Secularism should be given a second thought in order for Malaysia to thrive and grow.
Speaking at the soft launch of the Wisdom Foundation think-tank, its executive chairman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau said secularism was a dirty word because it means religious freedom and veered close to atheism.
The Parti Upko president said Wisdom – an acronym for workable initiatives for secularism, decentralisation, openness and moderation – wants to champion these ideals as they are the only way to ensure the union between the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak thrives.
“For them, decentralisation is also a dirty word because it weakens the federal government’s control and therefore one step before separatism.
“Openness is a dirty word too, because it means unfettered freedom, it means liberalism, it invites us to think, to ask questions, to seek answers and to question authority.
“They like moderation because it is seen as unquestioning obedience to authority,” he said.
Madius defined secularism as a healthy separation of state and religion, but not atheism.
“Neither does it necessitate keeping religion absolutely out of public life or denying a country’s ties to its religious institutions,” he added.
Madius said that by championing secularism, it was not opposing Islam or challenging the dominance of Muslims.
“We fully support the status of Islam as enshrined in Article 3 of the Federal Constitution, but not beyond,” he added.
He said every religious leader had the right to influence the electorate to adopt the policies they preferred, but no one must be allowed to dictate national policies in the name of God.
“We will ground the debates on secularism on interfaith dialogue and in the Nusantara context, including the discourse of humanitarian Islam spearheaded by Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia,” said Madius.
On decentralisation, Madius said this also means transfer of power from the federal government to states and local authorities.
“We believe that Malaysia must not only hold true to the promises of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) but also go beyond.
“It is ironic to call ourselves a federation when power is more concentrated at the center than unitary states like Indonesia, United Kingdom and Taiwan.
Madius said the debate on federalism must stop being a battle between East and West Malaysia, as if it can lift the status of Sabah and Sarawak.
He added that Wisdom looks forward to engaging with and learning from others in the growing cottage industry of Malaysian think-tanks.
“We are the new kids on the block. We are small. But we will work hard.
“We want a post-pandemic and post-Sheraton Malaysia that is stronger, healthier, smarter, more resilient and more competitive than the one we saw in 2020.
“The year 2021 cannot be just business as usual, or worse a take two of 2020, when politics is all about personality and position, but hardly about policy, and politicians shying away from policy competition on the excuse of no politicking.
“We want a better Malaysia. We will be part of the change we want. And we hope you will join us in this journey,” said Madius. – The Vibes
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