MP withdraws from human rights caucus
Apr 8, 05 2:58pm
There are 50 non-governmental organisations and 200 individuals seeking to end moral policing by Islamic religious authorities.
Among the notable personalities who pledged support are Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim, Women and Family Development Minister Sharizat Abdul Jalil, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi�s daughter Nori Abdullah as well as Marina Mahathir, the daughter of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
�It�s too much�
�It�s a bit too much. There are certain issues in the religion that have to be respected,� Salahuddin told malaysiakini.
He said religious issues should not be compromised, and asserted that these sensitive issues could fan racial sentiments and disrupt harmony.
He believed that it was not a loss on his part to withdraw from the caucus as he would continue to put forward his views on human rights through Parliamentary debates.
�I, as the (PAS) Youth chief, do not want to make enemies with anyone. I hope Pak Lah himself, who is also the Internal Security Minister will look into it carefully so that there is no NGO or political party which raise sensitive issues like religion and its practices.
�All religions, including Islam, has its own freedom. Although the NGOs act on a human rights basis, we must follow the guidelines stated in our religions,� he said
The campaign was sparked off following a raid by the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) on a popular nightspot in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 20. More than 100 Muslim youths, half of whom women, were detained.
Subsequently, Jawi officers were accused of sexually harassing the detainees by making lewd remarks about the attire and even allegedly prevented one of them from using the toilet.
Hasty decision
Met at the same venue, the DAP leader said she was not surprised by the move as Salahuddin was representing his party�s views on the matter.
According to Chong Eng, it would be good for PAS as far as impressions are concerned to have a representative in the caucus.
Instead of withdrawing, she said they could have always �worked things out�.
She was also uncertain as to whether PAS will have a replacement representative in the caucus.
Earlier, Salahuddin submitted a memorandum to the government urging it to act against the NGOs behind the anti-moral policing campaign as well as against local publications with sexual elements.
The three-page memorandum was received by Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar on behalf of the prime minister. He was also given several copies of magazines.
�The action taken by the 50 NGOs and 200 individuals who criticised moral policing is an act of incitement and provocation,� said the PAS leader
Draw line between state and religion, say reformists
Apr 6, 05 10:39am
Just as the church-state divide is characteristic of Christianity, Islam in Malaysia should not enjoy state support in terms of �policing� public morality, said several individuals representing those seeking a review of Syariah law.
According to those seeking to repeal enactments that allegedly infringe upon fundamental liberties, the blurring of lines between the state and religion has caused problems in the administration of Islamic affairs. Businessman Redza Shahwis (photo), a speaker at a forum held yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, said the separation of powers should be upheld and strengthened. The event was organised by �concerned citizens� who included a panel of speakers, headed by lawyer Haris Ibrahim.
�If there is already a division between �church� and �state�, then let it be. But the problem is that division has been blurred and people are running
all over the division. The state has been doing the �church�s� work, and the �church� has been doing the state�s work,� said Redza. Another speaker, Ismail Ibrahim, said Islamic religious authorities should not enjoy legislative or enforcement powers on matters governed by civil law.
�If you were a woman going through a divorce, would you prefer to come under Syariah laws governing maintenance or civil laws? Clearly, if I was a woman I would prefer the civil laws. If you already have civil laws addressing the issue, then why the need for Syariah enactments (on the same matter)?� he asked.
No compulsion
Elaborating, Ismail said that, just as military laws are overridden by civil laws when the two overlap, Syariah enactments should likewise be rolled back when they
overlap with the civil laws.
�We have inherited the Victorian laws (from the British). If those laws are inadequate, we can all get together to strengthen them. If they are oppressive, we can also come together to change them. I don�t have this luxury with the Syariah laws,� said Ismail.
Ismail also cited Malaysia�s first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra who, in response to question as to whether alcohol and gambling should be made illegal, replied that this was a matter of personal faith.
�(Tunku) said, �I am the prime minister, and I will answer to God�. These are words of wisdom in a country that is multi-racial and multi-religious,� said Ismail. Tengku A�mash Adnan (photo) echoed Ismail�s statements by questioning the power of the religious authorities in enforcing Syariah law.
�Do these
laws in fact run counter to the fundamental principle in Islam that there shall be no compulsion? That there shall be no compulsion and that man�s surrender to God must be voluntary?� he asked.
�Do not some of these laws operate as a fetter on the Muslim mind with rules that regulate rational thought (and) making Muslims in this country subject to the dictates of man, not to the will of God?�
Review requested
A�mash then read out a letter, endorsed by about 220 individuals, that has been sent to the Council of Rulers requesting a review of Syariah enactments. The letter highlights provisions that give muftis absolute power and render them an elite law-making body without recourse or accountability to elected representatives of the people.
�We will approach the sultans. From there we will decide what comes
next. We do not want to replace one form of dominance with another form of dominance,� he said.
�(We seek the Rulers� review of ) Acts that are characterised by compulsion. These include laws that give a status of immunity to muftis and members of the (National) Fatwa Council who issue oppressive fatwas that protect certain interests,� said A�mash, reading from the letter.
�Many of these Acts clearly give absolute powers to dominate the minds of Muslims while restricting their rights to freedom of speech and to express one�s opinion.�
Certain punishment necessary
When contacted later, Haris denied that the group sought to end all �policing� of public morality, as there should still be some form of punishment for serious crimes that threaten society.
The state should continue legislating and enforcing against such offences as murder and adultery as these could endanger the safety of people and lead to the breakdown of the family institution, he said.
In response to suggestions that Prophet Muhammad had legislated public morality by, for instance, banning the consumption of alcohol, Haris said this issue could be settled by determining whether or not such legislation is in fact historical.
Such �alleged� incidents can be compared to Quranic injunctions and repealed if the need arises, since Islam exhorts people to change society through moral education and persuasion, rather than by �fear of the law�, he added.
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Anti-moral policing crusade to divide Muslims, MP claims
Mar 30, 05 7:42pm
Those campaigning against �moral policing� are driven by a hidden motive to cause a split in the Muslim community here, alleged a Barisan Nasional (BN) backbencher today.
�We should not be trapped by their agenda that aims to split Muslims in this country and its multi-racial society,� said Badruddin Amiruddin (BN-Jerai) during his debate at the Dewan Rakyat on the motion to thank the King for the royal address.
He claimed there were �external elements� utilising local non-government organisations to achieve this purpose.
Badruddin said this when asked by Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera) on whether he agreed with the campaign against �moral policing�.
Elaborating, the Jerai MP said religious laws must be retained to safeguard the morality of Muslims.
�We can�t let people take drugs as they like. We can�t show others that our people�s morality is so low when Malaysia
is an Islamic country,� he added.
He said prisons and courts should also therefore be abolished if there is opposition to the use of laws pertaining to morality.
�Do we hope to see a man and another man hold hands on the street one day? Western countries can do that but not us,� added the vocal backbencher.
Personal choices At this juncture, Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) interrupted and said it is inappropriate for enforcement officials to use their own definitions when taking action on matters such as attire and socialising because these are personal choices.
The opposition parliamentarian also stressed that there is no clear yardstick to gauge morality matters because certain enforcement officials could be �... lagging mentally and are not up to date�.
Responding,
Badruddin said the state which enacts religious laws must defend and protect the laws.
�Batu Gajah (Fong) if you want to wear bikini you still can wear ... but we can�t reach a stage where we become barbarians and not wear anything,� he quipped.
�We can�t amend Allah�s laws to be in line with today�s trends, I defend that 100 percent,� he stressed.
Ismail Noh (PAS-Pasir Mas) said he fully agreed with the views of his BN counterpart. Recently, a group of 53 NGOs endorsed a memorandum protesting �moral policing�, especially among Muslims.
They questioned the state�s role in defining and controlling morality and the use of punitive religious and municipal laws to achieve this.
They expressed concern that the state would be more inclined to police private lives when religion is made part of the political arena.
The NGOs called for repeal of
provisions in religious and municipal laws that deny citizens their fundamental rights to privacy, freedom of speech and _expression_, and those that overlap the Penal Code.
Ministerial support
In addition, they said a committee should be set up to monitor the repeal of these provisions and it should include representatives of women�s and human rights groups, progressive religious scholars and constitutional experts. Several Umno and Gerakan parliamentarians inked the memorandum when the group went to Parliament last week. Among the more notable ones were Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim (photo, left) and Youth and Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said.
On Jan 20,
about 100 Muslims, including scores of women, were detained by the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) following a raid on a popular entertainment outlet in Kuala Lumpur.
The matter made headlines after those detained accused the Jawi officers of making lewd remarks and even preventing one female detainee from using the toilet.
----------------------------------------
Jawi raid �un-Islamic�, says Sisters in Islam
Feb 2, 05 7:22pm
Laws under the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment - including the provision used by Federal Territory Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jawi) to arrest 100 Muslim youths at a nightspot last month - are not only unconstitutional but also un-Islamic, women affairs NGO Sisters In Islam (SIS) stated today.
�Numerous divisions in the law, one of which was used to arrest the 100 youths for �indecent behaviour� recently, have no basis in Islamic legal theory and practice and violate fundamental guarantees in the Federal Constitution,� SIS chairperson Zainah Anwar (photo, right)told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Calling on the government to suspend the enactment until a comprehensive review of it on constitutional and Islamic grounds is done, she said that various provisions in the enactment conflict with federal laws including the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.
Past practices of state religious bodies prove that there is a serious need for the government to review such punitive laws intended to �... regulate a person�s conscience, faith and private lifestyle�, she said.
�We still remember that in the year 2000, a
female singer Azlina Abbas was charged with insulting Islam by the Selangor Religious Department for being present at a restaurant serving alcohol. The incident also created a public outcry then.
�Such measures support the pursuit of a morals-based society in a literal and shallow way,� she pointed out.
Zainah said that over the years, enforcement of such laws has created a climate that runs counter to the spirit of justice, equality, freedom and dignity as promoted in the Quran.
�The zealousness of religious officials in promoting good and preventing evil has often led to public outrage.�
Fear, resentment
She also said that there is no evidence to support the view that such actions by religious bodies would prevent moral decay among youths.
�If at all, it will only make the youth more rebellious. Such arrests would create a lot of fear and resentment against the religious authorities.�
Zainah also pointed out that in passing such laws as the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment, there was a �serious dereliction of duty� by every arm of the government including the parliamentarians and the Attorney-General�s Chambers.
�Many parliamentarians, both Muslims and non-Muslims, do not want to raise matters pertaining to unfair legislation contained in state criminal offences enactments. For the Muslims MPs, they fear that they would be labelled un-Islamic while non-Muslim MPs do not want to be accused of being anti-Islam.�
She felt that the officers at the AG�s Chambers had failed to ensure that laws drafted for such enactments did not conflict with the Federal Constitution.
�I was told that the officers at the AG�s Chambers do not dare to even dot an �I� or cross a �t�. If there were attempts to change anything, they would be told off. They were told by the �ulama� (religious scholars) that they do not know anything about Islam and
therefore should shut up.�
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Women�s groups all for scrapping �moral police�
Feb 1, 05 4:21pm
Women�s groups agree with the cabinet that there is no need for moral policing to determine how people dress and behave.
�Who we hang out with, where we go and the manner in which we dress are personal choices. There should be no �moral police�, period!� said Sisters in Islam (SIS) programme manager Masjaliza Hamzah when contacted. Last week, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim said the cabinet had decided that there is no need for such policing.
This was in response to a controversial raid, which received widespread media coverage, carried out by the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) on a nightclub in the city on Jan 20.
Some 100 Muslim, including scores of women, were detained, herded into a truck and taken back to the department�s
headquarters.
The Jawi officers allegedly humiliated the women by hurling lewd remarks about their skimpy attire and taking photos of them. One of the women was also prevented from using the toilet, forcing her to relieve herself in her pants.
Who decides decency?
Commenting on this, Masjaliza said dressing was a personal choice, which should not be dictated by society or religion.
�Who decides this (decency in dressing), Is it the enforcement officers?� she asked.
She pointed out that the determining factor for �indecent� behaviour or clothing is rather subjective.
Masjaliza also quoted a verse from the Quran, which tells Muslims not to judge people based on their dressing.
�The prime minister promotes Islam Hadhari, but how is it that there are laws like these? Laws like these have an impact on different religions,� she said.
She also suggested that local
authorities focus on educating the youth of all races and religions by providing service centres for them to engage in fun activities.
Repeal the laws
Women�s Aid Organisation (WAO) executive director Ivy Josiah also agreed that authorities should not dictate the lives of others. �In terms of instilling moral values, it should be left in the hands of the family, or even the schools. It is disturbing to know that I could be taken away anytime, any place, in a stall or club because of what I wear,� she said when contacted
Josiah stressed that it is a personal choice between the person and his or her faith to decide on the manner of dressing.
�The government should review the laws or policies, if not repeal them,� she said, adding that an open debate and study be carried out.
The
All Women�s Action Society (Awam) said that, instead of acting as moral guardians, the authorities should use their resources to address issues such as violent crimes, child abuse, sexual violence and road rage.
The lack of clear rules and procedures governing the Jawi officers made it more likely for them to overstep and abuse the powers entrusted to them, added Awam in a statement.
Also in agreement with the cabinet, was the Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women.
In a statement, it said authorities should focus on criminal activity that is more harmful to the society.
It also called on the government to carry out a quick and thorough investigation into the controversial Jawi raid.
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