Constitution no impediment to non-Muslim religious affairs ministry, says senior lawyer

Free Malaysia Today

However, lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla says otherwise, pointing out that Islam occupies a special position ‘in the spirit and the structure of the Federal Constitution’.   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/02/16/constitution-no-impediment-to-non-muslim-religious-affairs-ministry-says-senior-lawyer/   Laporan Lanjut: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/02/16/perlembagaan-tak-halang-tubuh-kementerian-hal-ehwal-bukan-islam-kata-peguam/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews #ReligiousAffairsMinistry #FederalConstitution #MMLA

Transcript

00:00The federal constitution does not prohibit the setting up of a ministry to take charge of non-Muslim religious affairs, constitutional lawyer Bastian Pius van Dargen said.

00:12He said Article 3 of the constitution states that Islam is the religion of the Federation, but the same provision also provides that other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony.

00:24Therefore, he argued that the creation of a ministerial portfolio for non-Muslim religious affairs is well within the law.

00:31Recently, PAS and the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association objected to Raub MP Chow Yiu Hui's proposal to appoint a non-Muslim affairs minister, arguing that it undermines Islam's rightful position in Malaysia and contradicts the spirit of the constitution.

00:49Meanwhile, lawyer Hanif Khachri Abdullah said PAS' and MMLA's concerns had basis, citing the legal pronouncements made by the Court of Appeal in the 2013 Allah case, which held that Putrajaya had a duty to only promote Islam, which it had overlooked in the past.

01:06However, constitutional lawyer GK Ganesan said there ought to be no obstacle to the setting up of such a ministry given the secular nature of the constitution.

01:16Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the Cabinet disagreed with Chow's proposal, adding that non-Muslim religious affairs were already under the purview of National Unity Minister Aaron Agog Dagang.

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