The National Registration Department's (NRD) act of randomly listing Christians in Sabah with "bin" or "binti" in their names as Muslims in their identity cards has come under strong attack.
The NRD should not be doing this, the Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) said in a statement today
"The NRD should note the historical position that in Sabah, 'bin' and 'binti' do not necessarily mean they are Muslims," MCCBCHST explained.
MCCBCHST criticised the NRD action as an act of violating the constitutional rights and fundamental liberties of the individuals concerned.
"The NRD's further decision that it will continue to list such bumiputera Christians as Muslims until they have obtained an order from a syariah court to say that they are not Muslims is a violation of the affected persons constitutional rights and fundamental liberties as enshrined in Articles 11(1) and 12(4) of the federal constitution," the interfaith organisation said.
Case taken to the wrong court
The council cited the case filed by Sabahan Intim binti Lambaran and her two daughters as an example, stressing that the fact that they were baptised as Christians and never at any time were Muslims should be sufficient for the NRD to list them as Christians in their MyKad.
"In the present case, Intim binti Lambatan should have filed a writ in the High Court to compel NRD to list them as Christians in their MyKad and not in the syariah court, as the syariah court has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims," the MCCBCHST statement said.
The case is still pending before the Syariah High Court in Kudat, after the NRD refused to change the status of her religion, even though the Sabah Islamic Affairs Department has written to the court to confirm that Intim's name is not on record in the Islamisation register.
Despite the Muslim Welfare Organisation of Malaysia (Perkim) and Penang Islamic Religious Council stating that Vangarama was properly converted and that her case must be tried by the syariah court, the High Court has ruled that the matter must be decided by the civil court.
The Court of Appeal also ruled that there are important constitutional issues to be decided in Vangarama's case and it should therefore come under the jurisdiction of the civil court.
Based on this ruling by the appellate court, MCCBHST said, the NRD has acted unconstitutionally and in an arbitrary manner in the Sabah instances.
It called on Sabahans to demand accountability from their government and elected leaders as they are the ones who have allowed this matter to take place by remaining passive.
"MCCBCHST therefore urges the home minister to direct the NRD to rectify and reflect the true religion of the aggrieved parties upon notification, without reference to any third party," the statement added.
dulu2 isu ni tidak dikisahkan sangat oleh rakyat sabah.. kalau hari ini ia menjadi isu besar kepada negara, pergi saja ke JPN dan tukar..
ReplyDeleteisu mcm ni tak perlu nak diperbesarkan.
DeleteIsu ini hanya isu terpencil sahaja, tak perlu di perbesarkan..banyak lagi perkara lebih penting.
DeleteNak dekat PRU, semua isu pun akan di perbesarkan.
DeleteIsu ni sepatutnya tidak perlu dipolitikkan. ada penyelesaian yang lebih baik untuk isu ni.
ReplyDeleteSetuju, tidak perlu politikkan isu ini, pasti ada jalan penyelesaian bagi setiap masalah.
DeleteYang pasti Bin atau Binti ni bukannya dikhaskan pada agama atau kaum tertentu saja.
ReplyDeletepenggunaan Bin atau Bin tak semestinya untuk orang Islam sahaja, semua boleh menggunakannya.
DeleteHope NRD will give their explanation about this issue. don't make people confuse.
ReplyDeleteSEBAGAI PENJAJAH, MEREKA AKAN BUAT APA SAHAJA KEATAS NEGARA YANG DI JAJAH DEMI MENCAPAI DAN MEMENUHI HASRAT, TUJUAN DAN KEPENTINGAN MEREKA, INI LAH AKIBAT YANG KITA AKAN TERUS HADAPI SEBAGAI NEGARA YANG DI JAJAH...... APAKAH KITA URANG SABAH TERUS RELA DENGAN PENJAJAHAN MALAYA INI ATAU HARUS KAH KITA BANGKIT DAN KELUAR DARIPADA GENGGAMAN DARIPADA MALAYA ?.... KALAU BUKAN KITA SIAPA LAGI ?,...KALAU BUKAN SEKARANG BILA LAGI ?..... INI KALI LAH ! ! !
ReplyDeleteparti-parti politik pembangkang kini turut menyuarakan ketidakpuasan hati mereka terhadap cara JPN Sabah menangani masalah itu dan perdebatan terbuka yang berpanjangan mengenainya hanya akan menjejaskan imej parti pemerintah, kerajaan Barisan Nasional.
ReplyDeleteBekas ketua menteri Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak merayu Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar ke Sabah untuk mengadakan "mesyuarat khas tertutup" bersama mereka yang mempunyai masalah kewarganegaraan dengan segera bagi menyelesaikan masalah itu dan mengelakkan daripada perkara itu dipolitikkan.
Deletememinta Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Datuk Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad datang sendiri ke Sabah bagi menangani isu itu
Deletekerajaan Persekutuan, terutamanya Kementerian Dalam Negeri, hendaklah melihat masalah itu dengan serius dan mengambil tindakan segera bagi menangani masalah itu.
ReplyDeleteRamai rakyat Sabahan tidak berpuashati dengan JPN Sabah menangani isu ini, apatah lagi masalah pendatang tanpa yang memperoleh dokumen MyKad menerusi cara yang diragui
ReplyDelete