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PAS
central committee member Mujahid Yusof Rawa has dismissed the
possibility of Christians setting up a Christian state as their
believers consist of only a fraction of the country’s population.
Mujahid pointed out that the latest statistics showed that the Christian population in Malaysia was only about 9.2 percent (or about 2.6 million people).
He added that based on the same statistics, there are more Buddhists in the country than Christians.
“They
should be saying that Buddhists want to create a Buddhist state as they
constitute about 16 percent of the country’s population,” said Mujahid,
the Parit Buntar MP.
“How can only 9.2 percent of the population, a minority group, set up a Christian state? Tell me how in the world this could happen?” he queried.
“There are about 67 percent of Muslims in Malaysia. It is not possible for 9.2 percent of the population to create such a state,” he stressed at the Forum on ‘Masih Relevankah Ketuanan Melayu?’ organised by the Islamic Renaissance Front and Liberty Centre Penang yesterday.
About 40 participants attended the three-hour talk, which included USM lecturer Fadlullah Jamil and Institute Al-Qaiyyim president Abdul Rasyid Idris as panel speakers, and which was moderated by Rizqi Muhkriz.
Recently, former PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa (right) accused
the DAP of planning to set up a Christian state, especially after it
won several more seats in the Sarawak state elections last year.
The DAP has been blamed for bringing politics into the church when its secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng met with Christian leaders, urging them to speak out against injustices.
The DAP has strongly denied the allegations, describing Nasharuddin as an Umno agent, while PAS leaders have distanced themselves from the Bachok MP’s controversial statement.
Meanwhile, Mujahid denied that it was possible to alter the federal constitution or the social contract agreed upon by the country’s forefathers during the advent of Merdeka, 55 years ago.
“Even if any party wins the election with a two-thirds majority, it is not possible to do it. Just like it is not possible to alter America’s Declaration of Independence, whichever party wins,” said Mujahid.
‘New versus old’ politics
In terms of religious freedom, Mujahid assured that non-Muslims have nothing to worry about as their constitutional rights are guaranteed.
Leaders must ensure that as much as a Muslim has the right to pray in the mosque, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus must have the same rights to pray in their places of worship, Mujahid claimed.
“Saying this does not make me less of a Muslim. This is the new politics we are talking about,” said Mujahid (right), reminding the participants of Pakatan’s Rakyat efforts to do away with raced-based politics.
“For the old politics, once they (Umno) feel that they are no longer strong, they use religion and threaten others that the Christians want to set up a Christian state,” he explained.
“But how many Christians are there in Malaysia again? 9.2 percent? I want to learn from the Christians how they want to set up their own state,” he added, drawing laughter from the participants.
Mujahid pointed out that the latest statistics showed that the Christian population in Malaysia was only about 9.2 percent (or about 2.6 million people).
He added that based on the same statistics, there are more Buddhists in the country than Christians.
“They
should be saying that Buddhists want to create a Buddhist state as they
constitute about 16 percent of the country’s population,” said Mujahid,
the Parit Buntar MP.“How can only 9.2 percent of the population, a minority group, set up a Christian state? Tell me how in the world this could happen?” he queried.
“There are about 67 percent of Muslims in Malaysia. It is not possible for 9.2 percent of the population to create such a state,” he stressed at the Forum on ‘Masih Relevankah Ketuanan Melayu?’ organised by the Islamic Renaissance Front and Liberty Centre Penang yesterday.
About 40 participants attended the three-hour talk, which included USM lecturer Fadlullah Jamil and Institute Al-Qaiyyim president Abdul Rasyid Idris as panel speakers, and which was moderated by Rizqi Muhkriz.
Recently, former PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa (right) accused
the DAP of planning to set up a Christian state, especially after it
won several more seats in the Sarawak state elections last year.The DAP has been blamed for bringing politics into the church when its secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng met with Christian leaders, urging them to speak out against injustices.
The DAP has strongly denied the allegations, describing Nasharuddin as an Umno agent, while PAS leaders have distanced themselves from the Bachok MP’s controversial statement.
Meanwhile, Mujahid denied that it was possible to alter the federal constitution or the social contract agreed upon by the country’s forefathers during the advent of Merdeka, 55 years ago.
“Even if any party wins the election with a two-thirds majority, it is not possible to do it. Just like it is not possible to alter America’s Declaration of Independence, whichever party wins,” said Mujahid.
‘New versus old’ politics
In terms of religious freedom, Mujahid assured that non-Muslims have nothing to worry about as their constitutional rights are guaranteed.
Leaders must ensure that as much as a Muslim has the right to pray in the mosque, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus must have the same rights to pray in their places of worship, Mujahid claimed.
“Saying this does not make me less of a Muslim. This is the new politics we are talking about,” said Mujahid (right), reminding the participants of Pakatan’s Rakyat efforts to do away with raced-based politics.“For the old politics, once they (Umno) feel that they are no longer strong, they use religion and threaten others that the Christians want to set up a Christian state,” he explained.
“But how many Christians are there in Malaysia again? 9.2 percent? I want to learn from the Christians how they want to set up their own state,” he added, drawing laughter from the participants.
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