The Star
By SHAILA KOSHY
Thursday April 12, 2007

Be guided by Constitution

KUALA LUMPUR: Any mechanism for an interfaith forum should respect the principles in the Federal Constitution, said four non-governmental organisations yesterday.

Malaysian Interfaith Network chairman Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal said the forum must be in the spirit of the Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and Islam Hadhari.

“These documents are meant for all Malaysians and a mechanism for an interfaith forum must involve all.”

On Monday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said in Parliament that the Attorney General’s Chambers was mulling over the setting up of a special commission, comprising religious leaders, to study sensitive cases like that of Lina Joy, a Malay woman who converted from Islam to Christianity and is seeking to restate her religious status in her identity card.

Noting the current “cleavages, tensions and conflicts that can easily be exploited by bigots and other malcontents,” Dr Anwar said: “Malaysia must pre-empt this by having a mechanism that is consultative and constructive so we can anticipate issues that can cause tension and deal with them in a systematic and cooperative way.

“The mechanism must fulfil five purposes: discussion, consultation, conciliation, arbitration and adjudication.

“We can’t leave issues unresolved or have ad hoc arrangements for dialogue,” he said.

Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary and Article 11 member Rev Dr Hermen Shastri said the rights of non-Muslims and Muslims were clearly provided for in the Constitution but if they seemed unclear, Parliament should make them obvious.

On the viability of an interfaith forum – to resolve conflicts arising from conversion of one spouse in a civil marriage to Islam and Muslims wanting to leave Islam – if there were no Muslim representation, he said: “It would be pointless if there were no Muslim representation. We must be building cooperation, understanding and friendship with all groups.”

Rev Shastri added that members of such a forum should represent all faiths and not just their own if its purpose was to promote interfaith understanding.

In welcoming the move, Sisters In Islam stressed the importance of protecting a citizen’s constitutional rights.

“There is a pressing need to find just solutions to growing issues of competing rights asserted by different groups. SIS believes a non-adversarial consultative forum would be more conducive to finding a solution satisfactory to all than an adversarial open court.

“SIS calls on other Muslim organisations to consider the necessity for such a consultative council objectively.”