Umno and the Home Ministry, which the party’s vice-president is minister of, have proposed a constitutional amendment to stipulate that Islam in Malaysia is of the Sunni sect. Would such an amendment to the federal constitution be possible? And if so, what are the ramifications?
Article 11
Cabinet or Umno: Who calls the shots?
By Ding Jo-Ann
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent announcement of the government’s most recent u-turn on legalising sports betting raises questions, once again, about Umno’s dominance within the Barisan Nasional (BN). Najib announced the Finance Ministry’s withdrawal of approval for Ascot Sports’ sports betting licence directly after an Umno supreme council meeting on 25 June 2010. […]
The politics of dialogue
By K ShanmugaSome people just don’t understand dialogue… SO now the government wants a formalised interfaith dialogue mechanism? Going by the history of the state’s response to attempts by civil society to initiate interfaith dialogue, I am not holding my breath. In 2005, various members of civil society had a conference proposing a statutory Interfaith Commission (IFC) […]
Agitating Malay Muslims
By Shanon ShahOVER the past year, several Malay-Muslim groups have been in the headlines. From lawsuits filed against the DAP’s Teresa Kok for allegedly insulting Islam, to campaigns responding to the crisis in Gaza, the defence of Islam and Malay rights has occuppied the national attention, sometimes in frightening ways. Just what are these groups about? What […]
No plan to amend Article 11: Nazri
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 Feb 2009: The Dewan Rakyat was told today that the Federal Court’s decision in the case involving Azlina Jailani or Lina Joy showed that a Muslim cannot renounce Islam at will. As such, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said, the government had no plan to […]
MCA against merging common law and syariah courts
By Deborah LohKUALA LUMPUR, 19 Nov 2008: The MCA does not agree with the idea of merging the syariah and common law courts as it could result in the syariah being used to govern non-Muslims. The party’s legal bureau chairperson Datuk Leong Tang Chong said in a statement today that the proposed merger would “compel and subject […]
Speaking to the mob
By Sharaad Kuttan“SEE you in Hell!” shouted a member of the “mob” as I walked past the dispersed protesters, now gathering their thoughts by their cars or sipping tea at a nearby mamak. I smiled, but not without effort. It had been a long morning of tense smiles. “He will have to be in Hell as well […]
