S’wak churches want ministry for non-Muslims
KUCHING: As two-thirds of Sarawakians are non-Muslims, the state government must establish a special ministry or department to ensure that their affairs and interests are looked after, said Association of Churches in Sarawak Chairman Bolly Lapok.
“The guarantee of religious freedom is a fundamental constitutional right which requires strong and genuine commitment from the authorities to uphold.
“It cannot be achieved by infrequent acts of ad hoc benevolence,” he said in a statement today.
He said this in relation to a recent incident involving a Bidayuh man who had to wait 30 years to officially convert to Christianity. The man was previously a Muslim when he was a minor after his parents converted.
“This is one of the many instances of the failure of the Federal Government to uphold the guarantee of religious freedom under the Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee 1962 (IGC report) and the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
“It is disheartening to learn that the National Registration Department of Malaysia had recently filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s decision.”
Bolly pointed out that the guarantee of religious freedom enshrined in the Federal Constitution, IGC report and the Malaysian Agreement had remained substantially unfulfilled, as Christians from East Malaysia were banned from using the word “Allah”.
Bolly also acknowledged Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s move to engage the Federal Government in negotiations for the state’s autonomy, describing it as “heart-warming”.
However, he reminded that it was the duty of the Federal Government to guarantee the constitutional right of religious freedom to the people of Sarawak.
“Only then can autonomy be truly devolved and felt by the citizens.
“As the state government’s move towards autonomy and devolution of power gathers momentum, we must not lose sight of the constitutional rights to religious freedom.
“It would not be meaningful to the people of Sarawak to have autonomy over certain interests if the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom is forsaken.”
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