Joint Statement: Objects to Hudud Laws, PAS Should Respect Diversity

The Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Buddhist Consultative Council, Pertubuhan Gerakan Belia Bersatu Malaysia, Malaysia Graduates Youth Association, Malaysia Christian Youth Association, Persatuan Belia Xiang Lian Malaysia, Young Malaysians Movement, The Kuala Lumpur And Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth Section, Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia, Vajrayana Buddhist Council Malaysia, Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia, Fo Guang Shan Malaysia, Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society, Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha Fo Guang Malaysia, strongly opposes the proposal for PAS to table a Private Member’s Bill for the implementation of Hudud laws; we ask that PAS respect and accept that this is a multiracial country and take the initiative to call-off the move.The country’s judiciary system should maintain the diversity and foundation of this country and not be based on Hudud laws, which would not only raise suspicion of the abuse of the freedom of religious beliefs but would also raise public doubts against judicial fairness.We do not accept the statement that Hudud laws will only be used to govern Muslims. The implementation and imposition of Hudud laws will be complicated, and they may well affect the rights of non-Muslims as well; for example, in legal cases which involve both Muslims and non-Muslims, it would be questionable as to whether the Syariah Court or Civil Court have the final verdict.In the past, there were many cases involving non-Muslims which were heard in the Syariah Court including ‘Snatching National Hero Corpse’ case, Renouncing Islam when One’s spouse died or Application for renouncing child’s religion etc. These have already caused the public much mistrust and doubt against the Malaysian Judiciary, especially the interpretation of the ‘Freedom of Religious Belief’ clauses in the Federal Constitution.The loopholes in the current legal provisions already cause endless controversies and confrontations; tabling and trying to implement the Hudud laws will lead to further broken trust in the national justice system.It was mentioned in the official report of the legislative assembly on 1 May 1958 that Tunku Abdul Rahman, the then Prime Minister, clearly said during the Federal Legislative Meeting that: “I’d like to clearly state that this country is not an Islamic state as it is generally assumed, we only stipulate Islam as the Religion of Federation.” Hence, the statement disagrees with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s stand as a Muslim leader, which stated that all Muslims must support Hudud law, because as a country’s leader, Muhyiddin must take the rights of all its all citizens into consideration, and not put personal beliefs above the country and its peoples’ interests.Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious country; insisting on implementing Hudud laws is against existing democratic and secular criminal law system. Hence, we urge PAS to be more sensitive towards the needs of various religions in this multi-cultural and multi-religious country. PAS should also be aware of the implications of Hudud laws on causing further disharmony among the people and religions in this country. The statement also urges MCA and Gerakan to meet with the Prime Minister as soon as possible to express the stand of the citizens in objecting to this Bill. At the same time, DAP and Keadilan should also use their full effort to convince PAS to abandon this Bill. If this Bill is tabled and passed by Parliament, all these political parties will be held responsible and will be abandoned by the people.All associations as listed below strongly oppose the proposal for the implementation of Hudud laws:1. Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia2. Malaysian Buddhist Consultative Council3. Pertubuhan Gerakan Belia Bersatu Malaysia4. Malaysia Graduates Youth Association5. Malaysia Christian Youth Association6. Persatuan Belia Xiang Lian Malaysia7. Young Malaysians Movement8. The Kuala Lumpur And Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) Youth Section9. Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia10. Vajrayana Buddhist Council Malaysia11. Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia12. Fo Guang Shan Malaysia13. Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society14. Persatuan Penganut Agama Buddha Fo Guang Malaysia联合文告: 朝野政党需团结一致反对伊刑法马来西亚佛教青年总会、马来西亚佛教咨询理事会、马来西亚青年团结运动、大专青年协会、马来西亚基督教青年协会、马来西亚宗乡青联合总会、马来西亚青年运动、隆雪中华大会堂青年团、马来西亚佛教弘法会、马来西亚金刚乘佛教总会、马来西亚南传佛教总会、马来西亚佛光山、锡兰佛教精进会、马来西亚佛光协会，发表联合文告，坚决反对伊斯兰党拟在国会下议院提呈落实伊斯兰刑事法的私人法案，希望伊党尊重及包容多元社会，主动撤回该提案。国内的司法结构应该保持多元国情和国家体制，而非以伊斯兰刑事法为主，否则将有侵犯宗教信仰自由之嫌，也令人对司法的公正性质疑。文告也不认同伊斯兰刑事法只适用于穆斯林的说法，一旦落实伊刑法，在执行时涉及的范围广泛又复杂，长远来说不排除将会影响非穆斯林教徒的权益，例如在同时牵涉穆斯林及非穆斯林法律案件上，究竟是伊斯兰法庭或民事法庭的裁决拥有最后的约束力。过去有许多牵涉非伊斯兰宗教徒的案件交由伊斯兰法庭审理，包括争尸案件、丧偶后欲脱离伊斯兰教或欲为孩子申请脱教案件等，已经让人民对大马司法不信任，尤其对宪法里赋予的“宗教信仰自由”产生了极大的疑虑。现有的法律条文缺陷已经让国家陷入无止境的争论和对抗，若是再落实伊斯兰刑事法，最终只会让国家司法陷入信任危机。1958年5月1日的立法会议官方报告有言及，时任首相——东姑阿都拉曼，在联邦立法会议说明：“我要说清楚，这个国家不是一般上认为的伊斯兰教国，我们只是规定伊斯兰教是国家的官方宗教。” 因此，文告不苟同以副首相慕尤丁为首的穆斯林领袖的立场，即穆斯林必须支持伊斯兰刑事法案的说法。文告同时强调做为国家领袖，慕尤丁等必须以全民福祉为考量，断不能把个人的信仰利益凌驾国家全民利益之上。马来西亚是一个以多元种族及信仰组成的国度，执意提呈伊斯兰刑事法将瓦解现有民主与司法体制，因此朝野政党必须严正看待伊刑法对各族人民及宗教和谐所带来的伤害。文告也吁请马华公会及民政党尽速会见首相，表达人民反对此法案的立场，同时民主行动党及人民公正党也必须尽全力说服伊斯兰党，放弃提呈伊斯兰刑事法案的决定。如果此法案最终被提呈至国会辩论通过，这些政党将脱不了关系，势必为人民所唾弃。以下为支持以上文告的团体：1. 马来西亚佛教青年总会2. 马来西亚佛教咨询理事会3. 马来西亚青年团结运动4. 大专青年协会5. 马来西亚基督教青年协会6. 马来西亚宗乡青联合总会7. 马来西亚青年运动8. 隆雪中华大会堂青年团（隆雪华青）9. 马来西亚佛教弘法会10. 马来西亚金刚乘佛教总会11. 马来西亚南传佛教总会12. 马来西亚佛光山13. 锡兰佛教精进会14. 马来西亚佛光协会- Posted by CFFong