ANGKATAN BELIA ISLAM MALAYSIA (ABIM)
MUSLIM YOUTH MOVEMENT OF MALAYSIA
4 MAY 2008 / 27 RABIUL AKHIR 1428H
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE FOLLOWING ISSUES:
1. The action by Y.B. Karpal Singh in filing a police report against the
Regent of Kelantan, and
2. The calls made by MCA president, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, relating to some
contentious religious and racial issues
---------------------------------
The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) strongly feels that some remarks
and actions by certain political leaders relating to religious and racial
issues of late warrant our comments and response.
Firstly, we find the action by Y.B. Karpal Singh in filing a police report
against the Regent of Kelantan, Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra
as extremely improper and clearly overstepped the boundaries of proper comments
when dealing with a member of Malaysian royalty. Being a seasoned politician,
we are still wondering until today what exactly was in the mind of Mr. Karpal
when he decided to take such an action which is, to say the least, very
problematic and uncalled for. Mr. Karpal could have clearly thought of a more
respectful and sensible way to respond to the Regent's speech. At the same
time, we fully agree and support the call from the Kelantan palace for an end
to this controversy. We do feel that it is unfortunate that remarks from a
member of the Malaysian royalty, which could have been taken in a better light,
has been unduly problematized and politicized.
Secondly, the calls made by MCA president, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, relating
to some contentious religious and racial issues must take into account the
Malay-Muslim perspective.
On the issue of conversion out of Islam, we fully understand the possible
difficulties and hardships that may arise on the part of those who wish to
convert, but at the same time, we have pleaded time and again that the critics
of the present law on apostasy must also be willing to fully consider the
ramifications of this issue on the core elements of the Islamic faith and
jurisprudence.
The critics cannot in all earnest, expect the Muslims to just ignore a clear
injunction and principle in our religion. And to expect Muslims in Malaysia to
take the issue of apostasy lightly is actually doing just that. Converting out
of Islam is a specific religious issue and the extent of its prohibition and
permission should be left to the proper religious authority to determine.
The Federal Court's decision in Lina Joy's case provides a solid legal basis
for this position. Former Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim,
in his majority judgment held that the determination of whether a person had
renounced the religion of Islam was within the realm of Islamic law, and that
the right authority was thus the Syariah court. His Lordship further said that
the way one leaves religion is set by the religion itself. "In other words,"
His Lordship said,"one cannot embrace or leave a religion according to one's
whims and fancies."
In Malaysia, we believe that the process of allowing the right and competent
parties to deliberate and find the solution for contentious religious issues is
still not beyond grasp. In that light, we feel that an earnest and genuine
process of collective deliberation amongst the rightful religious authorities
in Malaysia should take place with regards to the recent controversial
religious issues. This process, which may require time and independent space
for the people involved, must be allowed to take its course. Inputs and
feedbacks from all parties should be considered but everyone must be prepared
to accept that the aim of this process is to discover the authoritative Islamic
position on the matter since this is an internal religious issue.
Assuming that at the end of the day the experts do find cases and situations
where conversion out of Islam may be legally recognized, the next issue would
be to determine the proper procedure for conversion out of Islam. We have
stated time and again that conversion out of Islam is interlinked with other
issues, some of which are formal and legal. Therefore, this process must be
properly regulated and cannot be left open or unlimited. Again, another process
of collective deliberation, which gives priority to authoritative
interpretations of religious texts and legal reasoning, should be allowed to
take its course.
In light of the current controversy, we would like to refer all parties to
our various memoranda and documents on the matter.
In our considered view, the MCA is essentially saying that the Federal
Court's interpretation of Articles 11 (1) and 121(1A) of the Federal
Constitution in the Lina Joy case was wrong. Perhaps the MCA would like to
introduce a private member's bill in Parliament to amend Articles 11(1) and
121(1A) of the Constitution to nullify the effect of Lina Joy. Let us see if
they can get Malay/Muslim support on this issue. We must not forget the results
of the survey carried out some time ago - which pointed out that Malays
considered themselves Muslim first and Malay second. We would caution the MCA
and other political parties (government as well as opposition) when making
public comments on this issue; what they are doing will cause greater
polarization between Malay/Muslims and non-Muslims in our nation.
YUSRI MOHAMAD
President
Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM)
Pa'Shaik sarankan .
Mungkin boleh diadakan peraturan pemeriksaan blood for alcohol sebelum semua
ahli parlimen lebih lebih lagi sebelum memasuki dewan parlimen
prebersidang.Andai kata positive perlu diambil tindakan sewajarnya. (Rosak
aklanya)
---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
