Moderate Muslim groups meet Dr M to discuss G25 open letter

In a bid to get Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to meet with moderate Muslims, three civil society leaders met privately with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week to discuss their concerns about the lack of national leadership and Putrajaya's inaction against worsening religious and racial rhetoric.

The groups – Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), Sisters in Islam (SIS) and Movement for a Just World (JUST) – sought out Dr Mahathir in the hopes of getting Najib to meet with the group of 25 prominent Malays, now dubbed the G25, who signed an open letter appealing for rational discourse on Islam.

The meeting with the former prime minister came about last Tuesday after Najib snubbed the G25's requests for a meeting with him.

The three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are among 93 other groups that have expressed support for the G25, which have urged Najib to address religious and racial tension and exercise his leadership in guiding Malaysia back to moderation.

JUST chairman Dr Chandra Muzaffar and SIS founding member Zainah Anwar, when contacted by The Malaysian Insider, confirmed that there was a meeting but refused to divulge details, stressing that it was held in private.

IRF chairman Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa told The Malaysian Insider that the meeting with Dr Mahathir was to discuss the current situation in the country.

"He (Dr Mahathir) wanted to have a look at their (G25) statement and their stand first.

"We arranged for the meeting to allay our worries about the current situation in the country and Tun M agreed. In fact, he was also not happy with what is happening now," Dr Ahmad Farouk said.

The request by the G25 to meet Najib was thwarted after the Malay Consultative Council (MPM) claimed that the 25, who are retired leading civil servants, had to meet them first if they wanted to meet Najib.

MPM claimed that the Prime Minister's Office has appointed it as an intermediary to meet the G25 and that they would plan a closed-door meeting, but this was refuted by G25 spokesperson Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin.

MPM is a caucus of more than 200 Malay NGOs. This ethnic group is the largest in Malaysia and in recent times, conservatives from within have grown more vocal about communal rights and privileges under the government's affirmative action policies for Malays and Bumiputeras, leading to polarising and inflammatory rhetoric in public.

Dr Ahmad Farouk, who is also the former deputy chair of Bersih 2.0, said that Najib's refusal to meet with the G25 did not make sense, as even United States President Barack Obama himself had met with NGO during a visit here.

"No point in us talking to MPM or the likes of them, we have to meet Najib and tell him clearly.

"In fact, when I was still with Bersih, we wrote to Najib to request a meeting but he never replied. This shows that he doesn't care about the country."

He compared Obama's readiness to meet with representatives from 10 NGOs in April last year when he made a trip to Malaysia as part of his Asia tour, with Najib's refusal to meet the G25.

"Najib should be pressured. When Obama came to Malaysia, he met with representatives from 10 NGOs.

"If Obama was willing to meet us then, Najib should have learnt from there. Look at how Obama treats civil society," the IRF head said.

Dr Ahmad Farouk also suggested that the G25 meet with Dr Mahathir to discuss the issues they had raised in their open letter.

"They (G25) can take the initiative to meet Dr Mahathir. From there, it can be a stepping stone to meeting Najib."

The open letter decried the "lack of clarity and understanding" of Islam's place 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".

They also called on Najib to establish an inclusive consultative committee and called for dialogue on Islamic laws.

Signatories of the letter were former high-ranking civil servants, including directors-general, secretaries-general, ambassadors and prominent individuals.

Since it was published on December 8, public support for the content of letter and for its 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 has drawn thousands of signatures.

Last week, Noor Farida said G25 had grown in number, with 10 more Malays, many of whom were former but influential members of the government service, adding their names to the group. – January 7, 2015.

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