Milton Foo said they all concurred it is unconstitutional to restrict or control the practice or development of non-Muslim religions in the country.
KUCHING (Sept 10): Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth is in support of the party’s secretary-general’s statement against any plan to include a bill on control and restrictions on the development of non-Muslim religions in the new Shariah law.
Its secretary-general Milton Foo said the Youth Central supported the statement by Assistant Minister of Tourism Sarawak Datuk Sebastian Ting that under the Federal Constitution, the federal government cannot control and restrict the right of any non-Muslim from professing, practising and propagating his religion as long as there is no propagation toward persons professing the religion of Islam.
He said they all concurred it is unconstitutional to restrict or control the practice or development of non-Muslim religions in the country.
He assured that SUPP Youth also agreed with de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s statement that the states would first need to be consulted as religious matters come under their purview and thus, it would require all states to agree first before the proposed enactments to control or restrict the development of non-Muslim religions could be tabled in Parliament.
“We, the SUPP Youth, further agree with the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) statement by Archbishop Fr Simon Poh that any attempts to introduce Shariah bills affecting non-Muslim religions are tantamount to directly contravening the spirit of the formation of Malaysia where Sarawak, Sabah and Malaya are equal partners,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Foo reiterated that the people’s rights to profess and practise religion are guaranteed under Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution and any attempt to control and restrict the practice of their religion is thus unconstitutional.
He appealed to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to truly uphold the true spirit and practice of ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ rather than making the slogan a mere rhetoric for political propaganda.
He believed people want to see a new government with high commitment and sincerity to combat Covid-19 and strive for economic recovery rather than over insensitive religious issues.
According to a report in one of the news portals on Sept 7, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Ahmad Marzuk Shaary said a Wakaf Bill, Mufti Bill and Syariah Court Bill were the other new laws being planned aside from a bill on control and restrictions on the development of non-Muslim religions.
The new laws are part of a five-year plan by the federal government in which 11 changes will be made to strengthen Shariah laws, which will include amendments to existing legislation and eight subsidiary Shariah laws, as part of the government’s ‘Empowerment Plan’.