Malaysiakini and theSun have quite good coverage of the incident at Parliament yesterday morning. I must say I was quite taken aback by the hysterical responses from the Umno backbenchers. They must have put up a show that they were angered by my remark that the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was ” talam dua muka” in dealing with the inter-religious dialogue issue.

What prompted me to ask this question was that I was unhappy that the PM was signing a different tune for the international arena and the local audience. He asked the West to respect Islam and get to know Islam better. But back in the country, he called off the Building Bridges Seminar and did not want an inter-faith dialogue between the various religions. Non-Muslim Malaysian who are concerned with the latest development would want to know more about Islam and vice-versa. But all this would not come about because the PM sings a different tune here.

Well the answer by Nazri more all less confirmed that Pak Lah adopted different approaches for the international forum and the domestic audience. The fact is Malaysia has little voice in the international forum despite being the chair for the OIC.

Although the Umno MPs were jumping mad with the term “talam dua muka”, they were willing to accept the English equivalent “double standard”. Whatever terms, it means the same in that the PM do not practice what he preaches. Imagine the reaction if I have used “lidah bercabang dua”.

Read theSun report:
Nazri: M’sian Muslims not ready for religious dialogue
Pauline Puah
KUALA LUMPUR (June 21, 2007): The majority of Muslims in the country are not ready for open dialogue on religious issues, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said.
“Our intention is to have dialogues. However, religious issues are something sensitive. Dialogues need (the communication) of both sides. (more…)