SENSITIVE ISSUES SHOULD BE DISCUSSED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, SAYS MAHATHIR

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- Sensitive issues involving race and religion
should be discussed behind closed doors to avoid any untoward incident from
happening, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former prime minister said this was because the level of understanding of
democracy in this country was still low among some individuals who might react
irrationally to sensitive issues.

"I believe democracy is the best system, but there must be understanding of and
limits to democracy," he said at a talk on the importance of history to the
community at the National Library, here, Thursday.

Mahathir said the country's democratic system could not be equated to that of
western countries where democracy had been in practice for a long time, while
excessive freedom could be detrimental to Malaysia.

That was why the government did not want sensitive issus to be discussed openly,
he said, in response to a participant who said that racial tension had increased
in the country of late over the "Allah" issue.

The High Court's decision on Dec 31 in allowing the Roman Catholic Church in
Malaysia to use the word "Allah" in its weekly publication, Herald, angered many
Muslims in the country.

The Home Ministry has filed an appeal against the decision which is pending.

Following the decision, there were attempts to burn churches and to
vandalise mosques and surau, the latest being the dumping of severed wild boar heads
in the compounds of two mosques in Petaling Jaya, near here.

More than 300 people comprising students and civil servants attended the talk.
-- BERNAMA