KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia was formed on the basis of moderation and liberalism and this is the only way people of different faiths can form genuine relationships with one another, said Tun Musa Hitam (pic).

“Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-religious country and only if you are liberal and moderate can you establish genuine links with one another,” said the former deputy prime minister.

The aim of building such links among the people was to help the nation grow stronger over time, Musa said in an exclusive interview at his Bukit Tunku residence.

Dressed in a casual white and orange chequered shirt paired with brown slacks, the 80-year-old, who served as deputy prime minister under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad between 1981 and 1986, said he has always been a liberal and a moderate – and proud of it.

“I was brought up as such. My family brought me up that way.

“My teachers and religious schoolteachers, Cikgu Hashim is one I’ll never forget, he helped shape me,” he said.

Musa said he had seen many politicians use race and religion for their own agenda over the years and that it was intensifying.

He said the line between politics and religion in the country was also increasingly blurring.

“Too many politicians want to become religious leaders and too many religious leaders want to be politicians,” he said.

However, he said, things were changing among the middle class and upper middle class communities.

“I was very happy to see the statement made by those 25 Malay personalities.

“I must point out to the extremist Malays who condemn moderation and liberalism that these 25 people have served the nation and made the country proud.

“To me, that was a good stand taken by them and they helped trigger much thinking, debate and conversation.

“We need these kinds of conversation. I am so happy to see them starting up, thanks to the efforts of The Star as well,” he said, referring to the newspaper’s Voices of Moderation campaign.

The group of 25 prominent Malays had said that they were disturbed and deeply dismayed over the continuing disputes on the position and application of Islamic laws in the country.

The personalities who had put their names to the statement included former ministry secretaries-general and directors-general, as well as retired ambassadors, academicians and judges.

Musa, who said he only reads The Star and Malay daily Sinar Harian, shared one experience chairing a meeting for religious leaders under the banner of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, which he founded in 1999.

“This is an incident that I will never forget.

“An ustaz, a vibrant young man educated in New Zealand, whispered to me: ‘I must tell you that I have never in my life until now sat next to a bishop or any religious leader from the other faiths’.

“The realisation hit me hard. The achievement here was simply that they had the opportunity to sit down together and hear each other out,” Musa said.

The Voices of Moderation campaign runs parallel with The Star’s Brave Views, Bold Ideas campaign that was launched on Aug 10 to encourage Malaysians to espouse moderation while being open, rational and balanced in their discussions.-thestar