Malaysia not secular state, gov’t says
By Ram Anand
posted from Taipei, Taiwan
Jun 17, 2014
PARLIAMENT The government has stressed that Malaysia is not a secular state due to the special position of Islam in the framework of the federal constitution.
Article 3(1) and 50.4 percent of the 30 million population in Malaysia being Muslim do not make the Federation an Islamic state.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said so in a written answer to Oscar Ling Chai Yew (DAP-Sibu) in Parliament last week.
Jamil Khir also stressed that the constitution does not provide for the civil court to have jurisdiction over matters under the purview of the Syariah Court.
“Regarding the question as to whether Malaysia is a secular state or an Islamic country, it is stressed here that Malaysia is not a secular country,” Jamil Khir said in his answer.
He said that this was based on “history” where Malaysia was established based an Islamic sultanate government and Malay sultans are heads of Islam for the respective states.
“This is further strenghtened by Article 3 of the federal constitution, which clearly states that Islam is the religion for the federation,” Jamil Khir further said.
Jamir Khir said that secular countries do not have a religion as the country’s religion.
Ling had asked Jamil Khir about the implementation of hudud and and whether Malaysia is a secular or Islamic state.
However, Jamil Khir stressed that the government is still studying the feasibility of implementing hudud in Malaysia.
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
If Malaysia is a secular state, who pays for the gigantic national mosque in the Capital?
Malaysia has a secular constitution. Unlike Pakistan, it does not have an Islamic constitution. So it is not an Islamic state. It must then be a failed state. –Din Merican
If not a secular state, it must be a ‘ peculiar’ state then ? Yes, article 3 ” Islam is the religion of the Federation ” by which Govt has allocated funds for the Syariah Court and all the Administrative apparatus/appendages – it also states to the effect that people of other religion/s may practice their own religion. Since it is stated in the Constitution, so YB Jamil Khir has to push for allocations to build temples, churches and prayer houses with all the administrative apparatus attached : Ultimately each one of them will have their own respective Enforcement units to ensure compliance. Good for Malaysia to be on this merry-go-round…..?
All countries must be secular.
Religions are all alike – based on fables & mythology (Thomas Jefferson)
Look at the Roman Christian Empire.
Look at the Arab Spring. Look at Middle East today, war torn, sectarian violence.
Al Qaeda, Sayyaf, ISIL etc are all involved in violence and killings.
Whoever has more military might is the boss!!! Not religious leadership
Deriving power from God? God has NOT acknowledged them!!!
It is a one sided claim!!!
What good is religion?
When a country is Christian, it will discriminate all the other religions & vice versa.
I believe in God but I don’t believe in religion
Read the atrocities committed by Christianity & Islam.
Voltaire said Christianity is the most ridiculous and most bloody religion that infected the world.
Islam is not about Peace. Islam was born out of violence.
Its founding fathers were violent and cruel.
Islam attacked, invaded and conquered the Christin Byzantine Empire, Central Asia, North Africa and even Europe (Spain)
Islam had killed millions during its conquests & imperialism.
Religion is a big con. Religion is NOT the solution to our problems in this world
These UNNO Melayus are cheats and thieves hijackcking the rights of the non-Malays be deceit and twisted logic. Only civil societies protests and mobilisation of civil disobedience can restore the original version. Let us take the issue to British Courts and ask Britain to intervene. Failing which mount a international boycott of Investments.
Abnizar, yes, indeed. But we are advancing rapidly towards a failed state. That fellow Kedahan who is a Minister does not understand our constitution which is written in English and does not read history.–Din Merican
Dino, you are right, we are rapidly heading towards a failed state. We are almost coming close to the edge of the cliff. We have sub-standard politicians heading the various ministries. How sad and the frustration is that many in the country do not even realise the rapid slide in our social and political lives.
I second Robert – countries should not mix religion with politics. Most of the ills that are inflicted upon this earth emanate from the religions of the desert tribes – the Abrahamic religions. It is incomprehensible that otherwise intelligent people are reduced to superstitious and foolish people when it comes to religion. Witness the shenanigans going on at the City Harvest Church in Singapore.
Just look at the progress, or rather the lack thereof, of all those “religious” states and non-secular states.
Robert Chelliah, don’t think too highly about what the British can do for Malaysia. It is all about politics, what’s in it for Britain and the British government. Neither will the international community. There are too many other hotspots around the world for Malaysia to compete for global attention. Only Malaysians can change what is happening to their country … but I supposed a vast majority will be more interested in watching the World Cup these few weeks and then move on to other stuff like … lepak at mamak stalls and gripe about the problems with Malaysia.
If Malaysia is to change for the better for its rakyat, it is the moderate Malays who have to stand up and stand out to make themselves heard LOUD and CLEAR across the country, not the Chinese or Indians or Ibans or Kadazans and others. Alas, there are too few moderate Malays with the courage to do so … perhaps, Din can tell us why?
Our entire cabinet, including the head, is made up of idiots and morons. So, isn’t it logical that they don’t understand the Constitution, economics (but they learnt well the art of corruption) or anything a 6 year child knows?? Let the Govt implement hudud and then let’s see what happens when foreign investments drop, tourism drops and our economy drops. We are going to b a nation with a high population of limb-less people. And I wonder who is going to take care and feed them!!!
IF A PERSON HAS A RELIGION, HE WILL UNDERSTAND THAT ALL RELIGION GUIDE US TO LIVE IN PEACE. WHAT THE GOVT OF MALAYSIA IS DOING IS THE OPPOSITE.
Din,
So what! UMNoites would always say whatever they want so long that they can get support. And the felda folks are supporting in a big way. Worst still we have cina langs who refuse to come back to vote for Dyana. Poor Dyana got to play the dancing games because of the ignorant folks
The,
City Harvest hah………I prefer the other one……The one led by one pastor who called prince…..which is true since he used to be a sikh…….singh is king la dey
Robert Cheliah,
You want Raja Petra Kamaruddin to lead the civil call? Izzit?
Robert,
Okay we should ressurect Napoleon Bonaparte and Ataturk. Ataturk has completely destroyed islamist in Turkey. Whether Abnizar like it or not
Malaysia, the Bolehland, is a state controlled by UMNO Baru adherents who worship money.
Politicians love to use race and religion to divide and control the people, and unfortunately many are naive, ignorant and/or over sensitive, and allow the politicians to use and play them like a tool. This country has already turned into a failed state, with a non-functional and weak leader, The people are easily manipulated as education are intentionally made bias and flaw, with ill informed information.
What can you expect from a third-rate ustaz who would, in the days of yore, be a lowly-paid guru ugama at a sekolah pondok in an obscure corner of the country?
As my son like to say, these so-called holier-than-thou officials who infested the religious departments are nothing but failures who cannot make it good in “secular” schools so they opted for agama schools, instead.
The fact that Jamil anak Khir was commissioned as an officer in KAGAT (Kor Agama Angkatan Tentera) was an honour into itself.
Jamil should have just remained what he is – a simple ustaz with little or no pretensions. It would have made him a more respected individual than someone as egoistic as the village bully from Bagan Datoh who goes by the name of Zahid Hamidi.
Is Malaysia not already a failed state ? I thought we already are. Everywhere I go other nationalities asked me nothing except whatever happened to MH 370 and how bad our government has handled this tragic affair. It’s shameful !!!
Raja Petra is a unreliable traitor. He is more Malay than Perkasa . He graced the Perkasa event in UK with his presence.
Muthu
yes Change has to come form within but there are no relevant human resources committed to bring about change. Tribal and religious loyalty of the Malays ,including moderate Malays , will take precedence over political ideology. UMNOMelayus will see to it. The Malays as beneficiaries will not be fired up to bring about change. It the “predatangs” who will be alienated and pushed further out. The British may not be interested in intervention, but they would be called upon to revisit and reaffirm the original intentions,
Tok Cik, best wishes from Taipei. We are blessed with the corrupt and the incompetents at top. When the head is rotten, the body stinks. Malaysia needs change of leadership. Unfortunately , we cannot do it. Members of UMNO can do so. The question is will they do it .–Din Merican
The 1PM hardly shows up in Parliament :
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/06/17/najib-goes-missing-from-parliament/
Is our government apparatus unco-ordinated or even on autopilot ?
The British would have given the country back to the sultans after they left. But knowing the history of the “ketuanan Melayu” mess in destroying the country and the Malay race, the British were wise not to adopt the “ketuanan Melayu” type of administration for Malaysia. If Malaysia were an Islamic state, the non-Malays would have no part in any aspect of the country.
I have no problems The Lord. It is the priest that I have difficulty.
Does this Minister know what he’s talking about, so idiotic.
Not enough for the Tycoon Vincent Tan to have got the Gaming licence, ENE bhd, sports toto Licence through the intermediary of the korek-kore lawyer , through the Sec Gen, for MM’s approval, NOW we see he’s trying to get a Gambling Casino on top of Berjaya hill in Pahang ?
Only a token or nominal ‘appearance ‘ of being a philantrophist, a ‘ charitable ‘ man, but the money minting is ‘ hidden ‘ from view, millions of wretched wage earners, trying to earn some meagre income daily, dirtying their hands in the market place……they are just ‘hoping ‘*ber’angan-angan’ , so go for the ekor number, and the gambling owner makes few hundred millions every other week !
And minister has the gall to say, its not a ‘secular’ state, but a religious or ” Islamic ” state ? – Shish……gaming or gambling licence is the easiest to mint money…….we are all not that clever ?
Tok Cik , I agree with your son. With due respects to those who are sincere seekers of spiritual truth , many so -called religious people are actually not able to compete with others in the other fields in this modern world. So ,they satisfy their own ego by claiming to be more religious than others !!! Some of them just use their religious knowledge to earn their livings but not actually living the knowledge . Some have gone to such an extreme that they want to protect their religions and crazy enough wanting to protect God !!!! We can see so many of them are full of hatred towards others !!!! Of course ,there are aslo true religious teachers with us like Tok Guru Nik Aziz, Dr. Asri and many others .
Right, Abnizar, we are a peculiar state, copying Western-style democracy leads to chaos and disaster!
http://right-waystan.blogspot.com/2014/06/peoples-daily-warns-copying-western.html
A failed state, copying Western-style democracy or Islamic-style sates leads to chaos and disaster!
Who are the guardians of our Constitution? In an enlightened nation state the citizens themselves are. In interpreting this it would be natural for the judiciary (as the upholders of the Law of The Land) to step in where such instances of clear transgressions are being committed. Lately we have seen the IGP, the JAIS / MAIS, and this Minister deliberately undermining our Constitution. Isn’t it time for the Federal Court to step in by its own volition (suo motu ) to uphold our Constitution? By doing so our Judges will be doing what they are supposed to do without fear or favour and I am pretty sure the majority “rakyat” will support them.
I don’t know what’s the fuss of whether we are a secular or Islamic state. What’s the big deal whether we are or not? We are already screwed. So does it really matter whether we are a secular or Islamic state? Honestly, look around us , everything from the judiciary, public administration, education, race relations to the economy …everything is either falling apart or have already hit rock bottom.
So, calm down people. There is no need to start foaming at the mouth. We are a 3rd world country.
The problem, like Mariam Mokthar has rightly explained sometime ago, lies with the Malays themselves. They are the ones who can undo the harms brought about by their own people on their own kind.
To the Malays anything to do with Islam or anything that affects the sanctity of their race and that of the royalty must be treated with respect. They care little if their leaders are corrupt or are despotic. So long as they are of their kind and practise their belief, it’s perfectly okay.
That’s why they condone the sins of their leaders and rulers to a point of no return.
It’s against this backdrop that morons like Jamil Khir, Zahid Hamidi, Ibrahim Ali and their likes thrive and continue to thrive in spite of the many criticisms heaped on them.
Look at Jibby, after maintaining his elegance silence for so long only now he has some guts to tell Mais and Jais to respect the decision of the AG, who himself is a slimy idiot of the third order.
I am at lost as to what to say and do. May be a short respite in Xanadu, like Pak Din is doing, will do some good to my sanity.
The Kedahan Minister looks, thinks and behaves like a primate. At least a primate can be trained to pluck coconuts or perform tricks in a circus but this ignoramus who understands no English is untrainable.
You think UMNO Baru members will want to change the present system? Go dream on Dato… it should be the likes of you and the educated liberal Malays who should lead but sadly everyone is too busy worried about their golf swings…. sorry I sound so bitter but I blame this group of Malays being indifferent and being silent about the abuses, correct me if I am wrong…
Muslim parents in Malaysia should be concerned about this:
Protecting their impressionable children (especially teenagers)
against extremism in religion.
We read these days about jihadis from Malaysia fighting in the
Syrian and Iraqi civil wars.This is worrisome as the jihadis may
continue to engage in extremist activities after coming home.
In short
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Again this song from a magyar chick………Okay, she is a dutch national. I have been associated with dutch company for nong nong time……which company hah? Ask the Lupus………Hahahahaha
P.S : I stand by my comment that Mariska and Kamsiah kinda look alike. Mariska sung many many beautiful songs
Sorry Looes, you lose this time. Not even close. Dr. Kam much more beautiful both in real life as well as in the photos.
In a secular state, no faith based politicians should be allowed to force their views on the Malaysian public.
One do not mind the taxpayers money for religious programs to produce good, decent and productive citizens to contribute and repay society. But not producing hypocrite and a liability to society.
THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO CAN’T GET THIS STRAIGHT. SECULARITY IS NOT COMPLETE SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND STATE. IT JUST MEANS THAT RELIGION IS NOT THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY. All it means is that REASON is the top authority and religion NOT an excuse. REASON means that when our head tells us something is right, religion can have no say no matter what the text says. It does not mean no religion when there is no reason not to or reason fails.