KUALA LUMPUR – Selangau MP Baru Bian today called for Sarawakian lawmakers to withdraw their support of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after the prime minister’s statements on secularism and liberalism, reported The Borneo Post today.
Baru also urged Sarawak leaders to state a stand to protect constitutional principles and secularism.
“If the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government perseveres to challenge secularism, then all Sarawakian parliamentarians must withdraw support for this PN (Perikatan Nasional) administration, including the GPS parliamentarians without whom Muhyiddin Yassin will surely fall as PM,” Baru was quoted as saying.
He added that Sarawak was a secular state and labelled Muuhyiddin’s statement as “very alarming”.
“Is it the PM’s agenda to change this part of the constitution? Make no mistake about it, Sarawak is a secular state, period,” he was quoted as saying.
Baru claimed that during a November 28 Bersatu meeting, party president Muhyiddin had vowed to fight against secularism and liberalism.
He added that Muhyiddin was quoted as saying that the alliance with PAS and Umno was God’s will.
Baru referred to the Malaysia Agreement 1963, reportedly saying that Sarawak would not have agreed to join the federation 50 years ago if it was an Islamic state.
He also pointed towards a speech made by founding father Tunku Abdul Rahman in Parliament: “I would like to make it clear that this country is not an Islamic State as it is generally understood, we merely provided that Islam shall be the official religion of the State [Hansard, May 1, 1958].”
While Sarawakians did not object to Islam being the official religion, Baru was quoted as saying that provisions in the federal constitution relating to Islam should not apply to Sarawak. – The Vibes, December 5, 2020
