Not possible for Malaysia to become a secular nation, says Asyraf Wajdi
Published on: Thursday, November 23, 2023
By: ber
Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said Umno had struggled to place Islam as the official religion in the Federal Constitution.
CHUKAI: It is not possible for Malaysia to become a secular country that separates national and state administrations from Islam, according to Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Asyraf said claims by PAS leaders that the administration of the unity government is heading towards making this country a secular nation is just a lie.
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What’s more, he said, the unity government was formed with Umno and the party’s MPs would of course oppose if the matter was raised, as claimed.
“Umno had struggled to place Islam as the official religion in the Federal Constitution. Malaysia can become a secular country only if two-thirds of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat agree to amend Article 3 of the Federal Constitution.
“Umno members will not be so stupid (as to support the amendment). Similarly, Muslim MPs in PKR will also not be so stupid.
“The same goes to the eight Amanah MPs to defend Islam. We still have faith, we still have Islam in us,” he said while speaking in Kampung Chabang, Kerteh near here last night, in conjunction with the Kemaman by-election.
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Article 3 of the Federal Constitution stipulates that Islam is the official religion of the Federation, but other religions may be practised peacefully in any part of the Federation.
Asyraf said this country also has Malay rulers who have authority as the head of the Islamic religion in their respective states and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the states of Melaka, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territories.
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“If PAS tries to deceive the people that this country wants to become secular, we still have Malay Rulers. So it is not possible for this country to become a secular country,” he said.
The Kemaman by-election is a straight fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Raja Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor and Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar representing PAS.
The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 28 for early voting and Dec 2 for polling day.
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