Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kuala Lumpur (Agenzia Fides) – The Christian Churches in Malaysia have expressed their concern for the announcement of possible changes to be made by the government regarding the laws that regulate relations between civil and religious spheres in the nation, especially with the religion of Islam which is professed by 60% of the 28 million inhabitants.
The administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak has, in fact, announced that t is favorable to several changes in the constitutional law that regulates conversions, marriages, and divorce. The Christians are asking that, in the case of any eventual changes, three points may be maintained: in a civil marriage, in the case of conversion of one of the two spouses to Islam, the exclusive settlement of questions and disputes should be awarded to the civil courts; the religion of the children under 18 years of age should not be changed by one of the two parents, without the consent of the other; the spouse who converts to Islam should not renounce the duties demanded by civil law.
The Christians affirm that many sectors of civil society in Malaysia believe in and support the goodness of these three principals that apply to the non-Muslim minority and the relationships between the various religious communities, in terms of civil relationships. The danger is that the eventual changes could turn the tide of legislation in favor of Islamic prescriptions.
In Malaysia there is currently a binary juridical system: the Islamic courts, which apply the sharia and regulate the questions of civil rights for Muslim citizens; and the civil courts for non-Muslim citizens who belong to religious minorities, which are 40% of the population. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/7/2009)
