SIS : Exercise wisdom and compassion on freedom of religion

Sisters in Islam

SIS is concerned that the government has yet to respond to the growing number of critical questions in relation to the issue of freedom of religion in the country. The recent case of Marimuthu and Raimah and their six children, as reported in the media, is yet another tragic episode of a family ripped apart because of disputes over religion.

SIS urges the government to take a clear and principled position in respecting freedom of religion as clearly envisaged by the Qur'an, as reflected in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As a democratic country that upholds the Constitution and rule of law, and as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the government must exercise its political will to uphold and safeguard the fundamental liberties of its citizens.

In a multi-religious society such as ours, conflicting situations on issues of faith are bound to arise. These include such cases of

1) non-Muslims converting to Islam, thus affecting the rights of the non-converting family members;
2) born Muslims who never led the life of a Muslim as they were brought up by non-Muslim family members;
3) converts to Islam who later want to leave Islam;
4) born Muslims who wish to leave Islam out of their own free will.

It is high time for the government to show wisdom and compassion in dealing with such matters of faith so deep in a person's heart.

The search for solutions to these challenges cannot be conducted in ways that violate the legitimate rights of Malaysian citizens. The government cannot postpone any longer the need to act on the Prime Minister's many calls for Muslims to exercise ijtihad and rational thinking as well as to strive for a more enlightened interpretation of the Qur'an and Hadith to deal with our ever changing times and circumstances.

SIS stands in solidarity with fellow Muslims who uphold freedom of religion as enjoined by the Qur'an. In fact, freedom of religion is a fundamental tenet of Islam.

In Surah al-Baqarah, 2:256, Allah explicitly states: "Let there be no compulsion in religion". This verse has been widely interpreted to mean that no one can be compelled to embrace Islam because religion depends upon faith and will, and this would be meaningless if induced by force.

Islam itself means submission to the will of God; and the willing submission of the self to faith and belief must be attained through conviction and reason, not through coercion and duress.

Surah Yunus 10:99 goes on to emphasise diversity in beliefs, "If your Lord had willed, all the people on the earth would have come to believe, one and all. Are you going to compel the people to believe against their will?"

Such messages in the Qur'an cannot possibly be translated to mean punishment, detention and forced rehabilitation for those who change their faith. If anything, the Qur'an demands in Surah an-Nahl 16:125 for us to "invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and reason with them in ways that are best and most gracious."

We call on fellow Muslims to display the beauty, compassion, peace and wisdom of God's message for it is a disservice to Islam that we merely stand by and watch the agony of families torn apart.

http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/letters.php?itemid=4512

重提大选诉求，你認为可行嗎？

社会文化评论者孙和声乐观地指出，马来西亚的社会经济结构已经起了很大变化，我们绝对可以展望一个新的国民共识的诞生，就是建设跨越族群地、一个更进步的马来西亚。他甚至建议华社动员起来，联合其他族群，重提1999年《马来西亚华团大选诉求》。孙和声“重提《诉求》”的建议也获得了在场人士的热烈反响。

http://www.merdekareview.com/news.php?n=4013

請吃KFC, 馬上放外勞！

一名建筑承包商今天召开记者招待会，投诉自愿警卫队无故扣留其24名合法印尼外劳，以及移民厅官员多方刁难他，逼他“请吃 ”才肯放人。他无奈苦等了两天仍无收获，只好买肯德基家乡鸡套餐（KFC)送给其中两名官员，结果在短短的一小时内顺利取得外劳保释信。

这名愤怒的雇主张群芳表示，自愿警卫队是于今年4月22日（星期日）早上凌晨3点钟，在没有任何移民厅官员或警察的陪同下，前往其公司位于鹅麦的工地，逮捕所有24名还在睡梦中的外劳，然后将他们带往美拉花蒂（Taman Melawati）的自愿警卫队总部。

她称，自愿警卫队指控这些外劳的工作准证是属于别间公司的，因此必须将他们扣留查办。 “我丈夫在接到工头的通知后，当天早上立刻带齐所有的文件，包括外劳们的合法护照，前往自愿警队总部，希望可以领回外劳，但却遭到自愿警卫队拒绝。”

她继称，其中一名自愿警队官员嘉化（Jaafar)威胁要没收所有外劳的护照以调查，但是她丈夫因担心护照“一去不回”而加以拒绝，因此嘉化便以“需进一步调查”为由，把所有外劳扣押到位于马六甲的马接区扣留营。

张群芳表示，她丈夫曾向她透露，嘉化还故意在他面前打电话给布城的移民厅总部，并宣称得到移民厅总部证实所有外劳的工作准证是“假的”，所以有权扣留他们。 不过，她质疑说，“奇怪的是移民厅在星期日有开吗？他们到底是打给谁，我们也不懂”。

隔天（星期一）一大早，张群芳丈夫便到布城移民厅总部，在获得当局确认所有外劳的文件属实后，他便受令前往位于沙亚南的雪州移民厅总部欲领取“外劳保释信”。

可惜，到了沙亚南移民厅后，他苦等了一整天都毫无收获，因为官员们互相推卸责任，最后更以“文件还没准备好”，叫他第二天早上10时再来。

她接着说，到了第二天早上，官员仍然宣称文件还未准备好，在其丈夫的不停追问下，其中一位名叫阿兹里查（Azrizal）的移民厅官员更暗示说，“你去买晚餐再回来”。

“我丈夫听后，赶快去买了两份肯德基套餐给他们，结果前后不到一个小时，就拿到了保释信。”

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/67078

歐陽文風:訴諸現實的謬誤

現實與自然（作者：歐陽文風）

updated:2007-04-29 00:00:00 MYT

訴 諸自然的思考方法，內在邏輯預設自然等於正確，存在意味合理，至於一切“反自然”則等於絕對錯誤，其謬誤我已舉例分析。其實，在現今社會，由於目睹大自然 之災禍，沒有多少人可能純粹崇拜“自然”，把“自然”當檢驗真理的唯一與絕對權威。但把存在等於自然，把現實視為“不可改變”的人，卻是不少。這等人把現 實當“自然”，以為不可違逆，結果冷眼旁觀，沒有克難改過意志。

這種訴諸自然的謬誤，最典型的說詞就是“現實就是這樣的啦！”言下之意，我們不可能做出任何改變，任何企圖改變的想法都是不知天高地厚的“理想”，而“理 想”對他們而言意味幼稚，是一種貶詞。這種思想一旦形成風氣，逆來可以順受、生命唯求得過且過，使人變成柔弱愚昧，畏首畏尾。

我們的社會擁有這種思想的人，絕對不是少數。因此，對政治的貪污濫權，很多老百姓已沒有知覺，反對黨或媒體再爆多幾單高官貪污案，許多人可以完全沒有感覺，一切的感覺都被這種思維麻痺：有哪一個政治人物不貪？

一旦把人性的弱點當做“自然”，一旦視貪污為自然，貪污濫權怎麼可能令他憤怒？難怪許多國家的政府可以一貪再貪，屆屆大選還是獲得老百姓的選票，直到把國 庫掏空，貪得老百姓水深火熱，老百姓才在餓極之下怒髮沖冠，大鬧革命，把領導人趕下來。只是這時縱使貪官走了，國家若非已陷萬劫不復之境，就是必須花好長 的時間才可能恢復元氣。為甚麼老百姓總要等到政治病入膏肓，才開始醒悟？為甚麼許多人總要付出慘重代價，才懂得我們不應譏諷理想？

訴諸“現實”其實是變相的訴諸“自然”，由於相信現實世界沒有不愛腥的貓，沒有不貪的官，結果對貪污濫權事件一隻眼開一隻眼閉，完全不以為然。迷信現實的人沒有理想，以為一切不可能改變，結果生命缺乏反對意志與反抗精神。

許多少年人原本理想滿滿，可一旦在社會混久了，受了一些苦，就學乖。我的朋友中，不少以前滿腔熱情，義憤填膺，看不慣主流作風，但後來受了一點委曲，又沾 染權力甜頭，愛慕主流起來，現在變成了他們當年批判的對象，完全不見獨立思考的影子。這種向“現實”低頭的例子，還會太少？

當一個人把現實當自然，理想靠邊站，你做了一些他不敢不想不願做的事，他就嘲諷你想做英雄。當“英雄”成貶詞，就是社會墮落的象徵。

訴諸現實的人總愛說“現實與理想是有距離的”，一句就潑你冷水，否定你的改革決心。可這種人思想的貧瘠恰好充份暴露在這說詞之中，現實當然與理想有所距 離，如果現實等於理想，如果理想就是現實，干嘛還要改革？就是因為現實還不夠理想，理想還不是現實，我們才要繼續努力；“現實與理想有所距離”恰是我們努 力與改革的原因，但對一些不能獨立思考的人，竟成為拒絕努力的藉口。訴諸現實，豈有此理？

有人說：不管選誰上台，上台後都是一樣的，這就是現實。結果他不是選舉時棄權不投票，就是隨便投，沒有改革政治理想。可有人會不會問“反正吃飽飯後，還會餓，為何還要吃飯”？或說“反正衣服洗了之後又會再髒，這是現實，所以從今以後不再洗衣”？

我想再笨的人也不會說“反正喝水之後變成尿，不如現在口渴就喝尿”！

訴諸現實／自然的謬誤，還不明顯？

星洲廣場‧作者：星洲日報／自由靈魂．歐陽文風．29／04／2007
http://mag.sinchew-i.com/scgc/content.phtml?vol=20070429&sec=A60

星洲:2006年每天７女学生被强暴

去年3550學生犯罪被捕 2435未成年女生遭強姦

updated:2007-05-05 20:36:36 MYT

（雪邦訊）大馬罪案防範基金會理事拿督卡馬魯丁今日（週六，5日）揭露，去年共有2435名不足16歲的女學生被強姦。

此外，他表示，去年共有3550名學生涉及各類罪案而被警方扣留調查，主要是涉及群毆、偷竊、強姦等案件。

卡馬魯丁也在會上提醒中學生，即使獲得當事人同意，與未滿16歲女生發生性行為可在強姦罪名下被控，罪名成立的男學生可面對14年監禁，因此，中學生應該避免發生婚前性行為。

出席生活營閉幕禮的還包括吉隆坡代總警長祖哈斯南高級助理總監、吉隆坡教育局學校組長羅哈娜等，共有97名來自吉隆坡的中學生參加這個3天2夜的生活營。

不過，祖哈斯南以手上沒有數據為由，不願意對記者有關女學生被強姦的數據發表任何談話。 （星洲日報‧2007.05.05）

http://www.sinchew.com.my/content.phtml?sec=1&artid=200705052459

当今大马：伊斯兰机构不受法律管制？

当今大马英文版一篇非常好的读者来函。


Religious authorities a law unto themselves
JeffreyMay 4, 07 5:00pm

Karpal Singh said that the case ‘sets a new precedent’ with Jais agreeing to hand over the custody of the children from a Muslim mother to a non-Muslim father. ‘We are resorting to King’s Solomon justice. It is a good compromise’ he said in the malaysiakini report Hindu man gets custody of children.

What is the nature the ‘good compromise’ as proclaimed by Karpal? I beg to disagree.
As I understand it, the ‘new precedent’ for which victory is claimed is the negotiated and compromise outcome that allowed Raimah Bibi Noordin - in professing that she remained a Muslim (ie desist from apostasy) - to bargain with and procure the release by religious authorities of six of their seven children to her husband, Marimuthu Periasamy, to be raised as Hindus.

I submit that such an outcome is not satisfactory for defenders of our secular constitution and civil liberty. It is a defeat which they should be rueful about rather than a victory to celebrate for following reasons.

First, there is no victory as there is no precedent set at all for a Muslim (whether born or converted) to exercise freedom of religion. Second, there is also no precedent that a Muslim could freely choose to have his or her child opt out of the religion as Karpal seems to imply.
Raimah Bibi Noordin’s case does not constitute such a precedent. This is because in the first place, she was born an ethnic Indian and although adopted by a Muslim convert family, had always – until the deal was struck with the religious authorities – proclaimed herself a practising Hindu.

Raimah’s wearing of a traditional Malay floor-length attire with a Muslim headscarf to declare to the High Court that she would ‘remain a Muslim’ was made in circumstances suggestive of duress. It was an outcome after a month of being whisked off to a Muslim village - Kampung Melayu Liga Emas in Selangor's Batang Kali - for rehabilitation and religious counseling.

It was suggestive of a trade off for the freedom for her children to remain with her husband as Hindus. And it was a sacrifice that only a mother would make that gives new poignancy to Mother’s Day celebration.

In fact, it was more a victory of sorts for the religious authorities. They could prevail on a person like Raimah, whose better part of her life had been spent as a practising Hindu (and whose old identity card, until the change to Mykad, had corroborated this fact) to now renounce her earlier profession as a Hindu to publicly embrace the Muslim faith.

Never mind, one may speculate, that it was a bargain to procure the release of her children and the price to pay for their freedom to be brought up under the Hindu faith.

The religious authorities could also take away Raimah Bibi and six of her seven children on April 2 and prevail on Raimah to renounce her earlier professed Hindu faith for the Muslim faith all without a whisper of reprimand or comment from the governmental and political authority.

In a word, they have amply demonstrated that they could be law unto themselves. What this shows is that religious authorities have become independent of the civil, political and governmental authority of this country.

As Article 121(1)A of Federal Constitution would, as interpreted by some recent High Court decisions, restrain civil courts from having jurisdiction over matters within jurisdiction of the Sharia Courts, so in the case of Raimah Bibi Noordin’s predicament, it appears that civil, governmental and political authority have equally no jurisdiction over the activities of religious authorities.

With respect to Karpal, the compromise outcome of Raimah Bibi Noordin represents no victory at all for civil society, women’s groups, civil authority or the Federal Constitution. It is a fiat accompli and victory for the Islamic state with the missed opportunity here to test the constitutional point of Raimah's case before our highest court - though no one could possibly blame or judge Raimah for taking the sacrifice of compromise to relieve her family from an ordeal of a protracted contest.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/66823

为什么反贪调查不能公布？

当今大马的新闻。赞成国际透明机构的建议，反贪局报告应该向国会公布，让国会议员辩论。

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has called for a full disclosure of the Anti-Corruption Agency’s investigation into the cases involving politician Zakaria Mohd Deros.

Yesterday, Selangor ACA director Mohd Jamidan Abdullah said two of three cases against Zakaria, the Pelabuhan Klang state assemblyperson, has been closed due to lack of evidence.

Selangor ACA submitted three separate investigation papers last month to the Attorney-General Chamber’s prosecution division for scrutiny. “

The ACA must assure the public that all efforts were made to get to the bottom of things before such a conclusion (to close the cases) was drawn,” said TI-M president Ramon Navaratnam in a statement today.

“Unless the ACA shows more disclosure and transparency in its work, the public will not be encouraged to have sufficient confidence and faith in the ACA,” he added.

According to him, the only way to ensure credibility is to have the ACA report directly to Parliament where its annual report could be debated by all MPs, including opposition members.

more...

独立:原住民促列祖地为保留地

来自彭亨州百乐县（Bera）甘榜武吉洛（Kampung Bukit Rok）和甘榜依班（Kampung Ibam）瑟米莱原住民于4月18日向淡马鲁高庭申请庭令（Order for Certiorari）撤销土地统一与复兴有限公司（FELCRA Bhd）在武吉可巴扬（Bukit Kepayang）这块土地的发展计划。这项发展计划将需要用到500英亩土地。

博表示：“这项计划牵涉到两个原住民村落的族人，在这两个村落之中有500户人家。在这项计划底下，他们发展的土地是原住民耕耘的土地，我们在那里种植油棕和橡胶树，以及在附近找一些森林资源。”

“但是，一旦这个计划落实，我们所种植的油棕和橡胶树将会被清理。不过，我们并不会从这项计划中受益，获益者是住在甘榜巴都巴班（Kampung Batu Papan）的村民。”

因此，博马诺兰有理由相信，负责批准这项发展计划的州议员滥用权力，好让该甘榜的居民受益，因为这个州议员也是来自这个甘榜。

他说：“他们拿了我们的土地去发展，但是我们却不是受益者。”

居住在当地的原住民，已经忘记了到底他们居住在这块土地多久，博告诉《独立新闻在线》，他们从第一任族长（Batin）手上接过这块土地，目前他们已经更换了16个族长，如果一个族长平均担任30年，算算都有480年了，比只有50岁的马来西亚还要早。

更多...

高教部欲对付参与补选大专生

高教部欲对付参与补选大专生 动力青年批剥夺关心政治权利
07年4月30日 傍晚6:49

针对高教部部长慕斯达法发表将引用大专法令对付涉嫌参与政治补选的大专生，动力青年(Youth For Change)深表遗憾，并无法认同高教部剥夺大专生关心政治的权利。

动力青年召集人李凯伦发表文告说，大专生向来被喻为时代眼睛、社会良知，本该走入民间了解人民所面对的问题，并提出改变及建设性的方案，为需要帮助的人谋求福利，改善人民的生活。

动力青年认为，鼓励年轻人到补选地区进行考察或者观察，不但可以为选举注入新的观点和元素，还可以让年轻人在国家民主发展发挥应有的角色。

“当社会对于时下越来越多年轻人对政治不闻不问感到担忧的时候，对于有意关心政治的大专生，高教部应该马上表扬，并鼓励更多在藉大专生向他们学习，主动关心政治。”

“高教部身为带领我国各大学府的领航者,若真的有诚意推动更多年轻人关心政治，首先必须建立一个良好的环境，而不是试图打压或者制造白色恐怖。内安法令、大专法令、出版与印刷法令、煽动法令等恶法的存在，已经严重阻扰年轻人参与政治的热诚。”

检讨大专法令事宜不了了之

动力青年表示，还记得高教部曾在去年宣布将检讨或修改大专法令，而至今此事不仅不了了之。

“更令人遗憾的是高教部部长还发表将引用大专法令对付学生,更显示高教部这种言不由衷的做法。大专学府身为追求真理的地方,更是学术研究的机构，大学生身为国家未来主人翁，参于政治考察或者观察活动不应被视为洪水猛兽。”

动力青年希望高教部以身作则，遵守之前许下的诺言，全面检讨大专法令，让大学成为一个真正民主、自由、追求真理的知识殿堂。


http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/66675

RELA活動

朋友們，

民權打算在五月尾或六月頭舉辦一場關於志願警衛團（RELA）的論壇，現在徵求義務工作者，有興趣者請聯絡業華 012-2658448 或者民權電郵 crcklscah@gmail.com，歡迎你提供意見和介紹朋友參與哦！

有興趣了解RELA課題的朋友，可以參考以下的ALIRAN文章：

Rela and Malaysia's invisible war
Chin asylum seekers detained in Rela raid