Kedah Umno information chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said statements made without following clear guidelines carry the risk of creating a trust deficit among partners in the unity government coalition.

Shaiful said Kedah Umno was disappointed with a proposal by Raub MP Chow Yu Hui, who is from DAP, last week that the religious affairs minister’s portfolio be divided into two: one for Islamic affairs and the other for non-Islamic religious affairs.

The proposal was shot down by the prime minister yesterday.

Shaiful said the proposal to create the position of a non-Islamic religious affairs minister “lacks rational consideration” which he said “could lead to a serious trust crisis between people of different races and religions”.

“Racial and religious relations in Malaysia are not in such a critical state that requires the establishment of a special ministry to function as coordinator or to regulate any guidelines between people of different religions,” he said.