The Sultan's decree does not resolve important
issues raised by the farcical raid on DUMC and has left many with bottled up
feelings of resentment and discontent
The principal parties involved in
the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raid on a Methodist church
function last August have officially endorsed the sultan’s solution, and the
matter is deemed closed.
The Sultan
of Selangor’s brief statement said that “….there had been attempts to subvert
the faith and belief of Muslims” during the dinner at the Damansara Utama
Methodist Church (DUMC) organised by the NGO Harapan Komuniti during Ramadan.
Despite
this, many issues remain unresolved and the rakyat is more perplexed than ever
because his statement raises more questions than answers.
How much
involvement has Umno in the affairs of an opposition led state, do state
religious authorities think that they are above the law and had abuses of power
by JAIS been swept under the carpet?
The
statement did not allude to any evidence uncovered in these “attempts” at
proselytisation, neither did it make reference to the Christians.
However, it
mentioned that no further legal action could be taken because of insufficient
evidence and that JAIS had acted correctly in conducting the search.
Sultan
Sharafuddin said: “Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by JAIS
and after obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, we are
in agreement that there would be no prosecution against any party.
“We are
satisfied that the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any law
enforceable in Selangor. We command that (Islamic officials) provide counseling
to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and
faith in the religion of Islam.”
Officials
of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims
had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise
funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS
enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid.
Perhaps,
the most disquieting statement was when the sultan said that he was “gravely concerned
and extremely offended by the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith
and belief of Muslims.”
Malaysians
have remarked that they are just as offended because nothing has been done to
check high-handed officialdom and the mistrust which the officials have in the
rakyat.
Firstly,
they are offended that Malays are perceived to be of weak faith and an even
weaker constitution, that their presence in a largely Christian flock, when
hymns are sung or prayers said, could make them denounce their faith.
Secondly,
the notion that any multiethnic event, be it a funeral, Christmas party,
celebration of a festival or something as innocuous as a dinner, is seen as an
attempt to convert the Muslim brethren.
As defender
of the faith, the sultan had also directed his subjects to stop questioning the
actions of JAIS and that activities which spread other religions to Muslims
should cease.
He said:
“The religion of Islam as practised in Selangor is one of tolerance. Muslims
are always encouraged to respect the believers of other religions. However,
persons or parties cannot take the opportunity to spread other religions to
Muslims.”
What if a similar raid was on a mosque?
But
disgruntled non-Muslims have remarked: “It is all right for you Muslims. But
who speaks for us, when members of our community undergo forced conversions?
“Families
are torn apart, children are separated from their mothers, bodies are snatched
from graves, marriages cannot be registered. Where is the freedom to practise
our religion as provided in the constitution?”
A Malay
resident of Petaling Jaya living beside a Church said: “No one questions JAIS
for wanting to do its job. The issue is how JAIS conducted itself when it
carried out the raid.
“Did JAIS
have any respect of the sanctity of a place of worship? Did it even follow
procedures when conducting the raid? Are there any standard procedures in the
first instance?
“If a
similar raid were to be conducted on a mosque, wouldn’t there be a Muslim
backlash? Without search warrants or strict adherence to guidelines to raid, do
you think anyone will have any respect for authority if they simply bulldoze
their way in?
“Where is
the respect for another person’s religion?” Where is our tolerance?”
Mindful of
the many illegal and unlawful precedents of the raid, the Menteri Besar of
Selangor, Khalid Ibrahim has said that the Selangor government would form a
special committee to scrutinise the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of JAIS
with regard to attempts to proselytise Muslims.
Khalid said
that the committee would include religious leaders, legal experts and senior
government officers, and in an attempt to draw a line over the incident and
prevent royal dissent, he acquiesced and said: “The Selangor government will
not look back on this issue. Rather, we will enhance awareness on the need to
strengthen JAIS’ enforcement and gathering of evidence.”
Khalid’s
delicate role as diplomat-cum-politician is misconstrued as a feeble attempt to
placate certain quarters, not least to salvage JAIS’ reputation. Nonetheless,
the Christians are left bristling with discontent.
Questions
have been raised as to why a six-minute video clip of the raid surfaced on
pro-Umno blogs a fortnight later. There were security concerns when photographs
and personal details of the Muslim dinner guests were leaked. How did the
bloggers obtain supposedly confidential JAIS evidence?
Lawyers
representing Harapan Komuniti said that they had not been given a final report
nor any details about the JAIS raid. They also said that investigations into
the death threat received by their clients, had not achieved any progress.
Meanwhile,
the Selangor executive councillor in charge of Islamic affairs, Hasan Ali, was
satisfied with the sultan’s decree and said that he was grateful that the
sultan “wanted stern action to prevent proselytising”…. “because of the
attempts to influence people’s faith”.
If there
was insufficient evidence, why should the Muslims be counselled? And if there
were indeed attempts to proselytise, shouldn’t the offenders be punished? What
about the lawfulness of the raid itself?
This decree
does not resolve any of the important issues raised by this farce and has left
many with bottled up feelings of resentment and discontent.
(Mariam
Mokhtar is a FMT columnist)
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Source : FMT
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