Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad today defended his declaration that Malaysia is an "Islamic state", despite fierce criticism from a Chinese-based opposition party, Catholics and hardline Muslims.

Mahathir told a seminar that Malaysia, where Muslims make up just 60 percent of the population, was a model for other Islamic nations and had a responsibility to portray the religion as tolerant and moderate.

"Even if it's not stated that Malaysia is an Islamic state in the constitution, the fact is that the world accepts, we accept that Malaysia is an Islamic country," Mahathir said.

He accused the hardline Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) of trying to whip up controversy over the issue for political gain.

Seditious

The DAP has launched a campaign against the Islamic state declaration, which was first made in September last year, and party leaders have been arrested under the Sedition Act on several occasions for handing out leaflets criticising Mahathir

The DAP says Malaysia's constitution defines it as a secular state with Islam as the official religion, and calling it an "Islamic state" could make non-Muslims second-class citizens.

But Mahathir said today: "There are no controversies when I declare that Malaysia is an Islamic state. We don't want to change anything... there have been no changes in law."

He admitted that he made the declaration partly to take the wind out of the sails of hardline Islamists in PAS, which has the declared aim of setting up a theocratic Islamic state if it comes to power.

"I have just declared what is already a fact. Because PAS played up this issue, we have to explain that we are already an Islamic state, (so) there is no need to want to set up an Islamic state," he said.

'Instant noodles'

PAS has scorned his declaration, saying it made Malaysia "an instant Islamic state, like instant noodles".

But last month the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia issued a rare press statement to express "alarm and concern" over Mahathir's declaration.

"We call upon all Malaysians, Muslims and members of other faiths, to resist all attempts to change the secular nature of our constitution," the bishops said.

Assurances that the constitution would not be changed did not offer a sufficient guarantee that Malaysia would not degenerate into "the intolerant Islamic model", they said.

Christians make up nine percent of the country's 23 million people, Buddhists 19 percent and Hindus six percent. AFP