Keep debate on religious issues behind closed door. So said Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein today in the wake of an 'ultimatum' issued by the organisation's Kelana Jaya division to a backbencher for a scathing speech on religion and history.

"On the issue of religion, I have been very consistent ... (it) cannot be discussed outright in public because people do not really understand what is the true intention of such a debate," he told a press conference at the Parliament's lobby this evening.

"It is impossible to explain to everybody, so it is better (for us to discuss it) through the mechanism that we have in Barisan Nasional and within our party system... That has worked very well since independence except for one incident in 1969."

Hishammuddin, who is also the education minister, was asked to comment on the incident in which MCA MP for Kelana Jaya Loh Seng Kok - who spoke on the issue in Parliament two weeks ago - got an unannounced visit from Umno Youth wing members.

On March 15, Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok had complained in the House about the 'imbalance' in the history textbook syllabus, Muslim prayer recital guidelines and the problems faced by non-Muslims in relation to places of worship.

Malaysiakini reported yesterday that Loh received a protest letter from Umno Youth Kelana Jaya division chief Abdul Halim Samad, who was accompanied by 50 others, at the MCA MP's office last Tuesday night.

It was learnt that the Youth wing rejected Loh's proposal to set up a religious development department on the grounds that this would negatively affect the position of Islam as the official religion and that the proposal had hurt the feelings of the Malay Malaysian community.

Close monitoring

Asked whether the Umno Youth's action was an overreaction, Hishammuddin replied: "This is a reaction in any event, whether it is an overreaction or under-reaction. Anything to do with race and religion always caused a reaction.

"I am just happy that this has not gone out of hand and has not caused further reaction from other parties. I am monitoring it closely," he said

Hishammuddin also denied he had endorsed the division's action because there was no party mechanism that required every division to check with the organisation's headquarters. However, he added that he would meet with Abdul Halim soon to get more details on the protest.

He said: "The fact is that it had been done. Whether I endorse it is not going to undo it. Any endorsement on my part as president will need to have the mandate of the whole (Umno Youth) exco, which has not met yet."

Elaborating, he said the controversy could be resolved "without any controversy".

"That can be done and resolved without the public getting to know about it because it is an issue that purely involved (the) Kelana Jaya (division), so we should not turned it into a national issue by discussing it in the media," he said.

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