PM: No change to constitution on religion
Bede Hong and Wong Yeen FernPublished: Aug 27, 2006 11:08 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reaffirmed his position that the clauses regarding religion in the Federal Constitution will not be amended.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reaffirmed his position that the clauses regarding religion in the Federal Constitution will not be amended.
He said that religion is of several "sensitive issues that cannot be breached, and must be dealt with carefully".
Earlier this year, nine non-Muslim cabinet ministers handed a controversial memorandum to Abdullah urging him, among others, to "review Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, which stipulates that civil courts have no jurisdiction over matters relating to Islam, which fall under the purview of the Syariah Court."
Abdullah, during his speech at the MCA general assembly today, has also not moved from his earlier stand since he ordered all discussions on establishing the proposed Inter-Faith Council (IFC) and other religious matters be stopped last month.
"I know we have reached the 49th year of our independence, but there are still certain issues that must be handled with care," he said, identifying these 'issues' as race and religion.
"Even in the most advanced of nations, such as the United States, race and religion still remain sensitive issues," he said.
He said that if the constitution were to be amended, that there would be counter proposals, and the nation would be dragged into the polemics of faith debate.
"To continue discussing such matters would threaten the good we have achieved so far," he felt.
MCA Youth had passed a resolution yesterday urging the government to provide room "for development for other religions, and to allow the non-Islam forums to be continued."
Spirit of give and take
Meanwhile, Abdullah's speech, while addressing a broad range of issues, provided little definitive answers to questions raised by the delegates of the Chinese-based party.
Party members had expected the prime minister to respond to disgruntlement expressed by party members over racial comments by Abdullah's son-in-law, and Umno Youth deputy chief, Khairy Jamaluddin last week.
Abdullah, who is also Umno president, has chosen instead to speak mainly on themes of party unity, teamwork and the spirit of "understanding and give and take".
"Any party infighting shows the failure of leadership in Barisan Nasional. It is of utmost importance that the strength of BN be reflected by role the leaders play," he said to an audience of 1,800 delegates.
Also present were Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik and his deputy Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
Acknowledging MCA's support of Umno, Abdullah said in jest, "What people forgot to mention was that Umno also helped MCA during their internal leadership [in the mid-80s] when [former deputy prime minister] Ghafar Babar had to take over as interim party president.
He expressed thanks to MCA president Ong Ka Ting for his pledge of support, which received a thundering applause from the floor.
"There is no other alternative than Barisan Nasional to lead our country. It is only through the spirit of muafakat (consensus) that we are able to do this," he said.
"From time to time, there would appear a variety of issues in regards to culture, party politics or whatever it may be. The one thing that I clearly see that took us through these times is the value of empathy (bertimbang rasa).
"There is a Malay proverb, banyak udang, banyak garam; banyak orang, banyak ragam. (The more people there are, the more idiosyncrasies will follow). There are so many opinions," he said.
He said it was not an easy thing to form a government "like ours, which has the spirit of cooperation, and consistently focus on what is important", adding that such give-and-take spirit is the political reality of Malaysia.
Khairy will need to answer
On the issue of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) which was raised by MCA president himself, Ong Ka Ting, Abdullah launched into a parable of a Malay landowner who went into business with a Chinese in a small village.
"We have people in the same kampung who are willing to work hard and willing to do business together. A Malay person with land see a shopkeeper and [the latter] says to him, I have money, let us expand this land," he said.
Abdullah later promised to instruct the Bank Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana Malaysia Berhad, also known as SME Bank, to provide "loans to qualified entrepreneurs of all races".
"I would like to tell everyone that the matters (raised by MCA members) have been brought forward to the cabinet by Ong Ka Ting and witnessed by everyone, like Samy Vellu. It is open and not hidden," said Abdullah.
On crime, one of the hot topics of the general assembly, Abdullah said that citizens should do more themselves and participate in programmes such as Rakan Cop.
"Civilians should not keep to themselves when it comes to crime and national security. The most important is that we continue to have programmes such as Rakan Cop," he said.
Later at the press conference, Abdullah appeared to have washed his hands off the Khairy controversy when asked by reporters on what his comments were on the matter.
"This is a statement that Khairy made. I am not sure exactly what he said, but this is something which Khairy himself has to respond to, and has already responded," he said.
"The only thing I told him was that if the matter was raised, and if people wanted an explanation and are urging so, he would have to answer," he said.
He added it was necessary for leaders to be mindful of their words: "We are in a multi-racial society. Some comments may be misconstrued as being offensive."
He said that religion is of several "sensitive issues that cannot be breached, and must be dealt with carefully".
Earlier this year, nine non-Muslim cabinet ministers handed a controversial memorandum to Abdullah urging him, among others, to "review Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, which stipulates that civil courts have no jurisdiction over matters relating to Islam, which fall under the purview of the Syariah Court."
Abdullah, during his speech at the MCA general assembly today, has also not moved from his earlier stand since he ordered all discussions on establishing the proposed Inter-Faith Council (IFC) and other religious matters be stopped last month.
"I know we have reached the 49th year of our independence, but there are still certain issues that must be handled with care," he said, identifying these 'issues' as race and religion.
"Even in the most advanced of nations, such as the United States, race and religion still remain sensitive issues," he said.
He said that if the constitution were to be amended, that there would be counter proposals, and the nation would be dragged into the polemics of faith debate.
"To continue discussing such matters would threaten the good we have achieved so far," he felt.
MCA Youth had passed a resolution yesterday urging the government to provide room "for development for other religions, and to allow the non-Islam forums to be continued."
Spirit of give and take
Meanwhile, Abdullah's speech, while addressing a broad range of issues, provided little definitive answers to questions raised by the delegates of the Chinese-based party.
Party members had expected the prime minister to respond to disgruntlement expressed by party members over racial comments by Abdullah's son-in-law, and Umno Youth deputy chief, Khairy Jamaluddin last week.
Abdullah, who is also Umno president, has chosen instead to speak mainly on themes of party unity, teamwork and the spirit of "understanding and give and take".
"Any party infighting shows the failure of leadership in Barisan Nasional. It is of utmost importance that the strength of BN be reflected by role the leaders play," he said to an audience of 1,800 delegates.
Also present were Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik and his deputy Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
Acknowledging MCA's support of Umno, Abdullah said in jest, "What people forgot to mention was that Umno also helped MCA during their internal leadership [in the mid-80s] when [former deputy prime minister] Ghafar Babar had to take over as interim party president.
He expressed thanks to MCA president Ong Ka Ting for his pledge of support, which received a thundering applause from the floor.
"There is no other alternative than Barisan Nasional to lead our country. It is only through the spirit of muafakat (consensus) that we are able to do this," he said.
"From time to time, there would appear a variety of issues in regards to culture, party politics or whatever it may be. The one thing that I clearly see that took us through these times is the value of empathy (bertimbang rasa).
"There is a Malay proverb, banyak udang, banyak garam; banyak orang, banyak ragam. (The more people there are, the more idiosyncrasies will follow). There are so many opinions," he said.
He said it was not an easy thing to form a government "like ours, which has the spirit of cooperation, and consistently focus on what is important", adding that such give-and-take spirit is the political reality of Malaysia.
Khairy will need to answer
On the issue of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) which was raised by MCA president himself, Ong Ka Ting, Abdullah launched into a parable of a Malay landowner who went into business with a Chinese in a small village.
"We have people in the same kampung who are willing to work hard and willing to do business together. A Malay person with land see a shopkeeper and [the latter] says to him, I have money, let us expand this land," he said.
Abdullah later promised to instruct the Bank Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana Malaysia Berhad, also known as SME Bank, to provide "loans to qualified entrepreneurs of all races".
"I would like to tell everyone that the matters (raised by MCA members) have been brought forward to the cabinet by Ong Ka Ting and witnessed by everyone, like Samy Vellu. It is open and not hidden," said Abdullah.
On crime, one of the hot topics of the general assembly, Abdullah said that citizens should do more themselves and participate in programmes such as Rakan Cop.
"Civilians should not keep to themselves when it comes to crime and national security. The most important is that we continue to have programmes such as Rakan Cop," he said.
Later at the press conference, Abdullah appeared to have washed his hands off the Khairy controversy when asked by reporters on what his comments were on the matter.
"This is a statement that Khairy made. I am not sure exactly what he said, but this is something which Khairy himself has to respond to, and has already responded," he said.
"The only thing I told him was that if the matter was raised, and if people wanted an explanation and are urging so, he would have to answer," he said.
He added it was necessary for leaders to be mindful of their words: "We are in a multi-racial society. Some comments may be misconstrued as being offensive."
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