1. New Straits Times Online (http://www.nst.com.my)
Undo the acts that hurt others, 6 April 2008
by Roger Tan
IN a multi-religious country like ours, religion is one issue which always invokes and provokes strong passions and reactions if not handled carefully. In the last general election, many non-Muslims turned away from Barisan Nasional and voted for the opposition.
In some cases, church leaders even openly encouraged their Christian congregations to vote for Pas - something hitherto unthinkable, especially when Pas has always been advocating the establishment of an Islamic state.But why had non-Muslims voted for the opposition so resoundingly this time?
The reason is obvious. The non-Muslims' gravamens are essentially these:
・ the authorities were trigger-happy in demolishing illegal places of worship.
・ the government's inaction, especially by the non-Muslim component parties in BN, in resolving the conflicts of civil law and syariah arising out of Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution. The problem is compounded when non-Muslims could more or less predict the outcome of the decisions of civil courts whenever a remedy was sought there.
・religious polarisation caused by the rivalry between Umno and Pas, each wanting to outdo the other in being more Islamic.
・non-Muslims find it increasingly difficult to build their places of worship.
Of these, I would only like to deal with the last grievance.
Article 3 of the Federal Constitution declares that non-Muslims are entitled to practise their religions in peace and harmony while Islam is the religion of the federation. This is reinforced by Article 11(1) which provides that every non-Muslim has the right to profess and practise his religion. Article 11(3) also states that every religious group has the right, inter alia, to establish and maintain institutions for religious purposes and to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.
Sadly, in practice, this is not the case. The time taken to obtain approvals to build non-Muslim places of worship is incredibly long. In almost every case, it takes years.
The application and approval process is most cumbersome. For a start, it is almost unheard of that state governments would alienate lands for erection of non-Muslim places of worship. Hence, the lands involved are usually private lands and so before it could be used for religious purposes, the land has to be first converted for religious use. So an application will have to be made to the state authority (which is the state executive council), and it will be processed by the land office. However, because it involves the erection of non-Muslim places of worship, most states require the matter to be first referred to a district security committee. At the district security committee level, the district office will have to obtain comments from various government departments, including the police.
The least palatable aspect of it all is that views from the Religious Affairs Department will also be sought.
Even if the district security committee approves it, the matter would still have to be referred to the state security committee, which is chaired by either the chief minister or state secretary.
In most cases, the process of obtaining comments from the various government departments is repeated. If the state security committee okays it, it does not mean the application has been approved. It then goes to another committee chaired by the state executive councillor in charge of land matters, a position usually held by the chief minister.
If the committee approves it, the state executive committee has to give its final approval.
As the process takes such a long time, it is no surprise that along the way, the file is either misplaced or goes missing. In addition, sometimes there is a delay in submitting the papers for deliberation by some over-zealous junior government officers, who are mono religious and feel that it is against their religion to support it.
The story does not end there even when the land has been converted for religious use. The next thing is to put up the building.
To do that, an application will now have to be submitted to the local authority for approval of the building plans. But because it involves a non-Muslim place of worship, the process of going through the district and state security committees has to be repeated.
Even if the final approval is obtained, it still takes a few years for the building to come up. The reason being the costs of financing the construction and completion of these places of worship have to be privately raised and borne. All in all, it is not uncommon for at least 10 years to pass by the time a project comes to fruition. It follows that because the approval process is so difficult, it is no wonder illegal places of worship mushroom here and there.
What is most insulting to them is the erection of their places of worship is viewed as a security threat. Often, it has to be referred to a security committee whose composition includes representatives from the Religious Affairs Department. On the other hand, the erection of mosques is efficiently co-ordinated by one body - the state Muslim Council (Majlis Agama Islam).
Land is easily made available and whenever a new housing development is completed, a place will be reserved for the construction of either a mosque or surau. Financing its construction is not a problem either.
Some two years ago, I suggested in this column ("Religious freedom the keystone" - NST, Jan 8, 2006) that each state government should set up a non-Muslim religious department to look into the religious issues affecting non-Muslims and to co-ordinate applications and funding for non-Muslim places of worship. I repeat this call and it is hoped that all state governments, whether under BN or Pakatan Rakyat, will consider this.
I am confident that any step taken to expedite the approval process and provide funding for non-Muslim places of worship will, in turn, expedite the healing process among these Malaysians who certainly feel aggrieved by this course of events.
By allowing them to freely and easily exercise their constitutional right to establish their religious sanctuaries will go a long way towards winning their hearts and minds.
In this respect, the Selangor government's decision to waive quit rent and assessment rates for all registered places of worship and schools in the state is laudable. They now only need to pay a token annual fee of RM1.
Likewise, the statement from the Pahang secretary that it will now adopt a more liberal approach to matters concerning religion and places of worship is most welcome. Similarly, the prime minister has pledged to improve the situation. But the most assuring of all came from the Sultan of Selangor, who said that although he is the head of Islam in Selangor, he will not hesitate to take action against any extremists and that it is important to ensure that religious freedom is defended by all.
It is hoped that everyone, be he a leader of BN or Pakatan, a Muslim or otherwise, will now take heed of the voice of the people expressed in the last general election.
It is hoped, too, that politicians will be often reminded by what the regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah said exactly a year ago at the Young Malaysians' Roundtable Discussion on National Unity and Development in Malaysia that Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians equally, and all have an equal right and responsibility to take ownership of their country and its future. He added that the sine qua non of building a strong nation is when its citizens feel a sense of belonging and a common destiny and in our case, when Malaysians of all races, religions and origins are bound together in a common purpose.
Therefore, history has always shown that suppression of a person's inherent right to freedom of religion is a recipe for disaster.
Consonantly, our leaders have also much to learn from the fair and just Muslim ruler in Sultan Abu Bakar, who ruled the state of Johor from 1886 to 1895.
Though a Muslim, he was much loved by his non-Muslim subjects. Hailed as the Father of Modern Johor, he granted many plots of land for the erection of churches and temples throughout Johor. The best testimony of his sense of fairness and justice is reflected in the Johor constitution promulgated during his reign, wherein it still contains an article proclaiming as follows: "All the laws and customs of the country shall be carried out and exercised with justice and fairness by all the Courts of Justice and all Officers and Servants of the State between all the people of the country and the aliens who sojourn and reside under its protection, whether for a season or for a lengthened period, that is to say, without their entertaining in the least degree more sympathy or regard to partiality towards those who profess the religion of the country, namely the Muslim religion, or making any difference between those who are the subjects of the State and those who are not."
Let us all Malaysians join hands as one people respecting each other's right to practise his religion in peace and harmony. Let us take pride rather than cringe with shame if this country is filled not only with mosques but also churches and temples. If it is so, it is only because Malaysia is truly Asia. May God bless us all.
・The writer is a member of the Malaysian Bar Council.
Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
2. The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
Brothers under one house, 6 April 2008
by Shahanaaz Habib
New Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad, from PAS, has already started making waves by walking into a church to address Christian concerns. What’s more, Khalid will now get to lock horns in Parliament with his brother, the very vocal Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir of Umno.
WHEN Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad was appointed Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, his younger brother, Khalid, who is a Pakatan Rakyat MP, called to congratulate him.
“I also told him that he’s been given the worst ministry – that’s the Barang Naik ministry, so he’s got to answer to all the increases in the price of goods, oil, electricity rates, toll rates - that sort of thing.”
Khalid, who has been with PAS since 1983, said he has no qualms speaking his mind against his elder brother in Parliament.
But he does not think Shahrir is worried about him “in particular”.
“He’s worried, I’m sure. There are now 82 parliamentarians from the Opposition who would make his life a lot more difficult. I probably won’t have a chance to say anything. I’d have to take a number and wait!” quipped Khalid.
There is no doubt, though, that Khalid, who has a degree in fuel and energy engineering and worked seven years for Petronas, will have plenty to say to his brother, especially on the contentious issues of petrol prices.
Oily issue
“I cannot accept that Petronas is selling to Malaysia at international prices. That should never have been the basis of any interaction between Petronas and the Malaysian community. The oil is actually the property of the Malaysian people and they have a right to it. All the talk about subsidies is just whitewash,” he said, adding that oil-exporting countries like Brunei, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait never use international prices as the basis of calculating the price of oil to sell to their own people.
International oil prices have skyrocketed to more than US$100 per barrel due to supply problems in oil-rich countries like Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria and growing demand from giants like China and India that have been gulping up supplies. But the bottom line, Khalid stressed, is that the cost of production per barrel has not gone up.
Which basically means that while Petronas is producing oil at the same low cost it has always done, by exporting it at the sky-high international prices, it is actually taking in even bigger profits. For him, it might not have been so bad if the benefits were returned to the people in a different manner “but we don’t see it”.
“Instead, everything is going up and up and up,” he said bluntly.
Different approach
It is obvious that other than speaking his mind – like his elder brother – the 51-year-old Khalid has his own way of doing things.
It is almost unheard of for an Umno MP to walk into a church or temple for a function, but this PAS MP said it is really no big deal.
Last week, Khalid got a standing ovation when he stepped into the Church of Divine Mercy in Shah Alam to meet with Catholics and listen to their concerns. The issues raised are “quite justified”, he said.“They asked why their church has to be in an industrial area with all the factories, and they wanted a Christian cemetery. Personally, I have no problem with that.”
He said all he has to do now is to get statistics on the number of Christians in Shah Alam and come up with a fair formula to work out the number of churches and cemeteries that would serve their community. As for entering churches or temples, Khalid said, the Holy Prophet used to walk into churches and even synagogues for discussions. “I don’t see what’s the problem. They invited me as their MP. And I don’t think there was any doubt about my personal religion!” he cheekily remarked.“I think Umno wanted to look religious or believe that they were religious by avoiding all these locations. But I don’t think it has anything to do with being religious or otherwise.”
But how did Khalid, who comes from a staunch Johor Umno family (his mother and Tun Razak’s wife are first cousins), end up in PAS?It all started during his student days in the UK back in 1974. Influenced by the writings of Islamic leaders like Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna of the Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) and interactions with other Malaysian, Arab, Algerian, Pakistani, Turkish and Morroccan students in the UK, Khalid found himself attracted to politics. By 1978, he and his like-minded Malaysian friends had set up Suara al-Islam with the agreement to form an Islamic party when they got back.
He said PAS was not an option then because they were not happy with Datuk Asri Muda’s leadership.
Trials and tribulations
Khalid returned to Malaysia in 1979 and joined Petronas. In 1982, he and his group tried to register Parti Negara Islam Malaysia (Purnama) but the application was rejected. Following changes in PAS, Khalid decided to join the Islamist party in 1983 (Shahrir was already a minister by then).
Mat Sabu, a fiery orator, took Khalid under his wing and he soon rose in the ranks to become a central committee member.
In 1986, Khalid quit his cushy Petronas job to stand in elections for the Kuala Krai parliament seat and lost to Barisan Nasional by 2,000 votes.
In 1987, the rising star in PAS suffered another setback when he was detained under the ISA during Operasi Lalang along with Mat Sabu, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Karpal Singh, the Chinese educationists group and 100 others. Khalid, who remained in detention for a year, shared the same camp as Karpal and Guan Eng. His consolation came from the fact that the Holy Prophet and companions had faced trials, while ulamaks and people who stuck to their principles always had to face some kind of persecution at one time or another.
“If it did change me, it was to convince me more that we needed a change in leadership (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad),” he said.
During that time, Shahrir, who was Welfare Minister, was going through some trials of his own in Umno.
It was the famous Team A versus Team B fight and Shahrir had backed Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah instead of Dr Mahathir for the party presidency. Dr Mahathir won but the losing side dragged the party to court, resulting in Umno being deregistered and later coming back as Umno Baru. For backing the “wrong” horse, Shahrir was conspicuously dropped from the Cabinet.
To prove he won the Johor Baru parliamentary seat on his own merit, Shahrir vacated the seat, forcing a by-election. He stood as an independent against Barisan and won. Khalid said if he had not been under detention at that time, he would have campaigned for Shahrir.
“In the Mahathir time, we had a lot more in common. Shahrir had a lot of things to complain about the government but now ... (laughing) we would be probably more distant.”
He described his relationship with Shahrir who is eight years older as “not as close as some but not as distant as some”.
They call each other “as and when” there is a need and meet at family functions.
“We will probably see much more of each other now in Parliament, which is good.”
Due to their eight-year age gap, Khalid did not get to spend much time with Shahrir as the older brother was already away in boarding school while the younger sibling was still in primary school.
But in their younger days, the two boys were both interested in Spiderman and Marvel comic books.
“He would buy them and I’d read and keep them. And I was into airfix model aircraft and he had some interest in it,” Khalid said.
Shahrir’s concern as an elder brother showed when Khalid returned from the UK.
“I was unemployed for a month or so and he opened a bank account for me and put some money in it for me to get my life started. And he told me to do the same for our younger brother, which I did,” he said.
It is clear too that Khalid has high regard for his brother as a politician.
“He has a relatively clean record and generally has been quite a responsible politician. He has his views and principles that he stands by. I think he merits being a minister. He has the credentials and has proven himself in the past,” he said.
Ideas aplenty
While Shahrir is an old hand in Parliament, this will be Khalid’s first time in the august house.
And the first-timer is already brimming with ideas on what he is going to push for: He wants a cleaner, more transparent, just and honest government that brings benefits of development and growth down to the people. And he wants “politically repressive” laws like the ISA, University and Colleges Act, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act to be rectified.Khalid admitted that with a brother as minister, it could be “more difficult or easier” depending on how each “plays” it.
“But politics should not be personally antagonistic. It should not be because of a difference of opinion that we can’t be friends or brothers. We can be different and not hate each other.”
(End)
