Islam, politics and the constitution

Malaysia gained independence (Merdeka) from Britain on August 31, 1957. Formerly known as "Malaya," its constitution was written up with the assistance of the British authorities. This constitution is the source of most of the problems described above. The definition of all ethnic Malays as "Muslim" stems from Article 160, section 2. This states: " 'Malay' means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and (a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or (b) is the issue of such a person."

Despite this automatic assumption that all people of Malay origin are Muslim, the constitution originally had some superficial semblance of religious freedom. Article 3, clause one, states: "Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation."

Article 11, clause 1 states "Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it." Article 11, clause 4 reads: "State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Lubuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam."

Clause 4 of this article has been used to prevent anyone trying to lead a Muslim into another faith. Several states had adopted the Control and Restriction Bill. This gives a fine of 10,000 ringit ($3,090) or imprisonment for up to one year for "persuading, influencing a Muslim to leave Islam for another religion."

None of the individuals mentioned at the start of this article had been coerced by others into leaving Islam. What is preventing them from appealing to the civil courts is an amendment to the constitution – Article 121 (1A) – which was made in 1988. This states that civil courts have no jurisdiction over "any matter" which can be dealt with by the Syariah (Sharia) courts.


UMNO (United Malays National Organization) party has been stoking the fires of racial tension in the nation. Since 1971, the UMNO party has espoused a policy called "ketuanan Melayu." This maintains that the Malays are the earliest migrants to Malaysia, and thus should have special privileges. As a result, Malays are given preferential treatment in areas of employment, loans, housing and government contracts. The discriminatory ketuanan Melayu policies have added to racial tension.

UMNO-led coalition has governed Malaysia since independence. This includes two ethnic parties, the MCA or Malaysian Chinese Association and the MIC or Malaysia Indian Congress.

Islamization of The Body-Snatchers
Many individuals within Malaysia have expressed concern at the manner in which Malaysia has been influenced by creeping Islamization. A. Vaithilinga, a Hindu community leader, said: "We can't depend on the judiciary. Every case where a Muslim is involved in a dispute, the outcome isn't favorable for us." Bridget Welsh of Johns Hopkins University stated: "What you're seeing is a serious deterioration of race relations."

Jawhar Hassan, head of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur said: "There used to be more mixing among the races but increased urbanization has brought more competition for jobs and ethnic identities have become more important as a result."

Christians have also been singled out to have their churches destroyed. It is virtually impossible for any Christian community to get planning permission to construct a church building. Despite UMNO's claims, the Malays are not the original people of Malaysia. The original habitants are known as the Orang Asli or "original population." These tend to have animist/shamanistic faiths, but many are also Christian. They are the smallest minority in Malaysia, with their 18 tribes comprising less than 1% of the population.

The process of enforcing Islamization may have started in the 1980s, but it seems to have been accelerating since 2005. It is possible that Malaysia is keen to impress the OIC with its Islamic credentials, and the push for Islamization may be encouraged by OIC nations.

The OIC or Organization of Islamic Conference, which now has 57 member nations, was originally formed in 1969. In 1990, Malaysia was among the OIC member nations to sign the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam. This declaration maintains that Sharia should be the basis of all Muslim countries' laws. In 2005 it was agreed that the OIC's World Islamic Economic Forum would have its permanent secretariat based in Kuala Lumpur.

As the UMNO-led government has moved towards a position of preparing the nation for elections, it has made no effort to make the non-Muslim communities feel like valued members of the electorate. Before Christmas 2007, the government announced that a Christian newspaper could not use the term "Allah" when referring to God.

The government warned the Kuala Lumpur-based Herald – the Catholic Weekly that if it continued to use the name Allah, it would not be allowed to keep its publishing permit. On December 30, 2007 it was announced that the government had reversed the decision. Father Andrew Lawrence, the paper's editor was sent a fax. This stated that the 2008 publishing permit would be renewed, with no conditions attached. Father Andrew's delight was short-lived.

After imposing restrictions on Christians hijacking the name of the Islamic deity, the government then decided it had proprietary rights over the "Islamic" prophets depicted in Christian schoolbooks. In January, in Johor Bahru, Senawang and Ipoh, Christian books for children containing illustrations of the prophets Abraham and Moses were seized by the Publications and Koran Texts Control Department. Finally UMNo regime has revoked the licence to publish for 2010.

These include The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and its Role in Terrorism by Stephen Schwartz, who has written for Family Security Matters. Another banned book is Secrets of the Koran: Revealing Insights into Islam's Holy Book by Don Richardson. This is published by Gospel Light, a Christian company. Another banned book is entitled Women in Islam.

In December 2005, when the body of Hindu mountaineering hero Maniam Moorthy was snatched from his widow by Islamic authorities and buried with Muslim ceremonies in a Muslim graveyard, a grim precedent was set.

The undignified spectacle of Islamic officials snatching bodies away from relatives, despite their protestations, continued. 71-year-old Rayappan Anthony, a Christian, died in Kuala Lumpur Hospital on November 29, 2006. Selangor state's Islamic Religious Department refused to let his family bury him. From 1990 until 1998, he had been a Muslim. The Islamic authorities claimed that he had not been given permission to return to Christianity.

A. Sivenesan, lawyer for Anthony's family said of Selangor Islamic Religious Department's actions: "It's known as corpse-snatching. You don't bother about the man when he is alive. When he dies you come and snatch the body." The family was successful in its battle with the Syariah Court when they threatened to sue the government. The Attorney General was clearly embarrassed, saying he could only give advice. On December 8, 2006, the Islamic officials dropped their claim, and Mr. Anthony was buried according to Christian custom the following day.

A year later, Islamic officials embroiled themselves in another body-snatching case. Wong Sau Lan was a Chinese Christian woman who died on December 30, 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, aged 53. The Federal Territory Islamic Council claimed that six days before her death, Ms. Lan had converted to Islam, and wanted to bury her as a Muslim. Her husband successfully sought an injunction from Kuala Lumpur High Court to prevent the Islamic authorities taking control of her body. He said she was a Christian at death, and there were no legal documents to state otherwise. A ruling was not made until Friday January 18, 2008, when the Kuala Lumpur High Court gave permission for Wong Sau Lan to be buried as a Christian.

A week after Wong Sau Lan's interment, it was revealed by Associated Press and AFP that another Malaysian had been buried as a Muslim, against the wishes of relatives. 74-year-old Chinese Buddhist Mr. Gan Eng Gor died on January 18, 2008. His eldest son, a convert to Islam, claimed that Mr. Gor had converted to Islam in July 2007, a claim denied by the other members of his family.

Mr Gor had suffered a stroke, and was unable to talk for two years before his death. One of Mr. Gor's eight children said: "We have been practising Buddhists all our lives. How is it that none of us, including my mother who has been looking after my sick father for the past two years, has no knowledge of this?"

A Syariah High Court in Negeri Sembilan state insisted that Mr. Gor had converted to Islam on July 3, 2007. As the other members of the family did not attend the Islamic court, judge Mohamad Nadzri Abdul Rahman ruled in favor of the eldest son. Mr. Gor was buried as a Muslim.

Muslims make up no more than 60% of the population of Malaysia. The "ketuanan Melayu" policies of UMNO are divisive and discriminatory. In December 2007, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) finally voiced concerns about the treatment of non-Muslims in Malaysia, particularly the poor treatment of Hindus.

40% of the nation is not Muslim, yet these have diminished rights. Malaysia prides itself on being a moderate Muslim country. Racial and religious discrimination is openly practiced by this "moderate" country. It is small wonder that of the eleven countries on USCIRF's list of countries that are of serious concern, seven of these are Muslim countries that make little claim to be "moderate."

11/11/09