G25 growing with more influential Malays, says group coordinator

Ten more Malays, many of whom are former but influential members of the government service, have joined the group of 25 prominent Malays who signed an open letter appealing for rational discourse on Islam, the group’s spokesperson, former diplomat Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin (pic), said today.

In a brief statement to the media, Farida, the former Malaysian ambassador to the Netherlands, wrote: “Dear friends, it is with pleasure we announce the names of the new members of the G25.”

They are Tan Sri Alwi Jantan, former director-general, Public Services Department; Tan Sri Rafiah Salim, former vice-chancellor, Universiti Malaya (UM) and former assistant secretary-general, United Nations; Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff, businessman; and Datuk Ahmad Mokhtar Selat, former deputy secretary-general of Asean.

Joining them are Datuk Anwaruddin Osman, former managing director and CEO of Petronas Dagangan Berhad; Datuk Baharuddin Musa, former deputy secretary-general of the Defence Ministry and first director-general of the Tourist Development Corporation; and Professor Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, dean of the UM's Faculty of Medicine.

Professor Dr Ariff Abdul Karim, the former executive director of MIER and former dean of UM’s Faculty of Economics; former member of Parliament Mohamed Tawfiq Tun Dr Ismail; and Shazal Yusof Mohd Zain, the former corporate finance executive for the Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad complete the list of newcomers.

The original group of 25, which comprises retired civil servants and influential leaders, had published an open letter on December 8 asking for a rational dialogue on the position of Islam and Islamic law in a constitutional democracy.

In their open letter, they had asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to address religious and racial tension and exercise leadership in guiding Malaysia back to moderation.

The letter decried the "lack of clarity and understanding" on the place of Islam within Malaysia's constitutional democracy, as well as a "serious breakdown of federal-state division of powers, both in the areas of civil and criminal jurisdictions".

It also expressed concern at how religious authorities were "asserting authority beyond their jurisdiction" and that fatwa issued had violated the Federal Constitution as well as the consultative process.

Among the proposals it recommended was the need to promote awareness about the diversity of views and interpretations in Islam.

Some members, in individual comments to the media, had singled out groups like Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) for politicising Islam, prompting Perkasa to mull taking legal action against them.

“We are not going to be lenient anymore. We will take action against any party who makes baseless allegations against Perkasa,” Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali told The Malaysian Insider on Tuesday.

But Farida said she was happy that Perkasa was following the law in addressing their grievances instead of breaking it.

“The Malay rights group wants to sue G25, so sue us, let the courts decide,” she told The Malaysian Insider.

Public support for the letter's contents and for the 25 signatories has been strong, with many writing to media organisations expressing their thanks and solidarity with the signatories, while an online petition called #iam26 drew thousands of signatures. – January 2, 2015.

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