Posts Tagged ‘Religion’

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Is Jeanne a Malay? Yes, says UMNO Kepala Batas

June 25th, 2007
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got this from forwarded email.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Vegetable… <>
Date: Jun 21, 2007 10:50 PM
Subject: [www.umic.com.my] Is Jeanne a Malay? Yes, says UMNO Kepala Batas
To:

By kuda ranggi

It is not a surprise when Datin Seri Jeanne (Danker) Abdullah was
accepted as an UMNO member in the Kepala Batas division, Penang,
headed by her “charming” husband-cum-Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad.

Some people are asking when did Jeanne, a Eurasian, “converted to be a
Malay ” thus qualified to be a card-carrying member of UMNO, the
biggest Malay political party heading the grand coalition government
known as Barisan Nasional or National Front?

As I said it is no surprise if, firstly, one looks at the definition
of “Malay” in the Federal Constitution, and secondly she is the wife
of the Prime Minister who is also UMNO President, and thirdly
thousands of Indian Muslims, Arabs, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Siamese,
among others, have been accepted as UMNO members. Not forgetting the
Bumiputeras of Sabah who are not Muslims.

Once upon a time in Penang, several UMNO branches in the Tanjong
Division conducted their meetings in Tamil, their division leader then
was a Tamil Muslim and most of the branches in the city were headed by
Tamil Muslims. UMNO recognised them as “Malays” although they did not
speak Malay at home or conform to Malay custom.

Article 161 of the Federal Constitution defines a Malay as “a person
who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay
language and conforms to Malay custom”. On top of that, the persons or
their parents have to be born or domiciled in Malaya or Singapore
before Merdeka Day (31 August 1957).

The UMNO constitution or Perlembagaan UMNO stated that any citizen of
Malaysia belonging to the Malay race or Bumiputera aged 18 and above
can be accepted as an ordinary member of the party.

In Malay: Fasal 4.2 Ahli Biasa ialah Warganegara Malaysia yang
berbangsa Melayu atau Bumiputera yang berusia 18 tahun ke atas.

The key words are “yang berbangsa Melayu” or a Malay (by race) or
Bumiputera (sons of the soil). A Bumiputera is not necessarily a
Muslim. Not all Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak, for example, and the
Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia are Muslims. They are free to join
UMNO.

UMNO is not, in reality, a Malay political party. It is a Bumiputera
political party and not all Bumiputeras are Muslims.

The party’s war-cary of “Hidup Melayu” should be change to “Hidup Bumiputera”.

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Candle Light Vigil for Revathi – photos

June 21st, 2007
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For those who are still blur, there was a call for a candle light vigil in support of Ms Revathi, on Tuesday at Dataran Merdeka. I have received some photos courtesy of Selian (selian.blogspot.com).

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MCCBCHST releases booklet to raise awareness of religious rights

June 20th, 2007
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Booklet to raise awareness of religious rights
Giam Say Khoon

KUALA LUMPUR (June 19, 2007): The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) today launched a booklet to raise public awareness on religious rights.

Its deputy president Datuk A. Vaithilingam said the booklet, entitled Unity Threatened by Continuing Infringements of Religious Freedom, highlighted the personal tragedies of various ordinary Malaysians.

At a press conference today, Vaithilingam said the council had sent a memorandum to the government through the National Unity Advisory Panel in October 2005, calling for each individual's freedom of religion under the constitution to be protected.

"In the memorandum, we had set out all these problems and urged the government to take legislative reforms to alleviate these concerns. Until today, no such reforms have been made," he said.

It was because of this that the council decided to produce the booklet, and "to encourage debate so we can all jointly seek solutions to these problems", he said.

The public can get a copy of the booklet, which includes the memorandum, at the council's headquarters at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields and from the council's member associations. He said the booklet will also be sent to all members of parliament.

The council, All Women's Action Society, Sisters in Islam, Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Women's Centre for Change and Women's Development Centre also initiated a candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka today evening.

Vaithilingam said the vigil was held in solidarity with M. Revathi, who was born to Indian Muslim parents and was sent to a religious rehabilitation centre after she applied to the syariah court to leave Islam. She has professed to be Hindu and married Suresh Veerappan under Hindu rites and they have a 15-month-old daughter.

"The venue of the vigil was Dataran Merdeka, where 50 years ago our independence from colonial rule was proclaimed. It was intentionally chosen to give Revathi some hope that she too will have freedom soon," he said.

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PM view on Lina Joy case

June 1st, 2007
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Nazri: “What is the point of keeping a person a Muslim if they no longer believed in the faith and made that publicly known?”
 
PM: No pressure exerted on judges in Lina Joy case

source

By SHAHANAAZ HABIB

KUALA LUMPUR: It was not a political decision – that was what Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said about the Lina Joy decision by the Federal Court. 

The Prime Minister said the Government did not exert any pressure on the judges. 

When asked about critics who said the decision was political, he replied: “They must have a hole in their heads if they say it’s a political decision.”  

He said no one had hoped for or pressured the court into making any political decision. 

“That is emotions (talking). If people allow themselves to be influenced by emotions, they will think of all sorts of things and suspect this and that and make themselves uneasy,” he told reporters after chairing the Umno supreme council meeting yesterday. 

On Wednesday, the Federal Court rejected Lina’s appeal to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to remove the word “Islam” from her identity card. 

Lina, 42, was born Azlina Jailani to Malay parents and brought up as a Muslim but later converted to Christianity. She managed to get her name changed but was denied a change in her religious status. 

On whether the decision gave non-Muslims the wrong perception, Abdullah said: “If they have the wrong perception, what can we do? The court made a decision and I don’t question that. There are many decisions the court had made which many of us are not happy with.” 

Abdullah said he did not think there was a widening religious divide in the country of late. 

“Discussions on religion have become more widespread but this does not represent a divide,” he said.  

On a foreign report that said the Lina Joy verdict showed that Malaysia rejected Christianity, Abdullah said that if this was the case there would be no Christians and no churches in the country. 

He said the report was probably done out of ignorance “but if they know our country and said that, then that is being naughty.” 

On non-Muslims having problems in their dealings with the Syariah Court, he said such cases would have to be dealt with. 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who is the de facto law minister, urged everyone to respect the decision and not to speculate that Lina would not stand a chance in the Syariah Court. 

“What is the point of keeping a person a Muslim if they no longer believed in the faith and made that publicly known?” he asked. 

In Kota Baru, PAS deputy president Nasruddin Mat Isa welcomed the decision, saying that it had removed any ambiguity regarding the role of the Syariah Court on matters of Islamic faith and belief.  

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Federal Constitution must remain supreme

June 1st, 2007
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Bar Council: Federal Constitution must remain supreme

PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council supports the minority judgment of Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum that no court or authority should be easily allowed to have implied powers to curtail rights that are constitutionally granted. 

Its president S. Ambiga said the Federal Constitution “is and must remain in law, supreme.” 

“In an event of any inconsistency or conflict between the provisions of State Enactments and of the Federal Constitution, the latter must prevail,” she said in a statement yesterday. 

On Wednesday, the Federal Court rejected Lina JoyÂ’s appeal to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to remove the word “Islam” from her identity card. 

Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff voted against her appeal and said conversion issues should be dealt with by the Syariah Court. 

In his dissenting judgement, Justice Malanjum described the NRD’s insistence that Lina Joy obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Federal Territory Syariah Court or any Islamic authority as illegal and unreasonable. 

Ambiga said: “We are mindful that issues relating to religion will inevitably draw emotive responses in a multireligious society. 

“Malaysians must be prepared to confront these issues maturely and dispassionately within the framework of our Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.” 

Council of Churches of Malaysia general-secretary Rev Dr Herman Shastri said it viewed the Federal Court’s decision with regret and concern. 

“We believe that the constitutional provision in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion in our country has been severely violated,” he said. 

He said the majority judgement had denied the individual the right to freedom of conscience and choice of religion.  

“It is, therefore, vital that the necessary legislation be enacted to ensure that no citizen would be penalised when he or she exercises the individual right to choose a faith and to practice it in freedom,” he said. 

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