RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DEBATE LEADS TO GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001516

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV PINR KISL KIRF KDEM KPAO MY
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DEBATE LEADS TO GOVERNMENT
WARNINGS

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 680

B. 05 KUALA LUMPUR 4424

C. 05 KUALA LUMPUR 3784

D. KUALA LUMPUR 157

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 b,
d.

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Pressure from non-Muslims to examine religious freedom
in Malaysia has generated passionate debate here in recent
months, leading to PM Abdullah's July 25 warning, repeated on
August 11, for the media and public to refrain from openly
debating contentious religious and racial issues. For the
first time, the PM's warning also extended to Internet-based
news providers and bloggers. Non-Muslims concerned with the
creeping Islamization of Malaysian law, politics and society
recently attempted to organize several public fora to discuss
the perceived erosion of Malaysia's constitutional protection
of non-Muslims' religious freedom. The events were either
canceled or shortened by police inability (or unwillingness)
to control vocal Muslim protesters who had gathered at the
venues. Meanwhile, hardline Muslims have organized their own
new groups to "defend Islam." The country's law minister
recently acknowledged that vocal Islamic hardliners were
pushing the GOM to take stands, pursue policies and enact
legislation "we don't believe in," in order to win greater
political support from conservative Muslims. The Malaysian
government is clearly concerned over the direction and
divisiveness of the religious freedom debates and their
potential effects on Malaysia's inter-religious, inter-ethnic
relations. Keeping a lid on the current debate will prove no
easy task given the deep concerns of non-Muslims over gradual
Islamization in Malaysia, the politically-charged religious
conversion cases now before the courts, and the political
leverage wielded by conservative Muslim Malays. End Summary.

The Constitution as a Religious Rallying Point
-------------- -


2. (SBU) In March, the Malaysian Bar Council sponsored an
800-participant conference on the question of whether the
Malaysian constitution should be amended to improve
protection of the religious freedom of non-Muslims. The
conference came on the heels of controversial secular court
rulings that ceded jurisdiction in religious conversion cases
involving non-Muslims to the country's Shari'a courts (refs
A, B and C). The atmosphere at the gathering, which was not
covered in the mainstream media, was much more highly charged
than similar events we had attended. The Q&A session
concluding the conference lasted more than two hours and
included statements by two Malay Muslims deemed religious
"deviants" by the GOM. Human rights activist and leading Bar
Council member Malik Imtiaz told the audience that while
non-Muslims were working to amend the constitution to clarify
and protect their religious rights, a vocal minority of
Malaysian Muslim leaders were seeking to expand the influence
of Islamic law into areas now governed by secular law.
"Muslim aspirations are becoming the basis for pursuing an
Islamic state in contradiction to the constitution," Malik
said. He warned that if moderate Muslims and non-Malays did
not become more active in promoting religious freedom,
"Malaysia could become a theocratic state in the next five to
ten years."


3. (SBU) At a similar event on May 14 in Penang, the police
intervened to abruptly end a forum entitled "The Federal
Constitution: Protection for All." Police explained they
were unable to properly control the approximately 500 vocal
Muslim protestors who arrived to disrupt the event. The
forum was organized jointly by local NGO Aliran and an
umbrella body of 13 NGOs named "Article 11" (referring to the
freedom of religion clause in Malaysia's constitution). In
the wake of the Lina Joy, Nyonya Tahir, M. Moorthy, and S.
Shamala court cases related to religious conversion (refs A,
B and C),the organizers intended the forum to discuss
religious freedom in Malaysia - especially with regard to the
constitutionally defined, turbulent jurisdictional interface
between the civil and Shari'a court systems. As the third of
a series of road shows on the topic, the May 14 event was the
first to encounter an organized demonstration.


4. (SBU) The fourth such forum hosted by the Article 11
coalition was similarly cut short on the advice of the
police, after 400 Muslim protestors gathered outside the
event's hotel venue on July 22 in Johor Baru. Although the
function ended nearly two hours earlier than planned, only
the question and answer session was eliminated; all speakers
on the forum's panel were given the opportunity to make their

KUALA LUMP 00001516 002 OF 003


full presentations. Demonstrators included representatives
from PAS Johor, UMNO Youth, as well as NGO groups like Jemaah
Islam. They chanted verses and waved banners reading, "We
are ready to sacrifice for Islam," "Don't touch on the
sensitivity of Islam," and "Stop Anti-Islam Act."

Muslims Also Organizing Themselves
--------------


5. (SBU) On July 24, over 10,000 Muslims attended a forum in
Kuala Lumpur entitled "The Shari'a and Current Issues."
Centered around the contentious issue of apostasy, speakers
called on authorities to strengthen the country's Islamic
institutions. The forum resolved that Malaysia be widely
viewed as an Islamic state, that legal prohibitions against
prostelytizing Muslims be strictly enforced, and that
individual behavior of Muslims be considered a matter of
public accountability. In addition, Muslim civil and Shari'a
lawyers recently set up a group called "Lawyers in Defense of
Islam" to counter perceived attacks on Islam, and several
Islamic NGOs have likewise formed a coalition called
"Pembela" (Defenders of Islam). Pembela planned to hold a
demonstration on July 28 in front of the Federal
Court building to push for rejection of Lina Joy's
application to renounce Islam (refs A and C),but a public
statement by PM Abdullah (see paragraph below) forced them to
cancel the demonstration.

Prime Minister Warns Against Religious Debate
-------------- -


6. (SBU) On July 25, PM Abdullah Badawi urged an end to
public discussions about sensitive religious topics. He
ordered an immediate stop to all Article 11 fora, claiming
that "they are bound to raise tension in Malaysia's
multi-religious society." He also warned the media by
saying, "The issue of religion is very sensitive, more
sensitive than the issue of race, so the press should be
responsible and not blow it up. They should not report news
that could cause anger or tension, and result in something
undesirable." For the first time, in his dual role as
Internal Security Minister, the PM expanded his recurrent
warnings to the mainstream media to include alternative news
sources such as bloggers and Internet-based news providers.
He reminded the alternative media that they face potential
GOM action under the same criminal defamation and sedition
statutes as mainstream media providers. On August 6, Deputy
Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow reiterated the PM's
earlier comments by saying, "Actions that provoke Muslims'
sensitivities to the extent of disturbing the peace are in
conflict with the
federal constitution."

Applicable to Muslims, Too
--------------


7. (U) The Prime Minister's comments also applied to Muslim
groups, a point repeated and emphasized by Home Minister
Radzi Sheikh Ahmad on August 10. "What the Prime Minister
said is meant for everybody. It is not applicable only to
non-Muslims... The Prime Minister asked everyone to cool off
and hold on." The Home Minister spoke in reaction to two
seminars announced for the August 12-13 weekend focused on
defending Muslim rights and combating apostasy.


8. (C) A leading member of Article 11, Ramdass Tikamdas of
the Human Rights Society of Malaysia (HAKAM),expressed his
disappointment to us over the PM's statements and questioned
the Prime Minister's claim to represent all Malaysians. He
said, "How can the PM, who claims to be the PM for all
Malaysians, say we cannot discuss these issues?" Commenting
on the general silence emanating from moderate ethnic Malays
about the religious freedom debate, Tikamdas warned, "If
reasonable and rational Malays do not make a stand now, all
will be lost." Another Article 11 leader, Ivy Josiah,
questioned, "What Islam Hadhari is the PM advocating? Is he
supporting mob rule?" She noted Abdullah's targeting of
Article 11 activities, while Muslim groups used mosques to
advance their religious and legal agendas, as they did with
their recent forum on apostasy. The Article 11 group is
seeking an appointment with Abdullah to present their
concerns.

Protecting the Islamic Flank
--------------


9. (C) In January, the PM's non-Muslim cabinet members sent
him a letter requesting a review of constitutional provisions
affecting the legal rights of non-Muslims. The historically
unprecedented letter was quickly withdrawn by the ministers,
following strong public rebukes by UMNO Muslim leaders (ref

KUALA LUMP 00001516 003 OF 003


D) and conservative Muslim intellectuals. During a recent
public roundtable, Law Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz claimed that
vocal Islamic hardliners within the Islamic opposition party
PAS were prompting the Malay ruling party UMNO to pursue
actions and policies "we do not believe in" in order to win
greater political support from Muslims. He proclimed, "We
are doing a disservice to our nation," and he urged
secular-minded Muslims to "speak up, even at the risk of
being labeled as infidels or apostates." Constitutional law
expert Shad Saleem Farruqi told us, "In this country in the
last twenty years, a certain amount of Talibanization has
taken place," as Malay politicians aligned themselves with an
increasingly conservative Muslim electorate. Malaysian Bar
Council President Yeoh Yang Poh expanded on Shad's
assessment, predicting that Malaysia was "on the road to
disaster," if constitutional guarantees on religious freedom
and separation continued to erode.

Comment
--------------


10. (C) The Malaysian government is clearly concerned over
the direction and divisiveness of the religious freedom
debates and their potential effects on Malaysia's
inter-religious, inter-ethnic relations. Ironically, Prime
Minister Abdullah made possible these debates through gradual
relaxation of GOM controls over the press and public
expression since 2003. Both non-Muslim and Muslim groups
have taken advantage of this new space to raise publicly the
most sensitive questions concerning the role of Islam in
Malaysia and the meaning of religious freedom for Malaysia's
substantial non-Muslim minorities. The Prime Minister's
comments and those of his cabinet have drawn a boundary to
such discussions; we will see how far the government is
willing to go with enforcement and whether this favors the
politically powerful Muslim majority. Increased
self-censorship in the media is one likely outcome. Keeping
a lid on the current debate while avoiding a major reversal
of civil liberties will prove no easy task given the deep
concerns of non-Muslims over gradual Islamization in
Malaysia, the politically-charged religious conversion cases
now before the courts, and the political leverage wielded by
conservative Muslim Malays. In the end, Malaysia still will
need to face the fundamental issue of the constitutional
guarantees on religious freedom.
LAFLEUR