Will Malaysia become an Islamic theocratic state?
For example, in the Terengganu state assembly some years ago when PAS introduced hudud law, the lone MCA member abstained from voting for it whereas, in contrast, all the Umno members voted for it.
Lee Hwa Beng, TMI
In the run-up to this election, some parties and individuals have stated that voting for a certain coalition or party may result in Malaysia becoming an Islamic state.
While the definition of an Islamic state has been widely debated, especially in our country, an Islamic state is broadly one that is based on Islamic laws and principles as its foundation in all aspects socio-political and legal.
It is a theocracy that aims to implement Syariah laws on every citizen irrespective of their faith. Non-Muslims may have a different set of additional rules.
At the moment in Malaysia, the “Constitution is the supreme law” in the country (Article 4 of the Federal Constitution) and while Islam is the religion of the country, “other religions may be practised in peace and harmony” (Article 3(1)) ensuring that there is religious diversity and harmony.
In order for Malaysia to become an Islamic state, the crucial question is whether it is permissible under the Federal Constitution. At the moment, under Article 159(3) any amendment to the Federal Constitution requires “not less than two-thirds of the total number of members” in Parliament.
Hence, for Malaysia to become an Islamic theocratic state, a two-thirds or 148 out of our total 220 MPs must vote for the passing of such an amendment.
There are politicians who have relied on fear-mongering tactics amongst the Chinese community, warning that an Islamic state will result if the Pakatan Rakyat coalition comes into power or, alternatively, if there is a coalition of Umno and PAS.
Instead of speculating on the political likelihood of the aforesaid, I will use figures to substantiate my belief that it is highly unlikely that Malaysia will become an Islamic state in either scenario.
Tables of seats contested based on filing by various parties on Nomination Day held on 20th April 2013:
I will assume that all non-Muslim MPs and non-Muslim parties will either vote against or abstain from voting for a Bill to amend the secular nature of Malaysia.
For example, in the Terengganu state assembly some years ago when PAS introduced hudud law, the lone MCA member abstained from voting for it whereas, in contrast, all the Umno members voted for it.
Thus, based on the above, assuming Umno wins all the 105 seats in Peninsular Malaysia and 15 seats in Sabah and Pesaka Bumi Bersatu (PBB) wins all their 14 seats in Sarawak, the total is only 134 seats.
This figure is still not enough to meet the required two-thirds to amend the Constitution. It falls short of the 14 seats needed to make the 148 seats, which is the figure for two-thirds of the total of 222 seats.
Further it is highly unlikely that Umno and PBB will win all their seats. Hence, in order for an Islamic state to materialise, Umno and PBB would also need the support of Pakatan’s Muslim MPs.
The other scenario is that Umno, PBB and PAS form a coalition together to achieve it. From the above table, it might look possible but one should not forget that Umno and PAS are competing against each other in a total of 64 seats and PAS against PBB in five seats.
