Authorities must respect Malaysians’ right to religious freedom, says Suhakam

The authorities must ensure and respect the people's right to freedom of religion, Malaysia's Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) said today, expressing concern over an Islamic agency seizing Bibles containing the word “Allah” in Selangor.

Suhakam vice-chairman Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee said the commission took a serious view of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and police raid at the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) as well as the arrest of BSM president Lee Min Choon (pic) and manager Sinclair Wong on Thursday.

"The commission deems it of utmost importance that the authorities in carrying out their duties, exercise their powers and discretion in accordance with the law as well as in line with the principles of the rights to a fair trial and equal protection of the law as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

"The commission also calls on the authorities to respect and ensure the right of all citizens to the freedom of religion as guaranteed under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution and Article 18 of the UDHR, including the right of all communities to freely profess and practise their religions," she said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur.

Saying that Malaysia was a culturally and religiously diverse country, Khaw said "the commission sees the important need for all Malaysians to demonstrate a greater degree of religious tolerance and respect in handling religious and cultural issues".

Community and political leaders have denounced the Jais raid, saying it went against a 10-point agreement by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government ahead of the Sarawak elections three years ago.

Lawyers have said the raid was unconstitutional, adding that the Selangor law could not be used against non-Muslims as Jais had no power over them.