Khoo Kay Peng's letter, regrettably, has again failed to address the fundamental questions surrounding the Islamic state debate.

Let me remind Khoo that the call to defend the secular nature of our polity is not made by DAP alone. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS), which represents the religious concerns of 42 percent of the country's population who are non-Muslims, have urged the federal and all state governments to recognise Malaysia's secular character, a fact Khoo has obviously chosen to ignore in his arguments.

Let me further refresh Khoo's memory that before Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Islamic state declaration on Sept 29, 2001, voices calling for the setting up of an Islamic state were merely at the peripheral and the secular nature of Malaysian polity was never in doubt. Even in publications by Ikim and Jakim on Islam and Islam-related matters, Malaysia was never described as an Islamic state. But overnight, with the 9/29 declaration, such voices advocating an Islamic state have increasingly taken centre-stage.

Sure, even before the 9/29 declaration, which was premised upon the arguments contained in the 'Penjelasan Mengenai Malaysia Sebagai Sebuah Negara Islam' booklet published by the Information Ministry subsequently (later withdrawn after strong protests against its contents), the

Islamisation process which Khoo referred to had already begun. But in spite of this, there was generally no dispute about the secular nature of Malaysia.

Granted, there are differences between the terms 'Islamic state' and 'Islamic country'. However, we have to bear in mind that words do define reality and once the declaration has been accepted, the political machinery will be reconfigured to be in line with the new perception. Rhetoric might

become reality. There is no sufficient assurance that the present status quo would remain the same and that non-Muslims would not be discriminated against in future.

As it is now, we already have a bumiputera/non-bumiputera divide. The acceptance of Malaysia as an Islamic state or Islamic country ('negara Islam') will unnecessarily result in another divide, ie Islamic/non-Islamic. Let us honestly ask ourselves whether such a dichotomy is helpful in our nation-building efforts and particularly, in fostering a truly united Bangsa Malaysia.

That is the reason why for a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Malaysia, where there is a sizeable non-Muslim population, an Islamic state is not practicable. In light of present developments, it is imperative that we should all the more remember and reaffirm the sacred 1957 social contract agreed by our nation's founding fathers of different races and religions on the type of constitution the country shall be governed by, which is essentially secular.

My question to Khoo again is simply this: Can he and his party Gerakan deny that their endorsement of the 9/29 declaration is not tantamount to abandoning and repudiating the entire corpus of our nation's historical documents and various landmark judicial decisions attesting to the fact that Malaysia is constitutionally a secular state although Islam is the official religion? Unless they are prepared to address the core issue squarely in the face, I see no point in prolonging this debate.