KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is of the view that race and religion are separate matters, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said.
He said an indigenous Dusun cannot be considered a Malay just because the person’s religion was Islam.
"Someone’s race is inherent,” Musa said to the suggestion by Sabah Mufti Bungsu@Aziz Jaafar last week that members of Sabah’s ethnic communities who were Muslims should consider themselves as Malay.
He was reported to have said that the situation was just the opposite of what was happening in the peninsula where ethnic Javanese and Bugis identified themselves as part of the Malay race.
Musa said Bungsu’s call for the “Malaynising” of Sabah’s indigenous Muslim bumiputras was his personal view.
“This is not the stand of the State government. Without question, we respect the cultures and traditions of all races regardless of their race and religion,” Musa said.
“This mutual respect for our racial and cultural diversity has and will continue to prevail,” Musa said.
“Upholding racial, religious and cultural harmony will continue to be a priority of the government,” he added.
Hundreds of Sabahans have reacted against Bungsu’s statement last Saturday (sept 20) by turning to the social media such as Facebook where they proclaimed their ethnicities.
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