News from Malaysia went back and front between startling disregard of the rights of religious minority and positive voices of ministers promoting both the rights of religious minorities as well as more unity and a call for advancement in the Muslim world. One of the latest issues was statement of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak that Malaysia was an Islamic state. It aroused many secularists and heated up a strong debate, which now has been silenced in the Media by the government.

Activists as well as government leaders reprimanded the Deputy Prime Minister as they saw Malaysia's secularism as one of the cornerstones since the independence in 1957. Others said that it has always known Islam as its official religion, at least culturally. The debate was smeared out all over the media.

Eventually the Internal Security Ministry issued a directive to stop reporting on the matter. Not to silence the opposition, but to prevent it to escalate and become a destabilizing event, as the issue is considered too sensitive. The media has thus been asked only to publish statements done by the Prime minister and his deputy.

The opposition was infuriated and according to AP called it the "gravest blow to press freedom" since Abdullah became the prime minister. Some argued this is a slippery slope towards dangerous authoritarianism.

But the state officials say that the debate will never end and that it should be silenced to preserve "peace and harmony".

The less controllable blogs scattered all over the internet meanwhile prove that the issue is indeed sensitive and the discussion far from finished.

Summary: Yunus – 23/07/2007
The original article:
http://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=25724