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Sunday, 4 January 2015

10 more eminent Malays join 'Group of 25'

Ten additional prominent Malays have joined the group of ‘Eminent 25’, group spokesperson Noor Farida Ariffin announced.

Former diplomat Noor Farida declared more members would be joining the group, which currently includes highly influential former civil servants.

“Dear friends, it is with pleasure that we announce the names of the new members of the G25”, the former diplomat to the Netherlands declared in a short statement yesterday.

The new inclusions are:
  • Alwi Jantan – former deputy secretary-general of the Prime Minister’s Department
     
  • Rafiah Salim – former vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya
     
  • Nazir Ariff – prominent businessman
     
  • Ahmad Mokhtar Selat – former ambassador and former deputy secretary-general of Asean
     
  • Anwaruddin Osman – former Petronas Dagangan Berhad managing director
     
  • Baharuddin Musa – former deputy secretary-general of Defence Ministry
     
  • Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman – Universiti Malaya dean of the medicine faculty
     
  • Ariff Abdul Kareem - former executive director of MIER and former dean of UM economics and administration faculty
     
  • Tawfik Ismail - former Member of Parliament and son of the late deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman
     
  • Shazal Yusof Mohd Zain – former corporate finance executive for the Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad
The ‘Eminent 25’ group on Dec 8, 2014, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, calling for the voice of moderation by asking him to show leadership in the wake of intolerant voices from right-wing groups such as Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Perkasa.

The former top civil servants, comprising judges, ambassadors, and scholars, said in the joint letter that it was time for the moderate Malays to speak out against extremists.

The group on Tuesday said that they were only interested in meeting Najib to discuss the issues that they have raised and have declined to meet any other agencies.

This includes declining to meet the Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which wanted to meet the group to discuss religious issues they raised.

After the open letter was published, many Malaysians have come out to express support for the group and their stand.

In support of the call for moderation, a few other groups of individuals and NGOs have also come out to voice their concerns.

They include young Muslim activists, and a multi-ethnic cluster KamiJuga25 (We, too, are 25)
 

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