The government's decree that Malaysia is an Islamic state was for the benefit of the Malays and should therefore not trouble the ethnic Chinese, said Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi according to reports today.

The minister said the declaration would not point to amending the Federal Constitution, laws, and policies, and the Chinese should not be unduly worried about the Islamic state as advocated by the ruling Barisan Nasional.

"We just want the Malays to understand that we are an Islamic state [and therefore] they need not look for other agendas [of setting up an Islamic state]," said Abdullah in Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh .

Abdullah, who is also the home affairs minister, said the Chinese should instead be more wary of Islamic militant groups who have no qualms about establishing their own Islamic state through violent means.

He added, "There is no such thing as a standard Islamic state in the world which can be the learning model for people."

On Sept 29, Prime Minister and Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that Malaysia was already an Islamic state as acknowledged by the 56-nation Organisation of Islamic Conference or OIC.

Umno had previously criticised its political arch-nemesis PAS for being "extreme and fanatic".

The Muslim opposition party is advocating a theocratic state based on Islamic teachings and laws, including hudud which deals with criminal punishment.

Analysts noted that the Sept 29 declaration indicated that Umno was playing into the hands of PAS to regain support among Malays, a charge the ruling Malay party denies.

The Chinese, who helped substantially in securing the BN its majority in Parliament in the last general elections, have feared losing their rights and freedom under an Islamic state.

Malaysia is a country with a 52 percent majority of Malay-Muslims, while Christianity, Buddhism, Hindu, Sikh and other beliefs are widely practised among the others.

No snap polls

Meanwhile, another report in Nanyang Siang Pau quoted Abdullah as saying the BN would not call for snap polls as the coalition is "back at its peak now".

He said the BN had overcome and recovered from "some problems" in the past few years since the 1999 general elections.

It had been widely speculated that following the recaptured domestic and international support for the government after the Sept 11 attacks, Parliament may be dissolved and the next elections held way before the scheduled 2004.

However, Abdullah who is also Umno deputy president said snap polls are usually called for when there is a crisis within the ruling party.

He said Umno is not facing any internal problems and has helped revive the country's economy.

On the stability of the country, Abdullah said the government had to arrest Islamic militant group members, a decision which he described as "against the wishes of the people but proved to be right later".

People are beginning to realise that sometimes the government may take unpopular approaches to problems but the decisions prove useful eventually, especially in reviving the country's economy and dealing with religious fanaticism, he added.

On a related matter, Abdullah urged the MCA leadership to close ranks and resolve their problems in order not to affect the BN's performance in the next elections.

MCA, the second largest party in the BN with some 900,000 members, witnessed a split among its leaders and members following the party's takeover of two Chinese newspapers in May.

In recent months, the two camps, one led by party president Dr Ling Liong Sik and another by his deputy Lim Ah Lek, crossed swords over several issues, prompting speculation that there will be a vigorous contest at the party's elections next June.