SARAWAK and Sabah civil groups have rejected blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s theory that rising racial and religious tensions would ease if non-Malays were to accept that Malaysia is “Tanah Melayu” and not a secular state.

In a joint statement, Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation and Gindol Initiative for Civil Society Borneo said surveys have shown that the people of Sabah and Sarawak mostly prefer their states not to have an official religion.