Press Statement

by Lim Guan Eng

(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein is wrong to say in the Utusan Malaysia today that Malaysians have no right to question, oppose or challenge BN’s position that Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution makes Malaysia an Islamic state. Hishamuddin appears to have forgotten that it was his own father, former Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn who declared that Malaysia is not an Islamic state.

As a lawyer, Hishamuddin should know that the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the federation as stated in Article 4 (1). No one is questioning Islam as the religion of the Federation under Article 3. However at no point was Malaysia an Islamic state nor Article 121(1A) made Malaysia an Islamic state as it only removed the previous control and jurisdiction of civil courts over syariah courts. It is ridiculous how Hishamuddin can stretch, distort and even pervert Article 121(1A) as converting Malaysia into an Islamic state.

Hishamuddin should learn from his father that our Federal Constitution is secular with Islam as the religion of the country. Tun Hussein Onn’s position is similar to the stance taken by our first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and 2^nd Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. This was reaffirmed by the highest court of our land, the Supreme Court in   the Che Omar Che Soh case in 1988. In that judgment, Tun Salleh Abas ruled that the syariah law was not the basic law of the land and that the constitution was the supreme law. Unless there is a constitutional amendment Malaysia is and never was an Islamic state.

For Hishamuddin to even bar Malaysians from discussing Article 121(1A) is not only undemocratic, it also violates the basic human rights of freedom of speech. Even the Sedition Act or Article 10(4) of the Federal Constitution made no mention of not being able to discuss Article 121(1A). There are four sensitive matters that even Parliamentarians do not enjoy immunity and can not question relating to citizenship rights under Part III of the Federal Constitution, the position of national language and mother tongue-language under Article 152, special position of Malays under Article 153 and the status of Rulers under Article 181.

No mention is made of Article 121(1A) precisely because any questioning is not related to challenging the status of Islam as the religion of the Federation. Any questioning of Article 121(1A)  relates to the rights of non-Muslims when matters relating to Islam are decided by the syariah courts. In matters affecting non-Muslims DAP adopts the position that if the religion of the subject-matter is not in dispute then the syariah courts have the right of jurisdiction. However if the religion of the subject-matter is in dispute and affects non-Muslims, then the civil courts should decide.

DAP does not oppose Islam as the religion of the Federation. However DAP strongly opposes Malaysia as an Islamic state where Islam is the main guiding philosophy for BN which  is not stated in our constitution but seen as discriminatory towards non-Muslims.

DAP urges MCA, Gerakan, MIC and SUPP to oppose Hishamuddin’s extremist attempt to rewrite history and pervert our Constitution without making the necessary constitutional amendments that make Malaysia an Islamic state. DAP support the rights of NGOs in Article 11 to hold forum to promote the right to religion and basic rights of non-Muslim in consonant with our basic human and constitutional right of freedom of religion.

DAP strongly condemns the attempts by extremist Muslim organizations and regrets that PAS and UMNO has united to restrict the democratic right of expression, erode the rights of non-Muslims and turn Malaysia into an Islamic state. If non-Muslims can not even question Article 121(1A) when they are adversely affected and their right to freedom of religion, then BN must bear full responsibility for turning Malaysia into an Islamic state where non-Muslims do not enjoy equal political and economic rights.