KUCHING – The family of Hardy Edwin Lunggan who died after being attacked by hornets have been hit by more despair when they were denied the opportunity to perform the last rites based on Christian and native customs.
Global Human Rights Federation (Malaysia) deputy secretary Peter John Jaban said that Lunggan’s body was forcibly seized by the Sarawak Islamic Department (Jais).
Lunggan, 42, a civil servant, was attacked by hornets while on duty on October 23. He died on the way to the hospital in Sebuyau near here.
“Following a post-mortem on October 27, the doctor issued a death certificate using his birth name, and his body was released to his mother, current wife, and his children. Family and friends had gathered to hold a wake.
“Then, at 9.30am the following day, six Jais members came to the house and seized the body forcibly claiming the deceased was a Muslim,” said Jaban.
“All the family could do was follow behind as they watched their loved one interred in a Muslim cemetery at Kg Sg Berangan, Kota Samarahan, far away from his ancestral graveyard where all other members of his family and ethnic group are buried.”
Jaban said the deceased had converted to Islam and taken the name Mohd Hardy Abdullah after marrying a Muslim woman in 2005.
He divorced the Muslim spouse with whom he had a daughter in 2008.
His status as a Muslim was acknowledged by Jais by way of a letter only nine years after his marriage and six years after his divorce. The letter urged Hardy to change his name and religious status with the National Registration Department (NRD) but the deceased refused to comply.
According to Jaban, NRD records state the deceased is a Christian and his name is still listed as Hardy Edwin Lunggan in the department’s record and on his identity card.
“His original death certificate and all his documentation still reflect his birth and ancestral identity. Now the family cannot collect his NRD death certificate as the federal government agencies have stonewalled them,” Jaban said.
This is another example of the misery caused by forced conversion on marriage and of cruel administrative overreach by both Jais and NRD, extending beyond the grave to impact all family members.
He said the law in Malaysia requires conversion upon marriage to a Muslim, regardless of faith or practice.
“The law is clear. The deceased should convert. But it is an administrative failure,” said Jaban. – The Vibes, November 4, 2022
