The Right to Freedom of Religion and Jurisdictional Conflicts in Malaysia
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Abstract
Abstract: In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution provides significant legal protections for religious freedom. Article 11 guarantees the right to practice and propagate one's religious beliefs freely, except for restrictions on propagation concerning Muslims under federal law. Furthermore, Islam holds a unique position in the country, according to Article 3 (1). The Malaysian legal system consists of two court systems, the Syariah courts and civil courts. While the Syariah courts serve as an essential institution for Muslims and maintain the Islamic identity of the nation, issues of jurisdiction can arise, particularly in interfaith cases. This study explores Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review of religious freedom and analyses jurisdictional conflicts through interviews with national law experts. After carefully considering Malaysia's unique historical and socioeconomic context, it is concluded that upholding the Federal Constitution is of utmost importance and implementing UPR recommendations should be separate from it.
Keywords: freedom of religion and Malaysian’s social contract, the special position of Islam under the federal constitution, safeguarding Muslim faith and jurisdictional conflicts, propagation of other faiths among Muslims, human rights, and the Universal Periodical Review (UPR),
DOI: 10.17576/sinergi.0301.2023.06
Article Information: 21 December 2022; Acceptance date: 10 May 2023; Publication Date: 31 July 2023.
Acknowledgement and Declaration: The Authors would like to show their gratitude to SINERGI’s anonymous reviewers and their constructive feedback in improving the quality of the manuscript. This paper is part of the research project funded by the Centre for Human Rights Research & Advocacy (CENTHRA), Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Abstrak: Di Malaysia, Perlembagaan Persekutuan menyediakan perlindungan undang-undang yang ketara untuk kebebasan beragama. Perkara 11 menjamin hak untuk mengamalkan dan menyebarkan kepercayaan agama seseorang secara bebas, kecuali sekatan ke atas penyebaran berkenaan orang Islam di bawah undang-undang persekutuan. Tambahan pula, Islam mempunyai kedudukan unik di negara ini, mengikut Perkara 3 (1). Sistem perundangan Malaysia terdiri daripada dua sistem mahkamah iaitu mahkamah Syariah dan mahkamah sivil. Walaupun mahkamah Syariah berfungsi sebagai institusi penting bagi umat Islam dan mengekalkan identiti Islam negara, isu bidang kuasa boleh timbul, terutamanya dalam kes antara agama. Kajian ini meneroka Kajian Berkala Sejagat Malaysia tentang kebebasan beragama dan menganalisis konflik bidang kuasa melalui temu bual dengan pakar undang-undang negara. Selepas mempertimbangkan dengan teliti konteks sejarah dan sosioekonomi Malaysia yang unik, disimpulkan bahawa menjunjung Perlembagaan Persekutuan adalah amat penting dan melaksanakan syor UPR harus berasingan daripadanya,
Kata Kunci: kebebasan beragama dan kontrak sosial Malaysia, kedudukan unik Islam dalam perlembagaan persekutuan, melindungi aqidah Islam dan konflik jurisdiksional, pengembangan kepercayaan lain terhadap orang Islam Malaysia, hak asasi manusia dan semakan berkala sejagat (UPR),
DOI: 10.17576/sinergi.0301.2023.06
Maklumat Artikel: Tarikh penghantaran: 21 Disember 2023; Tarikh penerimaan: 10 Mei 2023; Tarikh Penerbitan: 31 Julai 2023.
Penghargaan dan Pengisytiharan: Para penulis ingin merakamkan rasa terima kasih mereka kepada pengulas tanpa nama SINERGI dan maklum balas membina mereka dalam meningkatkan kualiti manuskrip. Makalah ini adalah sebahagian daripada projek penyelidikan yang dibiayai oleh geran Pusat Penyelidikan & Advokasi Hak Asasi Manusia (CENTHRA), Putrajaya, Malaysia.
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References
List of interviews
Shad Saleem Faruqi, Online interview with Authors, August 13, 2021.
Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Online interview with Authors, August 9, 2021.
Nik Ahmad Kamal, Online interview with Authors, June 29, 2021.
Mohd Naim Mokhtar, Online interview with author, August 2, 2021.
Faridah Jalil, Online interview with Authors, July 2, 2021.
Andrew Khoo, Online interview with Authors, July 21, 2021.
Jerald Joseph, Online interview with Authors, July 28, 2021
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