Speaking at a press conference at the PAS muktamar (annual general meeting) last weekend, the party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Mat, asserted that Malaysia is not a secular country but Islamic.

Tuan Ibrahim was responding to Kepong DAP MP Lim Lip Eng who had suggested that PAS accept Malaysia as a secular country if it wishes to win non-Malay voters to its side.

Tuan Ibrahim said that Islam is the official religion of the federation, thus, implying Malaysia is an Islamic nation.

Like many others who claim that Malaysia is an Islamic country, Tuan Ibrahim’s belief is also based on the federal constitution which clearly states that Islam is the official religion, the Malay language is the official language, Malay culture is the national culture and the Malays enjoy certain special privileges.

Based on this clearly stated position of the Malays in the federal constitution, and by the fact that they form the majority race in the country, it is correct to say that Malaysia is an Islamic country.

However, drawing the conclusion that Malaysia is an Islamic nation, it must be stressed that by “Islamic”, the federal constitution means “Islamic” in character.

If PAS regards Malaysia as an Islamic nation in character, espousing Muslim values in the administration of government, non-Malays would have no issue with it — as long as non-Malay interests and sensitivities are respected.

But, if PAS uses the same texts in the federal constitution to slippery slide to the conclusion that Malaysia is to be governed by an Islamic form of government, that would be an illogically derived conclusion and unconstitutional. Non-Malays would reject it outright.

Nowhere in the federal constitution is Malaysia described as having an Islamic form of government. (Please correct me if I am wrong.) If our founding fathers wanted an Islamic form of government, it would have been clearly stated in the federal constitution. It is not, because there were significant non-Muslim communities in Malaya at that time like the Chinese, Orang Asli and Indians. Since the formation of Malaysia, these communities now include the Christian bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak and all these communities would find an Islamic form of government totally unacceptable.

By stating that there is freedom of religions, the federal constitution recognises the rights of non-Muslims and an Islamic form of government would be untenable if those rights are to be accepted and respected.

So, PAS must make that distinction between a government that is Islamic in character and one that is an Islamic state. Without making this distinction, PAS would not be showing its sincerity to abide by the constitution and respect the rights of the non-Malays. It would, in fact, be attaching its own interpretation to the federal constitution to justify its long-held desire to form an Islamic state.

Not only the non-Malays but Malays themselves would not want an Islamic form of government while they may have no issue with a government that is Islamic in character. As such, when voters — Malays and non-Malays — realise that PAS does not make that distinction, it is very likely that PAS will begin to lose support and it is very unlikely that PAS will be able to form the next government.

PAS must also show that it will consider non-Malay interests by seeking to understand the latter’s point of view and not insist on its own.

For example, the “kafir” issue. Tuan Ibrahim explained that the word comes from the Arabic word “kafarah”, which means concealing the truth, and that non-Muslims conceal the truth, which means “they are unable to see the truth in Islam”.

That is his view, but he failed to explain that the usage of the term has made it derogatory and a slight to non-Muslims when they are referred to as “kafir”. If PAS is serious about respecting the rights and feelings of non-Muslims, it should stop using words considered derogatory to non-Muslims.

If PAS doesn’t consider non-Muslim concerns and insists on imposing its views on us, even when it is hurtful, PAS will never get the support of non-Muslim voters nor of the more open-minded Muslim voters who see this as a form of injustice.

This would mean that PAS would be unable to form the next government despite being the leading Malay-based party in the country. In fact, without non-Malay support, even PAS voters will realise the party will be unable to form a government and will gradually withdraw their support.