A special debate on the issue of Islamic state should be held in the parliament session which begins next week, said DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang today, echoing opposition leader Fadzil Noor's call yesterday.

"The debate will allow the voices of all Malaysians to be heard on whether this country should remain a secular state or become an Islamic state a la Umno or a la PAS," said the veteran politician in a statement.

He said that the proposed debate would enable the parliamentarians to represent the views of a cross-section of the society, adding that the Islamic state affair is not the sole concern of Umno and PAS.

"It is the right and concern of all political parties and all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and political affiliation," added the former opposition leader.

"At the debate, the MCA and Gerakan leaders must also explain why they had given unthinking support to the concept of Malaysia as an Islamic state a la Umno."

Fishing for votes

Fadzil, who is also the PAS president, said yesterday that the country should be officially proclaimed in parliament as an Islamic state, adding that the proclamation will allow all members of parliament to debate on the issue.

He was responding to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that Malaysia was already an Islamic state and that PAS' call to set up such a state was just to fish for votes.

The whole controversy started when PAS announced its intentions to set up an Islamic state if Barisan Alternatif came to power. Its then BA ally, the Chinese-based DAP strongly opposed to PAS' ambition and left the front on Sept 22 after failing to arrive at a compromise with PAS.

Umno, led by its president Mahathir, argued that PAS' concept of Islamic state was unclear, adding that Malaysia was already an Islamic state in line with the teachings of Islam under Umno.

Mahathir first said this at the Umno annual general assembly in June and repeated the statement at the Gerakan annual delegates conference last Saturday.

"Umno wants to say clearly that Malaysia is an Islamic country. This is based on the opinion of ulamas who had clarified what constituted an Islamic country," Mahathir had said.

Free to interpret

"If Umno says that Malaysia is an Islamic country, it is because in an Islamic country non-Muslims have specific rights," he said, adding that if non-Muslims assume that the country was a secular country, that was their interpretation and they were free to do so.

Meanwhile, Lim also took to task the Gerakan president and Primary Industries Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik for "applauding and supporting" Mahathir's statement on the present a la Umno Islamic state set up when he (Keng Yaik) had campaigned against such a state in the recently held Sarawak state election.

"He owes the nation a proper explanation as to why he had campaigned only last week calling on Sarawakians to reject an Islamic state by voting against the opposition," said Lim.