While the recent protest outside a church in Taman Medan may leave many in despair, founding president of the think-tank Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) Tunku ‘Abidin Mukhriz sees a silver lining in the reactions that followed.

Speaking more generally regarding the trends in the nation, he said the mobilisation of moderate groups such as the G25 and the G40 is a cause for optimism, and could galvanise a movement to “heal” the nation.

“I am actually encouraged by what I am reading (after the protest).

“A lot of people have spoken up against it - religious figures, political figures from both sides, and of course civil society activists. I think that is a good sign,” he said last night.

Tunku ‘Abidin ( left ) was speaking to Malaysiakini after giving a talk titled ‘Healing the Nation’ to about 20 students and faculty members at the University of Nottingham Teaching Centre yesterday.

Asked about the protest on Sunday, son of reigning Negri Sembilan ruler Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir said the protesters have no respect for the federal constitution and other human beings.

The 50 protesters had reportedly gathered outside a shoplot that was being used as a church in Taman Medan during its Sunday service, in order to demand the removal of a large cross displayed outside the building.

The church complied with the demand and removed the cross within hours of the protest, but the incident drew widespread condemnation and the state government has advised the church to return the cross to its place.

Meanwhile during his talk, Tunku ‘Abidin emphasised on the importance of understanding the intentions of the founding fathers of Malaysia in drafting the country’s constitution.

He said over the past few years, various groups have played up some provisions in the constitution in order to advance their interests and make claims on for what or whom the constitution is drafted for, but these can be dispelled through a study of the constitution’s historical context.

While acknowledging that there has been major policy changes and government statements since the constitution was drafted - such as the Rukun Negara and Vision 2020 - he said these intentions are still useful as references when discussing Malaysia’s performance as a nation.

“The Tunku (Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman) and other statesman of their era have a clear belief about what the nation is for, and in particular what their offices were for in a way that is harder to detect in politicians today.

“Therefore when we try to define ‘the nation’, it would be good to begin with the nation that our founding fathers intended it to be.

“It is unfortunate that many young citizens - maybe present company excepted - seem to be ignorant of some of those intentions. It is tragic that many of our political leaders seem to be equally ignorant of those intentions, but it is catastrophic that there are constitutional revisionists who seem determined on destroying those intentions,” he said.

To heal the social rifts in Malaysia, Tunku ‘Abidin said there needs to be discussions to reforge a national consensus, and ensure that it is taught in schools and in society.

While it is possible that the outcome is completely different from what the founding fathers had intended such as a theocracy or a socialist state, Tunku ‘Abidin said he believed that Abdul Rahman’s vision would still prevail.