The Bar Council Forum this Saturday and the “Missing The Point Horde”

August 7th, 2008 gier Posted in Mentera Moden | 3 Comments »

So, those crazy lawyers over at the Bar Council will be holding an event called “Conversion to Islam: Art 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini & Shamala Revisited”, on Saturday, 09 August 2008. According to the blurb, the event is to discuss “How should conflicts in matrimonial and family matters i.e. divorce, custody, maintenance and distribution be resolved, upon conversion to Islam of one party in a non-Muslim marriage: Ought the Civil Courts to have exclusive jurisdiction? ”

It’s a very interesting subject, I think, even though I won’t be attending due to other, more pressing, matters. Anyway, as to be expected, there’s a whole bunch of people protesting the event. On last count, there’s:

The Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Abdul Razak, where he said, “We are not stopping public debates. It is something healthy, but it should be organised in a closed manner.” … A closed public debate … how does that work?

UMNO Youth, where Exco member Datuk Pirdaus Ismail said, “It is pointless to organise forums based on intellectualism, professionalism or controversial issues when the safety, peace, harmony and stability of the country were being compromised.” … Yea, verily, keep your head under a shell, don’t be intellectual or professional … Where do they find these people?

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Dr. Zahid Hamidi, where he said, “Walaupun sudah buat pada siri pertama forum Memeluk Islam dan hujung minggu ini siri kedua, saya bagi amaran, majoriti senyap masyarakat Islam di Malaysia belum lagi bangun untuk menyanggah mereka, tetapi jangan suruh kita bangun.” … Don’t challenge the silent majority indeed … The problem with the silent majority is because they’re so silent, sometimes you don’t even know if they actually care, or if they’re even a majority. I, for one, would love to have this majority voice out, for good or ill. At least we can have a chance at a dialogue. Openly. Not in a closed session. Not even a “closed” open session. Open, as in O.P.E.N. In public. With other people …

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, who said, “Kalau ada perkara yang kita tidak puas hati, ada forum (cara) untuk kita menyelesaikan masalah tersebut, bukan melalui perbincangan terbuka yang boleh membangkitkan salah faham atau ketegangan.” … This is a “forum” wot the Bar Council is holding, albeit an O.P.E.N. one, where anyone can come in.

Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), whose Secretary General, Khairul Ariffin Mohd Munir feels that the issues should be discussed only by those in the know, i.e. “dalam kalangan mereka yang mempunyai latar belakang dalam bidang berkaitan.” … In other words, constitutional lawyers know diddly squat, and Muslim lawyers who are not approved by the likes of you know even less …

Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim), where the Director General, Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz was reported to have released a statement which stated, among other things, that the Bar Council should instead “mendidik rakyat mematuhi setiap keputusan mahkamah, termasuk membabitkan hak orang Islam dan hak keistimewaan orang Melayu.” … Exactly, you crazies at the Bar Council! Why debate these things la? Just tell the people to just abide by the decisions of the court, including those involving the rights of Muslims and the special “right” of the Malays. The rights of other races … haiyaa, don’t invite trouble, ok. They got rights too, but that’s a different story, ok.

And finally (even though there are others, but I’m bored already), PAS have joined the chorus. In an emailed statement, the President, Ustaz Dato’ Haji Abdul Hadi Awang said,”PAS is of the opinion that the Bar Council’s initiative, which is secular in nature, will only confuse the real understanding of Islam and cause undue tension. To guarantee stability between different religions and races, PAS calls for the forum to be cancelled.” … Secular in nature … Confuse the “real” understanding of Islam … My head spins …

Look, these guys are MISSING THE POINT, in my humble opinion. In all these statements made by these people, not a single one of them chose to actually touch on the subject of the forum, which is about the rights of the non-Muslim partner in a marriage when the other partner embraces Islam. This is not a conversion issue, not an apostasy issue, not the rights of existing Muslims issue, not a Malay rights issue nor any other issues relating to the status of Islam in the country or the special “rights” of the Malays as entombed in the Constitution. And, no, it does not say “special rights”. It says “special position”. Not rights, my fellow Malays, but a position which essentially recognises that Malays are not equipped to compete with the “migrant” races — at the point of Independence, 51 years ago. And that’s not the Article in the constitution that’s being discussed here anyway.

And why can’t it be an open discussion? Because it might raise racial tensions? For whom? The Malays? Why? Can’t the people at least listen to the other side of the story first before immediately assuming that it’s a threat to the Malays and Islam?

Doesn’t Islam preach tolerance and understanding? I have written about Subashini before, and even then, I questioned whether the treatment given to her is fair or not. I wondered if it is not, in fact, zalim.