Mahathir cautions against Islamisation

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, JULY 3. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has said the Taliban was doing a disservice to Islam by preventing women from working - even as doctors to treat women patients.

Addressing a student symposium at the Univsersti Malay in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, the Prime Minister, who is facing a growing political challenge from a hardline Islamic party, PAS, said: ``Do we want to be like that (Taliban)? These are not our models...''

Asked by a student why the Government did not implement full Islamic law, Dr. Mahathir responded by saying that no country in the world practised total Islam. However, he claimed that many foreign leaders had pointed to Malaysia's status as a moderate Islamic State.

``We have tried our best to ensure that Muslims can practise their religion without being molested by anyone. That is the determinant whether a Government is Islamic or not,' Dr. Mahathir was quoted as saying.

``What is it that we have not carried out that made us non- Islamic? There is no country in the world that could carry out everything which is accepted by everyone as Islamic. There will always be someone who is not happy with the level of Islamic practices. This leads to non-stop polemics that cause disunity,'' he stated.

Dr. Mahathir's address to the student community comes at a time when there is a growing perception that PAS has developed strong links in this section of society and there is a need for the ruling coalition to address the issues raised by PAS.

In other remarks, the Prime Minister called upon students to keep away from politics and leave governance to the Government. ``It's easy to hold a protest, even idiots can do that,'' Dr. Mahathir was quoted as telling the students.

``In our neighbouring country (a possible reference to Indonesia), students believed it was their responsibility to hold demonstrations all the time. Today, they find themselves unemployed because their country has become poor. Maybe, you are not happy with what is happening in the country - corruption, cronyism, misuse of funds, mega projects, and want all these to stop.

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Section  : International
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