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Friday, July 25, 2014

A seditious statement by a former chief judge – Vijay Shanmugam



I refer to the statement by the former chief justice of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohammad regarding his statement during an event for breaking fast during the holy Ramadan month that the Penang state government under Chief Minister Lim Eng Guan did not provide funds or means for Islamic activities to be carried out in the island.
In addition to that, his comment that the recital of prayers from other faith groups for an opening ceremony of a building in the island was said to go against the Federal Constitution.
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, Article 11 states that:
Though Islam is the religion of the Federation, Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and practice his own religion. Every person has the right to propagate his religion, but state law and, in respect of the Federal Territory, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religion, doctrine or belief among persons professing the Muslim religion.
The former chief justice ought to know the significance of Article 11 in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia with regards to the seditious statement expressed by him.
This statement also clearly contradicts the concept of 1Malaysia which was initially conceived to break the prejudice amongst the various races to live and prosper peacefully in this land.
Is this the 1Malaysia concept echoed by our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak thru Ex-CJ Abdul Hamid Mohammad, who without doubt represents the ruling government of the day?
If a person from the Malay rights wings NGO like Isma, Perkasa, or the likes of the so-called learned scholar, Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah shared this bigoted sentiment with the media, it should not be a big surprise but coming from a person higher up in the Malaysian Judiciary who should be without any shroud of bias or prejudice towards the minority community in Malaysia, then it is a very disturbing thought indeed to expect fair and just treatment for non-Muslims for generations to come.
As for his days spent in the highest judicial office in Malaysia, do we feel whether an important judgment was meted out in accordance to the rule of law? Probably not with his bigoted current views and this throws the issue of impartiality of the Malaysia Judiciary into doubt.
Therefore, I think a senior retired judge giving comments like this is uncalled for as it hampers the effort of racial integration in our country - especially in these challenging times, where we can witness religious bigots running amok spewing ethnic-related hatred amongst us almost in every nook and corner of our country.
It is in good faith that he should apologise for his statements and retract it.
In law, interpretation and understanding is extremely wide. It depends on the individuals. Thus, I have interpreted Article 11 to put forth my arguments why the recital of prayers of other faiths is not against Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.
* Vijay Shanmugam reads The Malaysian Insider.

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