MIRI: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) has expressed dismay over a plan by the federal government to legislate a new law to control and restrict the development of non-Islamic religions.
The proposed drafting and introduction of new Shariah laws, including a Bill on control and restrictions on the development of non-Islamic religions which was announced by Deputy Minister in charge of Islamic Affairs, Ahmad Marzuk Shaary recently, have caused concern among non-Muslims in the country, said SUPP secretary general Datuk Sebastian Ting.
“This is a matter of grave concern to the 45 percent non-Muslim population of Malaysia who has been guaranteed the Freedom of Religion as enshrined under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution,” he said on Wednesday.
Ting added that while Article 3 clearly stipulated that Islam is the religion of the federation, other citizens have a right to practise a religion of their choice in peace and harmony.
He pointed out that Article 11 of the Constitution does not infringe in any manner whatsoever, the manner of practice and the rights of non-Muslims to practise a religion of their choice.
Indeed, the statement of ‘controlling and restricting the development of non-Islamic religions’ goes against the Federal Constitution, as Article 3(1) says ‘Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation’.
Ting further said, Article 11(4) clearly provides the right to the government to enact laws to restrict the propagation of any religious doctrines or belief amongst Muslims.
This is a fundamental provision to ensure there is peace and stability and to ensure the majority population that their belief is protected by the Constitution.
“It is very clear from the Federal Constitution that the government cannot control and restrict the right of any non-Muslim from professing, practising and propagating his religion as long as there is no propagation toward persons professing the religion of Islam,” he explained.
“SUPP is greatly dismayed as the statement by the deputy minister has indeed caused or created fear, uneasiness, anxiety and alarm amongst the non-Muslims on their fundamental right to practise a religion of their choice for to do so means it is unconstitutional and portrays a negative light of the newly minted government,” he said.
Ting exhorted that such proposals or plans would create a disharmonious Malaysia and hamper all efforts of the initiatives of the National Unity blueprint.
“Malaysia is already in turmoil now with loss of jobs and economic downturn due to the high number of Covid-19 in the country causing unhappiness and despair among Malaysians. Sarawakians too are facing tremendous hardship and challenges.
“From the feedback we received, many Sarawakians find this statement distasteful and tantamount to a lack of mutual respect for other faiths practised by other Malaysians, in particular Sarawak where the majority of the people are Christians,” said Ting.
Such insensitive statement was definitely not welcome in Sarawak because it went against the spirit of unity, harmony and freedom of religion that have been practised in Sarawak all these years, even before the formation of Malaysia in 1963, he stressed.
Hence, the new government should instead save lives first and address the immediate issues of the people instead of creating uneasiness and tensions due to religious issues. This country does not need this now or ever, Ting said.
He hoped that the prime minister would stop the plan from materialising as it benefited no one.
“We hope the Federal government understands and appreciates that freedom for anyone to practise their religion is very important for the people of Sarawak and it is one of the main promises by the Federal government when Malaysia was formed in 1963.
“It is important to note and indeed we wish to highlight and stress that any proposal to enact law to restrict the development of non-Muslim religions in Sarawak must first get the consent from Sarawak government because it affects the interest of Sarawak people for religious freedom, enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report.
“We would like to reiterate that SUPP strongly opposes the proposed drafting and introduction of the new Shariah laws, including a Bill to control and restrict the development of non-Islamic religions,” Ting said.
