Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (Hindraf) has called on parliamentarians to amend the laws to stop "overzealous" officials from the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) from overstepping their boundaries.
Hindraf chief P Waythamoorthy today condemned Jais forstopping a wedding at a Hindu temple on Sunday because it suspected that the bride was a Muslim.
Jais sources were reported by Sinar Harian as saying that it had used a 1988 law, to prevent Muslim converting out of the faith, to justify its actions for taking the bride away from the wedding in Petaling Jaya.
Waythamoorthy disagreed and was outraged that Jais can do this.
"The raid was unlawful, unconstitutional and encourages unnecessary disturbance to the peace enjoyed between the communities.
"This action by Jais clearly shows disrespect to the sensitivities of non- Muslims and their places of worship. Their act is a clear crossing the boundary of their jurisdictions," he said in a press statement.
Waythamoorthy said that Jais' action violated Article 11 of the Federal constitution, which enshrined the rights of Malaysians to practice freedom of religion.
"Jais or any Muslim authorities should not take the religious sensitivities of other faiths for granted.
"As much as Muslims are sensitive to their religion, others have the same feelings too," added the former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
He said that Jais was fortunate that its actions did not invite rash actions and untoward happenings in the temple on Sunday, noting that the bride was an adult who had grown up a Hindu, still working out the mistake of being registered as a Muslim by her neglectful father.
"We have a serious problem in this country. The civil service is dominated by Malay and Muslim centric officers who bulldoze their personal belief in the supremacy of their religion in the government administration," he added.
On Jan 2, Jais also drew controversy when it raided the office of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) and seized 321 copies of Malay and Iban-language bibles for its investigation.
Two BSM workers were temporarily hauled up for questioning and the case remains unresolved.
Hindraf chief P Waythamoorthy today condemned Jais forstopping a wedding at a Hindu temple on Sunday because it suspected that the bride was a Muslim.
Jais sources were reported by Sinar Harian as saying that it had used a 1988 law, to prevent Muslim converting out of the faith, to justify its actions for taking the bride away from the wedding in Petaling Jaya.
Waythamoorthy disagreed and was outraged that Jais can do this."The raid was unlawful, unconstitutional and encourages unnecessary disturbance to the peace enjoyed between the communities.
"This action by Jais clearly shows disrespect to the sensitivities of non- Muslims and their places of worship. Their act is a clear crossing the boundary of their jurisdictions," he said in a press statement.
Waythamoorthy said that Jais' action violated Article 11 of the Federal constitution, which enshrined the rights of Malaysians to practice freedom of religion.
"Jais or any Muslim authorities should not take the religious sensitivities of other faiths for granted.
"As much as Muslims are sensitive to their religion, others have the same feelings too," added the former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.He said that Jais was fortunate that its actions did not invite rash actions and untoward happenings in the temple on Sunday, noting that the bride was an adult who had grown up a Hindu, still working out the mistake of being registered as a Muslim by her neglectful father.
"We have a serious problem in this country. The civil service is dominated by Malay and Muslim centric officers who bulldoze their personal belief in the supremacy of their religion in the government administration," he added.
On Jan 2, Jais also drew controversy when it raided the office of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) and seized 321 copies of Malay and Iban-language bibles for its investigation.
Two BSM workers were temporarily hauled up for questioning and the case remains unresolved.
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