Seditious Singh

MCCBCHST President Jagir Singh

The consultative council for Non Muslims should learn the spirit and how the ‘Social Contract’ was formed before attempting to challenge the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation and role of HRH Rulers as constitutional heads of Islam, as per enshrined in the States and Federal Constitution. Otherwise, they could risk being charged for sedition.

The pro-anti majority Riong Kali news portal story:

Malaysia’s largest interfaith group warns it’ll take lawsuits to United Nations if need be

AUGUST 11, 2013

In another sign of declining faith in the system, the new president of the largest council of non-Muslim religious groups in Malaysia has promised to take legal challenges all the way to the United Nations if they cannot be resolved here.

Lawyer Jagir Singh said the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism will chart a roadmap to refer religious rights issues to the UN.

He also suggested there should be more non-Malays among judges, saying a mixed-race judiciary will get rid of the perception of racial bias in court.

He was speaking to a dinner gathering of 1,000 last night to mark the 30th anniversary of the interfaith group.

A rising number of issues causing concern to non-Muslim religious groups are ending up in court, as in the case of the legal challenge to use the word Allah for non-Islam gods.

Or they are an issue based in law, for example, the recent government push for a Bill to allow the religious conversion of a minor by consent of just one parent, even if the other parents disagrees.

The attempt was abandoned by the government when its own coalition partners and some Cabinet ministers objected to the Bill.

Jagir, a practising lawyer, has often taken a leading role in speaking for the inter-faith group on such issues even before he became president last month.

Last night he told the group: “We will continue to pursue the Allah issue and conversion of minors through legal means, and if necessary will appeal to the United Nations, namely on elimination of discrimination of women through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, known as CEDAW.”

He added that the group will also work at protecting rights and to find solutions to issues such as building of places of worship and burial grounds.

Guest-of-honour Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who delivered his speech after Jagir, said the government has “taken a zero-tolerance approach and sometimes contentious position on religious bigotry”.

He added: “We can’t allow issues that might just be a storm in a teacup to take a turn for the worse, abruptly turning it into a perfect storm, destroying what took us years and years to build.” – August 11, 2013.

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Attempting to bring to the United Nations  in  law suits pertaining to issues where the laws exist right from the birth of this nation enshrined in the States’ and Federal Constitution should be deemed as anti-constitution, if not any against the will of the majority for some odd individuals.

Perjanjian Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, 21 January 1948

The Federal Constitution did not exist from void. It was derived from the Federation of Malaya Treaty inked between HRH Rulers and the British High Commissioner Sir Edward Gent on 21 January 1948, to supercede the Malayan Union.

Then, HRH Rulers had absolute right on matters pertaining to Islam and Muslim family laws.

New MCCBCHST President Jagir Singh must be reminded not only the Non Malays then have limited rights. Majority of them were not even “Subjects of HRH Rulers” and deemed ‘stateless persons’.

When Federation of Malaya was formed, then UMNO President Tunku Abdul Rahman representing the Malays who were 86% of the rakyat or “Subjects of HRH Rulers” met and convinced HRH Rulers to accept nearly 1 million Non Malays as citizens. Based on the Federation of Malaya Treaty, majority of them should not even qualify to even be considered as ‘citizens’ because mostly likely they did not meet the criteria.

Article 3.1 & 3.2 of the Federal Constitution

However, HRH Rulers were convinced to accept the ‘Social Contract’ and waive their rights to govern in favour of Westminster-styled Constitutional Monarchy system provided the that Special Rights of the Malays, the position of Islam, their roles as Heads of Islam, Malay as the national language are being enshrined in the new nation’s constitution.

Jagir also raised in his speech about ‘Kalimah Allah’. The fact is that the matter already had a precedence where a HRH Ruler already issued a decree that “The word is exclusively for the Muslims and Non Muslims are prohibited to use the word in place of ‘God'”. Furthermore the case is now being appealed.

A Malay bible

Raising this in this tone should be perceived with an ill intent to continue provoking the Malays on an issue which is very sensitive. More over, the wrath of the Malays is demonstrated very clearly when a month ago Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Joseph Marino made a political statement to support the Christian Federation of Malaysia’s quest to use ‘kalimah Allah’ in their scriptures and literatures.

The Malays view the provocation to use ‘kalimah Kalimah’ in Christian scriptures and literatures in Malaysia is about the attempt to protelysation of more Malays into Christianity.

All of the points he raised are very isolated cases. So for MCCBCHST to bring very rare cases to the international attention, more over as lawsuits to the United Nations should be seen as trying to smear the good name of the nation and portray as if the Malay-Muslims are oppressing the minority Non Muslims.

The Malays protesting the Christians’ usage of ‘kalimah Allah’ and supporting HRH Sultan Selangor’s decree

This should also be regarded as another provocation against the Malays. This should also be deemed as compounding on the sensitive issues already starting to divide the nation, if not as a catalyst for hatred and ill feelings between the races and religious faiths.

This call should be seen as an attempt to challenge if not an insult to the Federal Consititution, State Constitutions and HRH Rulers. Jagir should be hauled and investigated under the Sedition Act.