SATU LAGI USUL LULUS!

Salam 2 all.

Alhamdulillah satu lagi usul yang saya kemukakan kepada Parlimen semasa bahas titah diraja Rabu 09 Rabi'ul Akhir 1431/ 24 Mac 2010 telah diterima. Ini berkaitan isu "Antara Agama-Inter Religion" yang saya rasa perlu ditangani secara berhikmah dengan penubuhan satu badan konsultatif. Berikut sedutan ucapan saya pada tarikh tersebut (bagi butiran lebih lanjut, sila layari tajuk "Bahas Titah Diraja 3"):

"ISU ANTARA AGAMA (INTER RELIGION)

Dato’ YDP, Baginda Tuanku telah mengingatkan kita dalam titahnya bahawa perpaduan dan saling hormat menghormati antara kaum dan agama menjadi tunjang kekuatan negara yang mesti dipelihara. Titah Baginda, amalan berbaik sangka, saling hormat menghormati dan bekerjasama antara rakyat pelbagai kaum dan agama akan melahirkan masyarakat Malaysia yang mesra, aman dan bertoleransi. Kedudukan agama Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan, dengan penganut agama lain bebas mengamalkan agama dan kepercayaan mereka.

Namun masalah antara agama tetap muncul dan menjadi duri dalam daging bagi keharmonian dan kestabilan negara. Kita umat Islam tidak boleh menafikan masalah yang dihadapi oleh penganut agama lain dalam beberapa isu yang berkaitan dengan Islam. Contohnya masalah kesan kemasukan ke Islam oleh pasangan bukan Islam dan berakhir dengan perebutan jenazah, pertikaian hak jagaan anak atau harta pusaka adalah masalah yang hakiki dan perlu ditangani dengan baik.

Oleh itu, saya mencadangkan supaya permasalahan ini ditangani dengan dua pendekatan. Pertama, dari segi non-legal, saya mencadangkan satu badan konsultatif diujudkan sebagai satu ‘standing committee’ (dengan izin) terdiri daripada tokoh-tokoh agama dan masyarakat yang mewakili semua pihak yang berkepentingan, dengan tujuan supaya mereka boleh mengadakan perbincangan dengan segera apabila sesuatu isu timbul, dan memberikan cadangan kepada pihak berkuasa pada kadar yang segera untuk mengelakkan mana-mana pihak mengambil kesempatan apabila berlaku kelambatan menanganinya saperti yang berlaku sekarang".

Saya difahamkan kabinet telah bersetuju secara prinsip untuk menubuhkan jawatankuasa seumpama ini pada peringkat panel, dan saya juga difahamkan panel ini akan dipecahkan kepada beberapa sub-panel yang mempunyai pengkhususan dalam beberapa isu yang berkaitan.

Apa pun, saya berharap kesediaan kabinet untuk menangani isu ini dengan secara lebih affirmatif dan konkrit akan memberi ruang kepada penyelesaian beberapa isu antara agama yang berbangkit atau yang akan berbangkit.

Wassalam.

Zulkifli Bin Noordin

Selasa

21 Rabi'ul Akhir 1431

06 April 2010

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(Petikan daripada Malaysian Insider bertarikh 06.04.2010)

Cabinet moots inter-faith panel to solve disputes

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — The Cabinet has finally agreed to form an inter-faith panel to foster religious understanding and harmony disturbed in the past few months by bigots and the controversial “Allah” ruling.

The Malaysian Insider understands the Cabinet, under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had earlier this year appointed Datuk Ilani Isahak to bring religious leaders to the table in an attempt to peacefully iron out conflicts.

The idea for an inter-faith panel was first mooted in the early 1980s but was spiked following objections from Muslim groups such as the Islamic Development Department, better known by its Malay acronym Jakim.

According to sources, the objection was because an inter-faith council would place Islam, the nation’s official religion, on equal footing with the other religions.

Various attempts have been made to revive the idea over the years, but have come up against a wall, until now.

A former Kota Baru MP, Ilani who is now with the religious affairs division in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), was handpicked to head the inter-faith panel. She was a member of the National Unity Advisory Panel under the Abdullah administration.

Ilani declined to comment on the issues raised when first contacted by The Malaysian Insider but promised to do so later. She did not specify when.

Religious representatives who have spoken to Ilani told The Malaysian Insider that she is very tactful and sympathetic to the non-Muslim communities on their problems which have been piling up over the years.

Reverend Hermen Shastri, secretary-general of the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) greeted the Najib administration’s latest overture with cautious optimism.

He noted that rise of inter-religious disputes pitting Muslims against the non-Muslims in the last few years over a number of issues, most notably burial rights and conversions.

One of the most bitter controversies is the case of kindergarten teacher, M. Indira Gandhi, a Hindu who is battling her Muslim-convert ex-husband, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, for custody of their youngest daughter.

While a civil High Court in Perak had earlier this month awarded the mother custody of 22-month old Prasana, a Syariah high court had granted custody to the father.

The inter-faith panel first met last February 12 after a spate of street protests and attacks on houses of worship following the New Year’s Eve High Court ruling over the use of the word “Allah” showed the need for all religious groups to face the problem straight on.

Although the “Allah” issue is before the courts, some 28 religious leaders, including Muslim officials from Jakim and the Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) were present at the first talk to discuss the disputes.

Suggestions were made then to split the main panel into several smaller committees to better manage the disputes, namely: religious conversion; places of worship; burials and cemeteries; proselytisation; and use of religious terminology.

Another idea mooted was to set up an action team comprising respected civic leaders who could immediately step in, in an emergency, to deal with conflicts on the ground.

Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) president Reverend Thomas Philips, said the inter-faith committee will be meeting again today for the Cabinet’s feedback on the various proposals made.