PETALING JAYA: It is irresponsible of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to accuse DAP of pressuring Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim into removing Islam as the official religion of the country, says Anthony Loke.
The DAP secretary-general also described Dr Mahathir’s accusations as baseless, where the nonagenarian allegedly said DAP, with 40 parliamentary seats, is threatening Anwar into making Malaysia a secular country with no official religion.
“I sternly repeat DAP’s stance that all DAP MPs will defend the Federal Constitution, which includes respecting the position of Islam as the religion of the federation and at the same time, other religions can be practised peacefully as enshrined in Article 3(1) of the Constitution,” said Loke.
“DAP has never and will never question the position of Islam as the religion of the federation as stated in the Federal Constitution,” added Loke.
Loke said he was disappointed with Dr Mahathir’s remarks, questioning if the former premier was threatened by the 42 DAP MPs during his tenure between May 2018 and February 2020.
“Has DAP ever retracted support for him or threatened his position?” Loke asked.
Loke said since Malaysia achieved independence, the country was well known for its diverse society living peacefully.
“Did Tun forget about his vision to create a Malaysian race through Wawasan 2020? Why is he taking such a stance of being enemies with other races?” asked Loke.
Loke said DAP will never be enemies of any races and the party will continue serving the county to create a united society based on the principles of Rukun Negara.
“Dr Mahathir doesn’t have to worry. Malaysia will always remain as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) under the unity government,” Loke added.
Dr Mahathir, in a statement on Monday (July 3), said it was unconstitutional to promote a multiracial country, as the Federal Constitution never mentioned that Malaysia was a multiracial country.
“Instead, the Constitution stressed a Malay- Malaysia,” said Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir was responding to Bukit Gelugor Umno information chief Huzaidi Husin’s call for him to stop fanning racial sentiments.
Dr Mahathir then took a further swipe at the current Cabinet line-up.
“Yes, DAP only has four ministers. But within the government, there are 40 DAP MPs. If DAP retracted support, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s government would collapse.
“That is why Anwar has to follow DAP’s manifesto, specifically making multiracial Tanah Melayu and replacing the official religion of Islam with a secular country and a country without an official religion,” added Dr Mahathir.
