Excerpt:
'To me, the challenge for Malaysians is simple enough.
We must decide what kind of country we’re living in.
Is it secular or religious? A constitutional monarchy which practises Westminster democracy or something else altogether?'
'Our leaders have shied away from answering these questions for far too long, allowing opportunists and extremists to dominate the discourse.
This has left Malaysia in a permanent state of flux.'
'Unlike Britain, Malaysia’s Constitution is written.
This makes us a nation of laws, which gives us a framework for how we deal with each other.
And what does the Constitution say?
It is true Article 3(1) states that Islam is the religion of the Federation but also provides that other faiths may be practised in peace and harmony.
Every mainstream voice in Malaysia has accepted this.
But does this article mean that the rights and values of non-Muslim Malaysians are completely irrelevant the moment Islam comes into any matter?
Let us also not forget that Article 3(4) also states: “Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this Constitution.”
I might be wrong here, but I think this also means that Islam’s special position does not abrogate the force of other provisions, like Article 8(1): “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.”
Rest of his article:
http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnists/Ceritalah/Profile/Articles/2014/06/24/The-Constitution-must-be-supreme/
Link
'To me, the challenge for Malaysians is simple enough.
We must decide what kind of country we’re living in.
Is it secular or religious? A constitutional monarchy which practises Westminster democracy or something else altogether?'
This has left Malaysia in a permanent state of flux.'
This makes us a nation of laws, which gives us a framework for how we deal with each other.
And what does the Constitution say?
It is true Article 3(1) states that Islam is the religion of the Federation but also provides that other faiths may be practised in peace and harmony.
Every mainstream voice in Malaysia has accepted this.
But does this article mean that the rights and values of non-Muslim Malaysians are completely irrelevant the moment Islam comes into any matter?
Let us also not forget that Article 3(4) also states: “Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this Constitution.”
I might be wrong here, but I think this also means that Islam’s special position does not abrogate the force of other provisions, like Article 8(1): “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.”
Rest of his article:
http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnists/Ceritalah/Profile/Articles/2014/06/24/The-Constitution-must-be-supreme/
No comments:
Post a Comment