SARAWAK and Sabah civil groups have rejected blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s theory that rising racial and religious tensions would ease if non-Malays were to accept that Malaysia is “Tanah Melayu” and not a secular state.

In a joint statement, Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation and Gindol Initiative for Civil Society Borneo said surveys have shown that the people of Sabah and Sarawak mostly prefer their states not to have an official religion.

Parti Bumi Kenyalang president Voon Lee Shan also co-signed the statement.

They said the blogger, who is a fugitive from the law in Malaysia, was wrong to make the claims he did in an April 10 interview with Focus Malaysia.

“It was not the intention of our people to have an official religion before Malaysia was formed. Islam was made the official religion because the Malaya Constitution was adopted or turned into the Malaysian Constitution after Singapore,

“Sabah and Sarawak were acquired to enlarge Malaya on September 16, 1963 to take the new name ‘Malaysia’,” they said.

They said Malaysia was “not a new nation” as claimed by Raja Petra.

“Malaysia was never formed at all. Malaysia was an enlargement of Malaya taking a new name ‘Malaysia’ according to the records in the United Nations secretariat.

“It is for this reason that Sabahans and Sarawakians felt uneasy when Raja Petra Kamarudin said there will be better peace in Malaysia if the people of Malaysia, including people of Sabah and Sarawak, accept that Islam is be accorded a higher status and that Malaysia is not a secular state.”

They said there is a growing belief among the people of East Malaysia that they would be happier if Sabah and Sarawak were independent of Malaysia. – April 16, 2024.