The government has banned the public and media from raising sensitive issues but not interfaith dialogues, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the Dewan Rakyat today.

In a written reply to Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor), he said the ban was aimed at maintaining racial unity and harmony among the diverse races in the country.

He said the decision was taken after certain quarters had raised sensitive issues especially related to religion, resulting in controversies and discomfort among the people of different beliefs.

"Raising sensitive issues is forbidden and should not be equated with prohibiting people from engaging in inter-religious dialogue, which is encouraged at various levels," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Lim had asked why the government encouraged freedom of religion and interfaith dialogue on the international level but prohibited the people, including issuing warnings to the media, from touching on religious issues.

Abdullah said he often stressed the importance of the spirit of consensus among Malaysians of various ethnic races and religions, and he himself often held dialogues with various religious groups from time to time.

Various channels

The premier said from the aspect of raising religious understanding in the country, most Malaysians were more keen on efforts to hold dialogues between religions from time to time at various levels.

"We found that there are various channels for the community of various religions to discuss and exchange views.

"As such, efforts to organise such dialogues will continue to be promoted and the government will encourage Islamic scholars from Jakim and Ikim to be involved," he added

He said besides the religious committee under the Working Group Advisory Panel on Unity, the Department of National Unity and National Integration will also be holding dialogues among the religions to promote harmony among the people.

The issues focused in the dialogues included social problems such as crime prevention and drug abuse, which required the cooperation from the people of various religions, he said.

The government's ban followed strong protest from the Muslim community to Article 11, a coalition comprising 13 activist groups with a declared mission of upholding constitutional rights of all citizens.

However, Muslim groups condemned the coalition for touching on sensitive matters such as apostasy in Islam.