KOTA KINABALU – Warisan has expressed alarm over the federal government’s decision to introduce the Control and Restriction on the Propagation of Non-Muslim Religions Bill, saying it will lead to transgression of the Malaysia Agreement 1962 (MA63) deal.
The Sabah-based party also raised the red flag on efforts to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) and create a new shariah law under a five-year plan.
Warisan treasurer-general Terrence Siambun said the new bill is a serious matter for Sabah, adding that Malaysia would not have come into being if such laws were introduced.
The former Moyog assemblyman said his statement should not be taken as an attack against religion, as he is merely objecting to the Perikatan Nasional government’s attempt to violate MA63 terms for political purposes.
“I am convinced that the tabling (of the bill) is a last-ditch effort by PN to cling on to power by hoping to win over Malay electorates in the peninsula, and thereafter, we may see the general election take place.
“Umno, PAS and Bersatu will all want to secure Malay votes, and judging from PN’s desperation for power over the past three months, it will be an uphill task to defeat the bill, more so when Umno and PAS have already had a tacit agreement on Act 355 during (former prime minister) Najib Razak’s time.
“We need no tabling of such a divisive bill in these trying times because our country’s economy is crumbling, and we urgently need capable leaders to revitalise the economy and provide employment so we can all go back to work and replenish our empty bank accounts and EPF, which we have been dipping into for our survival the past one year.”
Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Ahmad Marzuk Shaary had two days ago announced that several shariah legislations will be created and others amended under a five-year plan.
Siambun said among the changes afoot will be amendments to Act 355 and introducing the Control and Restriction on the Propagation of Non-Muslim Religions Bill, adding that the bill is a serious concern for Sabah for two reasons.
“Firstly, if our forefathers and the British colonial government had known that this type of restriction would be introduced, then there would have never been a Federation of Malaysia,” he said, referring to the agreement – also signed by the United Kingdom as the former colonial administrator – between Sabah (then North Borneo), Sarawak and Singapore, and the Federation of Malaya to unite, which resulted in the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Siambun pointed out that religion is the first item among the 20 points of MA63, and that the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj had asserted that Malaysia is a secular country, not an Islamic one.
He also questioned what PBS president Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, as a federal minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs, is doing about this issue.
“Did he know about the tabling beforehand? It must have been discussed earlier at a cabinet meeting before it was announced by the deputy minister.”
Siambun said some parties will claim that Sabah will be protected against hudud law, but reminded that safeguards under MA63 were already compromised in 1989 when PBS leaders allowed the extension of Act 355 to Sabah.
He shared his belief that the bills will become a reality, stressing that Sabah leaders – like Ongkili and Sabah Star president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, who are aligned with PN – must reject this attempt. – The Vibes, March 17, 2021
