opinion

I note with utter disgust and displeasure that the prime minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has completely run out of ideas to rejuvenate the political process of the nation. Rather cunningly, he waited for the right moment to steal the political thunder from PAS by declaring the county as an Islamic state.

It is not that PAS knows exactly about the notion of an Islamic state, but its recent move to drum support for the Taliban has completely ruined the image of the party among some sections of Malays and non-Malays in the country.

It was not so much that Umno outmanoeuvred PAS on this particular political question, but rather it was the American bombing against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda positions and the larger war against terrorism in general that provided the much-awaited opportunity for Umno to come out with the declaration that Malaysia is after all an Islamic state.

Unable to deal with PAS under normal circumstances, ironically it was the actions of the "Great Satan" that provided the government the means to hijack the concept of Islamic state. The declaration of Malaysia as Islamic state based on particular definitions agreed by some so-called ulama is an affront to the secular nature of Malaysian society now being fast eroded by the opportunistic designs of the ruling coalition.

Serious implications

The declaration of Malaysia as Islamic state by the government has serious implications for the nature of political governance of the country in years to come.

First, it has completely dismissed the necessity to maintain Malaysia as a multi-racial and multi-religious country.

Second, this declaration is nothing but a political opportunism on the part of certain ruling elites to endear themselves to the Malay/Muslim community in Malaysia, although political support is yet to be measured.

Third, while such a declaration or proclamation might temporarily put a damper on PAS, there are grounds to believe that PAS might come up with a more extreme definition of an Islamic state in the near future, a development that might put the ruling coalition on the defensive.

Fourth, the political game on the question of Islamic state between those in power and those in the opposition might sow the seeds of further dissension in society, contributing to the more acute polarisation of the Malaysian society between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Fear and anxiety

The ruling party must bear the responsibility for this announcement. As it is, the actions of the ruling party and the bureaucracy in general have not in any way alleviated the fears of the large sections of the non-Muslim community in Malaysia. A number of developments over the last few decades have caused much anxiety and fear among non-Muslims, reassurances from political leaders have not done any good.

First, construction of places of worship for non-Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others have been prevented or delayed. Alternatively, mosques and suraus have mushroomed across the country in the name of promoting Islam as the religion of the federation. The present proclamation of Malaysia as Islamic state will impose further restrictions on the religious and cultural practices of non-Muslims and promote Islam in a more aggressive manner.

Second, the recent attempt by the Selangor state government to remove a number of Hindu temples goes to show that there is little tolerance for non-Muslim places of worship. Over the years, a number of states have removed or demolished temples and other places of worship on the grounds that they were not properly constructed or did not have the necessary permit or licence.

Third, further Islamisation of the country will mean other forms of control will be imposed on the religious and cultural practices of non-Muslims in general, all in the name of the showing to the Islamic world and to the Muslims in the country that the government is serious about its categorisation of Malaysia as an Islamic state.

The declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic state could have been rescinded had the non-Malay political parties in the Barisan Nasional taken a strong stand.

Gutless parties

But alas, these parties lacking the backbone and independence not only failed to reject the Islamic state idea, but instead went around explaining to their respective constituencies why the prime minister declared it. By doing so, these parties endorsed the prime minister's idea of the Islamic state.

Unfortunately, it is the presence of these parties that have eroded democracy and accountability within the ruling coalition. Over the years, these political parties have become virtual prisoners to the dictates of Umno in general and the prime minister in particular. Most of the time, they uncritically adopt the policies and ideas of Umno without the benefit of scrutiny.

Given this, one really wonders how these political parties that are supposedly representing the non-Muslim constituencies could protect and safeguard the religious and cultural practices of non-Muslims in the country in years to come.

One lone voice

While the adoption of the Islamic state concept by the government was to a large extent determined by the political consideration of the government to dilute the political agenda of PAS, the parties in the opposition with the exception of DAP have not responded in any effective manner. Keadilan and PRM caught in their own politics of survival are hardly in a position to articulate the broader concerns of Malaysians. What is more the necessity for these parties to please the Malay electorate means among other things that they prefer to be silent on issues like the Islamic state.

DAP, unlike the other opposition parties, has taken a very strong stand against the concept of the Islamic state. This was precisely why it left the opposition fold recently. It would not be wrong to state that DAP is the only party in the county that strongly advocates a multi-racial and multi-religious approach to Malaysian politics rather than the narrow sectarian approaches of other political parties both in and outside the government.

Malaysians in general must reject hegemonic approaches to the management of politics. The ruling party cannot and should not be allowed to shift its focus from ethnic to religious issues whenever it likes. This kind of political opportunism and narrow definition and articulation of politics would not be in the interests of Malaysians in general.

Only a secular government, despite its limitations, can guarantee the long-term cultural and religious interests of all Malaysians. Take the case of India which has the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia; one shudders to think the consequences for this community and other minorities if the Hindu majority moves in the direction of the imposition of a Hindu state.

P RAMASAMY is a professor of political economy at the Political Science Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and has academic interests in Malaysian politics and labour. He has written quite extensively and is currently focusing on conflict management in Sri Lanka.