A Malaysian minister on Thursday reopened a divisive debate over whether the mainly Muslim nation is an Islamic state, asserting the Southeast Asian country was never meant to be one.

The comments by Bernard Dompok, a minister in the prime minister's department, defied a ban imposed by the internal security ministry on public discussion of the subject.

The move to stifle debate on the issue came after the country's deputy prime minister enraged many non-Muslims last month by saying Malaysia had never been a secular state.

The dispute has exposed religious and racial faultlines in the multiracial nation as it marks its 50th anniversary of independence this month and ahead of a widely expected early general election.

"I think my colleagues in the government will forgive me for saying that I will not agree that we are an Islamic state," said Dompok, a Christian.

"For all intents and purposes, I think Malaysia was not meant to be an Islamic state," the Malaysiakini.com online newspaper quoted Dompok as telling a public forum in Kuala Lumpur.

His press aide, Albert Bingkasan, confirmed the remarks.

Race and religion are touchy issues in Malaysia, where ethnic Malay Muslims form about 60 percent of a population of roughly 26 million, while Hindus, Buddhists and Christians dominate the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities.

Malaysia's constitution does not explicitly say it is a secular state, although it says Islam is the official religion.