Prominent Malays slam M'sian govt in open letter
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A group of prominent Malays made up largely of former top bureaucrats has called on the government to safeguard the Constitution from sweeping Islamic conservatism that has been repeatedly endorsed by the Malaysian authorities.
The unprecedented open letter published in the media on Monday, penned by the 25 men and women condemning Kuala Lumpur's policies, has caused a buzz within the ruling elite.
It comes a week after prime minister Najib Razak presided over United Malays National Organisation's annual assembly, which saw him ditching a plan to remove the controversial Sedition Act.
"Religious bodies seem to be asserting authority beyond their jurisdiction," read the letter issued by former ambassador to the Netherlands Noor Farida Ariffin on behalf of the 25 signatories.
Five of the signatories were former secretaries-general, the most senior non-political post in the civil service. They included Ahmad Kamil Jaafar, former secretary-general at the foreign affairs ministry, and Aris Othman, former secretary-general at the finance ministry. Six were former ambassadors.
Lamenting the "rise of supremacist NGOs accusing dissenting voices of being anti-Islam", they criticised the government for allowing Islamic authorities to issue edicts that they claimed violated the Constitution.
