State stand on Asyraf’s remark against atheism, FCAS urges govt
KOTA KINABALU: The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) has joined other right-thinking Malaysians in denouncing the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, for saying that atheism had no place in Malaysia as it went against the constitution.
“We in FCAS wish to register our disapproval in the strongest manner over Dr Asyraf’s dismaying remarks which had clearly undermined the Federal Constitution and caused undue distress to certain sections of our society.
“We strongly urge the government to state its stand on Dr Asyraf’s remark, especially on whether it applies only to the Malays, or even the other communities as well,” urged its president, Tan Sri T. C. Goh.
On Thursday, Dr Asyraf told the Dewan Rakyat that the government is committed to combating atheism, which clearly opposes the Islamic creed and teachings of the Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah.
“Freedom of religion is not freedom from religion. It is unconstitutional to say we can spread ideologies that incite people to leave a religion or profess no religion at all,” DrAsyraf was reported to have said.
In a response issued yesterday, Goh noted that this was the second time that Dr Asyraf had uttered such dismaying remarks based on his own ‘misguided wisdom’ and shallow interpretation of the Federal Constitution and Rukunegara.
Goh observed that Dr Asyraf’s latest remark had again drawn tremendous criticism from many concerned, right-thinking Malaysians, the legal experts included.
“The fact that the Federal Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion and makes no mention of “freedom not to have any religion” does not mean atheism is unconstitutional. When the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, that freedom carries with it the choice to opt out of religion,” Goh argued.
Noting that this was the second time Dr Asyraf had uttered such dismaying remark, Goh said perhaps the time had come for the government to seriously consider replacing Dr Asyraf with someone of better calibre.
“We in FCAS believe that being aware of our government officials’ mistakes, pointing them out, correcting them and even punishing them when necessary, shall be the hallmarks of a good government,” he asserted.
Last month, Dr Asyraf came under rife fire for saying that the Barisan Nasional government is not shirking from its responsibility to make Malaysia an Islamic state.