, twice detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), also asked whether Umno leaders will demand for the arrests of those who question the party's declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic state.

He further asked if those defending the true meaning of the "merdeka social contract" and the 1957 merdeka (independence) constitution will be arrested and charged with sedition and detained without trial under the ISA.

The DAP stalwart urged Badruddin and other Umno leaders to "do the country greater good" by spending more time "trying to interpret the meaning and implications of the shocking Umno election results " rather than lobbying for the repression of democratic rights.