Mariam Mokhtar
Published: Oct 11, 2024 5:25 PM
COMMENT | Being a Muslim used to be so easy. One believed in Allah and observed the five pillars of Islam to lead one’s life as a good and responsible Muslim.
Today, conservative Muslims and wannabe clerics do the religious equivalent of blinding one with science. They litter their speeches with Arabic and line their policies with tongue-twisting theological phrases, to convince the masses that they are super religious or brilliant.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is doubtful that many Malays can comprehend what they are saying, and some Malaysians would probably agree that quantum mechanics would be easier to understand.
On July 2, one of the most oppressive bills to be tabled in Parliament, the Federal Territories Mufti Bill 2024, had its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat.
Published: Oct 11, 2024 5:25 PM
COMMENT | Being a Muslim used to be so easy. One believed in Allah and observed the five pillars of Islam to lead one’s life as a good and responsible Muslim.
Today, conservative Muslims and wannabe clerics do the religious equivalent of blinding one with science. They litter their speeches with Arabic and line their policies with tongue-twisting theological phrases, to convince the masses that they are super religious or brilliant.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is doubtful that many Malays can comprehend what they are saying, and some Malaysians would probably agree that quantum mechanics would be easier to understand.
On July 2, one of the most oppressive bills to be tabled in Parliament, the Federal Territories Mufti Bill 2024, had its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat.
Mohd Na’im Mokhtar
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar introduced the bill and unsurprisingly, few of us paid any attention to it.
This is probably because every other day, at least one religious issue will dominate the news, despite there being more important priorities to focus on.
Sweeping powers
Next week, the bill will have its second and third reading in Parliament, before it is voted on and made into law.
This time, it must not escape our intense scrutiny yet again.
When it was first tabled, few of us were aware. Had Muslim MPs been lobbied to support this oppressive bill, while non-Muslim MPs had no clue what it was all about?
You should be worried about this bill because it represents a fundamental attack on our personal freedom and our democracy.
If passed, the bill will give unprecedented sweeping powers to unelected officials to dictate what we can, or cannot do.
Enslaved by religion
Months earlier, the Umno Baru Youth leader, Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh warned non-Muslims not to interfere with Islamic matters.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar introduced the bill and unsurprisingly, few of us paid any attention to it.
This is probably because every other day, at least one religious issue will dominate the news, despite there being more important priorities to focus on.
Sweeping powers
Next week, the bill will have its second and third reading in Parliament, before it is voted on and made into law.
This time, it must not escape our intense scrutiny yet again.
When it was first tabled, few of us were aware. Had Muslim MPs been lobbied to support this oppressive bill, while non-Muslim MPs had no clue what it was all about?
You should be worried about this bill because it represents a fundamental attack on our personal freedom and our democracy.
If passed, the bill will give unprecedented sweeping powers to unelected officials to dictate what we can, or cannot do.
Enslaved by religion
Months earlier, the Umno Baru Youth leader, Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh warned non-Muslims not to interfere with Islamic matters.
So, were the halal issues at the time, being used as a smokescreen for laying the groundwork to silence any opposition by non-Muslim MPs towards this controversial bill?
Na’im, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan, are trying to make out that the bill is relatively harmless.
Malaya may have achieved Merdeka 67 years ago, but Muslims are still enslaved by religion. The Malay mind is mummified and shaped by ignorance and dogma, while the non-Malays have been browbeaten into submission and silence.
The government will attempt to push this bill before the rakyat realises how serious the matter is.
These are the worst bits of the bill.
The bill is unconstitutional and our blind submission to it will mean that we transition from a democracy to authoritarian rule in Malaysia.
The bill is divisive, it gives unelected people, like the muftis, whose qualifications we do not know, absolute control over our lives.
Will the muftis have more power than the king when it comes to religious matters?
Interpretation of fatwa
Although we know that a fatwa is merely an opinion, this is after all Malaysia, and the fatwa will be interpreted according to the whims of these muftis.
They will have over-arching powers to sanction anyone whom they think has broken the fatwa. The fatwa will be set in stone just like any law that has been passed.
At the same time, the same unelected muftis will be immune from prosecution. What sort of governance is this? Lives may be destroyed, but these muftis will escape punishment.
When one state adopts it, others will follow suit, including Sarawak and Sabah.
You may not think it, but the bill will have serious consequences because it is a clash between two sets of laws, civil and syariah.
In 1988, two significant amendments to Article 1216 of the Federal Constitution were made. Our supreme law is the Federal Constitution, but ever since 1988, the powers and jurisdiction of the syariah courts have slowly been expanded beyond the limits permitted by the Constitution.
In October 2024, the syariah courts will overstep their boundaries yet again, and the civil courts will be powerless to stop them because of the way Article 121(1A) has been interpreted.
kt remembers: Article 121 (1A) was Mahathir's baby. See below for kt's more-detailed comments on Article 121(1A)
😁😂😅😆😊
Non-Muslims also impacted
Despite what the non-Muslims will have been told, the bill will affect us all, both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Non-Muslims also impacted
Despite what the non-Muslims will have been told, the bill will affect us all, both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail
There are some notable critics of this bill besides Sisters in Islam and some high-profile lawyers.
Perlis ruler Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail objected to the use of the Council of Rulers’ name to support the bill.
Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, another critic, warned about Sunni sectarianism and that “rigidity would lead to fanaticism and hatred between the people and the government”.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang wanted the bill to be reviewed and he criticised the need for an “official” Islamic strain.
When the Perlis ruler objected, Anwar said the experts would deliberate on the matter.
Controlling dissent
In 21st-century Malaysia, this is how the rakyat is kept strictly in line. Politicians control dissent by bullying us with draconian laws, while the muftis claim to save our souls via fire-and-brimstone sermons, promises of rewards in heaven, and threats of endless punishment in hell.
There are some notable critics of this bill besides Sisters in Islam and some high-profile lawyers.
Perlis ruler Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail objected to the use of the Council of Rulers’ name to support the bill.
Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, another critic, warned about Sunni sectarianism and that “rigidity would lead to fanaticism and hatred between the people and the government”.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang wanted the bill to be reviewed and he criticised the need for an “official” Islamic strain.
When the Perlis ruler objected, Anwar said the experts would deliberate on the matter.
Controlling dissent
In 21st-century Malaysia, this is how the rakyat is kept strictly in line. Politicians control dissent by bullying us with draconian laws, while the muftis claim to save our souls via fire-and-brimstone sermons, promises of rewards in heaven, and threats of endless punishment in hell.
In a nutshell, both politicians and clergy carve up the nation for themselves.
They enter into a marriage of convenience because they need one another to maintain their hold on power, and specifically to control you.
We thought that Na’im was one of the more “progressive” syariah judges. We were wrong.
Was Na’im under instruction to implement this bill as part of the bigger plan to Islamise Malaysia?
Or is the FT Mufti Bill 2024 part of Anwar’s unfinished business? Is he merely completing what he started in 1982 but was unable to finalise because he was ousted from office in 1998?
It is not too late to stop this bill.
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
*********
kt comments:
Article 121(1A) was a Mahathir-created blockage in 1988 for people who wanted to leave Islam - see my post of 07 January 2006, yeap more than 18 years ago, as follows:
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Article 121(1)(A) - What terrified the Civil Courts!
***
Also read (extracts from my post
Converted to Islam just for custody of children?), as follows:
Whether the civil courts have exclusive jurisdiction and inherent jurisdiction to review the actions of a public authority (e.g. Registrar of Muallafs)?
Short answer: Yes.
Because the civil courts’ powers to review a public authority’s actions is a basic part of the Federal Constitution that cannot be altered or removed. The Shariah courts do not have the same power and cannot be given such power as the constitutional safeguards for judiciary independence do not apply to them.
About the civil courts
The Federal Constitution's basic structure includes judicial powers such as judicial review, the principles of separation of powers, rule of law, protection of minorities. Parliament cannot remove such features by amending the Constitution.
The Federal Constitution’s Article 121(1) vests judicial power exclusively in the civil courts.
Judicial powers — including judicial review or the review of public authorities’ actions and decisions — cannot be removed from the civil courts, and cannot be given to any other body who do not have the same level of constitutional protection as civil judges to safeguard their independence.
About the Shariah courts
Unlike the civil courts that are established by and entrenched in the Federal Constitution, Shariah courts only come into existence when the state legislatures make state laws to establish them.
Unlike the civil courts, the constitutional safeguards for judicial independence in Part IX of the Federal Constitution -- including judges' qualifications, appointment, removal, security of tenure and remuneration -- do not apply to Shariah courts.
About the Federal Constitution’s Article 121(1A)
[kt's comment - Mahathir was responsible for this (1A), one of his zillion amendments to the World's most amended Constitution] 😁😂😅😆😊
Article 121(1A) says civil courts shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Shariah courts
The core question: Does Article 121(1A) grant exclusive jurisdiction to Shariah court in all matters of Islamic law, including those relating to judicial review?
Short answer: No.
Article 121(1A) does not remove the civil courts’ jurisdiction to interpret the Constitution or laws even when the matter is related to Islamic law.
Unduly simplistic to say Shariah courts must have sole jurisdiction over matters of conversion (as it involves Islamic law and practice). No constitutional amendment, federal law or state law can remove the civil courts' powers of judicial review, interpretation of Constitution and laws; or give them to Shariah courts.
Yes, the above successful challenge by M Indira Gandhi has been thanks to the wise ruling by 5 judges on the Federal Court's five-man panel, namely, Federal Court judge Tan Sri Zainun Ali, Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Federal Court judges Tan Sri Abu Samah Nordin and Tan Sri Ramly Ali.
Tan Sri Zainun Ali
There was another case where the players were/are Chinese, with the divorced mother being the Muslim. Several years (or more) after the divorce, when the kid has grown up somewhat, she returned to Penang as a Muslim and just seized the kid from the poor shocked father who could do nothing as no one in authority wanted to touch his plight with a ten-foot bamboo pole.
Even the so-called brave and defiant then-CM Lim Guan Eng kept his mouth shut and his hands clean a la Pontius Pilate - such was been the predicted outcome of any dispute pertaining to such cases involving one Muslim parent.
usually loud mouthed Tokong but ... don't spook the Malays
T'was M Indira Gandhi's sad story (still sad until today, no thanks to pathetic piss-poor police so-called investigation and search) that justice has been rightfully restored a la the original (English-version) Constitution [the translated Malay version of the Constitution was a victim of either unwitting or deliberately mis-translations which allowed only one parent to make such an unilateral decision to convert minors into Muslims - can you imagine any unilateral religious conversion of minors by one parent into a non-Islamic religions?].
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