Ampun Tuanku. So What Happens Now?

 

This is taken from  here .

"Royal decrees from the Sultanate of Selangor, Perak and Johor banning politicians from using mosques to deliver religious lectures or “ceramahs” – which are actually political propaganda – Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin becomes the latest monarch to do so. The order was issued in a statement on March 3 by MAIDAM (Terengganu’s Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council).

Apparently, Sultan Mizan of Terengganu was upset that some politicians have not only misused the holy and honourable religious institutions without the council’s approval, but have also abused “mosques and suraus” to create anxiety, restlessness – even dangerously instigate social unrest among the multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-ethnic community."

My Comments:

This is yet "another episode". A recalcitrant politician pretending to be a lebai has been properly censored by HRH the Sultan of Terengganu.  

But this has happened before. The three sultans above have at one time or another had cause to "titah" and "tegur" these religious charlatans. They behave for a while then their recalcitrance starts all over again. In this latest episode the recalcitrant wannabe lebai has thumbed his nose at the Sultan (thumbing nose: "to show very clearly that one does not like or care about (something). They thumb their nose at the rules and simply ignored them")

We owe it to the British that they never sought to create a centralised religious authority. There is no such thing as a Federalised center for religion in this country. Religion resides within  the jurisdiction of the Sultans, clearly within the borders of their own States, plus the four governors of Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak.  

Here is a fact - none of the States have declared themselves or have it written in their State Constitutions that they are "Islamic States". There is no such thing. The Sultan is the head of the religion for those of his subjects who are his co-religionists. 

As an example the Federal and State Constitution grants the Sultan of Perak authority as the head of his religion and that of his coreligionists only - inside his State.  He cannot be the head of the Christian or Hindu faiths in Perak as well. But he is still the Sultan or Ruler for all his subjects of all other faiths.  

Yet his State of Perak does not become an Islamic State. The Sultan of Perak has to be a Muslim (and the undang-undang tubuh Perak says that the Menteri Besar too has to be a Malay Muslim) yet no one will say that Perak is an Islamic State as defined by the State or Federal Constitutions. There is no such thing.  

So since the Federation of Malaya is a federation of States (which HRH the Sultan of Johor has pointed out so many times)  the sum of the total (ie the federation) cannot be an Islamic state when the parts that make up that total (the 13 States plus the Federal Territories) are not Islamic States.

Religion is a State matter and in the States religion resides with the Sultans (and governors).

Back to the issue at hand it is imperative that the power of the Sultans over religious matters in their States be clearly made visible to the people. And since this power is granted by the Federal Constitution it is imperative that the Federal Contitution safeguard the Sultan's jurisdiction over religious affairs in his State.

You cannot allow some charlatans  with a knack for frightening people with scary stories to usurp the authority of a Sultan.

Otherwise you are making a mockery of the Sultans as well as the Federal Constitution.