It would be impossible for Christian leaders to garner two-thirds support from Malaysians of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to amend the Federal Constitution, said a Penang lawyer.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan has called on the police to take stern action if there was no basis to the reports in Utusan Malaysia and two blogs that a group of Christian community leaders want to make Christianity the country’s official religion, replacing Islam.
State Gerakan chief Dr Teng Hock Nan pointed out that given that Utusan Malaysia was widely perceived as an Umno mouthpiece, the Malay language daily should be “more responsible, matured and professional in its reporting”.
“The newspaper will be seen to be helping to spread a rumour without prior verification and this is incorrect and dangerous.
“Such rumour can have detrimental effects on the peace and harmony of our nation,” he said.
Teng said Utusan Malaysia should have approached the authorities concerned to take early action to nip “the problem” in the bud, instead of highlighting the matter and raising the sentiments of its readers.
He stressed that such sensitive and negative reports can be exploited by any party, within and outside of Malaysia, for their vested interest to destroy the foundation of Malaysia’s nation-building.
Teng urged the police, especially the Special Branch, to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the report in Utusan Malaysia and by two bloggers.
The reports claimed that a meeting had taken place in Penang, attended by Christian leaders who want Christianity to be the official religion in Malaysia.
He said that police must take appropriate action according to the laws of our country if the reports by Utusan Malaysia and the two bloggers were found untrue.
“I urged the media, including newspapers, to stop speculating and exploiting on the issue of religion that can stoke tension,” said Teng, who is also Gerakan national vice-president in a press statement yesterday.
‘Virtually impossible’
Lawyer Baljit Singh, who heads the Penang Gerakan’s legal and human rights bureau, chided Utusan Malaysia’s report saying it contained a “hidden political agenda”.
He claimed that the daily was only interested in propagating a hidden agenda of its political masters for “obvious reasons best known to them”.
He accused the newspaper of instilling fear among Malays without a second thought that it was mocking the country’s constitutional foundation.
He also called on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation on Utusan Malaysia’s reports.
“Utusan report is seditious in nature. Appropriate stern action must be taken on the culprits based on police findings,” he said.
He pointed out that one would need at least a two-thirds majority to amend the Federal Constitution, which currently states Islam as the official religion of the country.
Pointing out that Christians were a minority community, he said Christian leaders would need two-thirds support from Malaysians of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to amend the constitution.
“Based on the country’s current racial and political landscapes, such amendment can never happen.
“Replacing Islam with Christianity as the official religion is virtually impossible,” Baljit told FMT.
What about the rubble rouser, the Malaysia Insider!
ReplyDeleteMalaysia has no official religion, says constitutional expert
What a myopic opinion!
And what a naive piece of writing!
Article 3 of the Malaysian Constitution:
1. “ Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.”
2. The Ruler is the head of the religion of Islam
3. The states without a Ruler, the YDP Agong acts as the head.
Besides Article 3, there are many other references made to Islam as the Official Religion of Malaysia;
• That Secularism is rejected in Malaysia
• Islamic education can be promoted in Malaysia at the expense of the tax-payers money
• Islamic institutions and Mosques can be built at the expense of the tax-payer
• The only other judicial system other than the Civil & Criminal permitted is the Syariah
• Missionary preaching among Muslims in Malaysia is regulated, that is it can be done by local Islamic authorities only.
There are many other references to Islam in the Constitution that classifies Islam as the Official religion of Malaysia.
One wonders what the ‘learned’ (if he is) Bar Council’s Head of the Constitutional committee has to say, to the written Malaysian Constitution. Or maybe he does not comprehend simple English.
When Islam has been stated as the religion of the state it means ‘Official’ it is as simple as that.
The so-called Constitutional expert is trying to gain into the limelight by trying to be controversial!
One wonders what the Bar Council is made up of?
Further one wonders why the Malaysian Insider prefers to mislead and circumnavigate from the issue at hand.