Kuala Lumpur- Malaysia and Indonesia plan to set up a joint missionary foundation in an effort to enhance the religious education and thoughts in both countries, the Dewan Negara was told Thursday.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister‘s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim said Yayasan Dakwah Malaysia and Indonesia (Yadmi) would lay the foundation for discourse involving Islamic religious teachers and intellectuals from both countries.
Mashitah said Yadmi would be able to inject new ideas into the Malaysian and Indonesian Islamic education and thoughts, and became a forum in uniting the Malay world through missionary efforts and thoughts.
"This will not only enable Islam to be understood spiritually but also become the foundation of the Malay civilisation. The formation of Yadmi is still at the discussion stage," she said when replying to a question from Senator Datuk Samsiah Samsudin.
To a question from Senator Ahmad Hussein who wanted to know whether such body would be formed with Thailand, Mashitah said it may be considered if Yadmi was found to be effective.
Source: http://www.bernama.com (25 Juli 2008)