Islamic law enforcement worries Kuala Lumpur

By David Chew

SINGAPORE (JP): The growing uneasiness among Malaysia's multiracial and multireligious population at moves to inject Moslem values into the country's sociopolitical environment has prompted a concerned Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to intervene.

Observers say that only the tough-talking and hard-hitting prime minister possesses the stature and clout to deal with such a complex and sensitive issue, since he continues to inspire confidence among all races -- Malays, Chinese, Indians, North Bornean natives, Eurasians and aboriginals.

They argue that Mahathir is likely to succeed even though it looks set to be a long and uphill battle. But it will be worth the effort, since any "victory" will undoubtedly sustain the political stability and high economic growth Malaysia is currently experiencing. This is despite the setbacks of the falling value of the Malaysian currency and stock market.

Malaysia is a secular nation which regards Islam as the official religion while guaranteeing freedom of religious worship. Almost all the Malays, who comprise about 55 percent of the 18 million population, are Moslems while the majority of the Chinese, Indians, North Bornean natives, Eurasians and aboriginals are non-Moslem, professing Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and animistic beliefs.

As a former British colony, Malaysia applies the civil law inherited from Britain. A parallel set of syariah or Islamic laws, enforced by the muftis, the highest religious authorities in the states, also applies to the Moslem community, but exempts non-Moslems.

In his intervention to allay the growing uneasiness of Malaysians, Mahathir sees the main cause of the problem as the subjective and rather high-handed manner in which overzealous muftis are enforcing enforce syariah laws. He has indicated that this needs to be corrected.

A few recent incidents attracted his attention after he returned from a two-month holiday abroad to promote the Multimedia Super Corridor and re-organize his thoughts on strengthening his party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which heads the country's ruling coalition.

His goal is to realize his "Vision 2020" of transforming Malaysia into a developed nation within the next 20 years.

In June, religious officials in the state of Selangor arrested three Moslem women for taking part in a beauty pageant where they paraded in swimsuits in front of a large crowd. They were subsequently charged and fined under the state's religious laws for "indecently exposing" in public that part of their bodies between the navel and the thighs.

Several states had earlier banned the Malaysian rap group KRU which has a large Moslem following, from performing concerts in public. A Malaysian cabinet ruling had also made Islamic studies mandatory for all undergraduates, irrespective of race and religion.

These three separate incidents had a common theme -- to protect the morality of Moslems from what conservative Moslems see as decadent western influences, while upholding the importance of Islam in a multiracial society.

Predictably they evoked mixed reactions from both Moslems and non-Moslems. While some Moslems lamented the admonishment of Moslem women for improper dressing as "harsh and extreme", others lauded it as necessary to deter Moslems from blindly following corrupt western values.

Non-Moslem fears over impending legislation to make Islamic studies compulsory ranged from disadvantaging their undergraduates to possible proselytization.

Mahathir has issued a directive regarding the role of the muftis and other religious officials to be reviewed, as they are the ones responsible for issuing the fatwa or religious ruling, which demands compliance from Moslems.

He also wants the syariah laws to be enforced in a way that is seen as corrective and not punitive.

The premier, who is also the Home Affairs Minister, has stated that he prefers educating and persuading the errant religious officials to mend their ways, and not to jail them without trial under Malaysia's Internal Security Act as demanded by some of their critics.

But observers note that he would not rule out using the big stick as a last resort should the culprits continue to remain recalcitrant.

But bringing them to heel demands delicate tightrope balancing skills. While Mahathir may be anxious to discipline the errant mufti, he cannot do it in such a way as to anger large sections of conservative Malays who hold them in high esteem. Either way he cannot afford to fall down on dangerous ground where he would be blown up by social landmines.

That would mean an end to all his painstaking efforts to make Malaysia, where Moslems play a dominant role in the politics and economics without infringing on the right of non-Moslems, a "model nation" for the world, especially Moslem nations with significant non-Moslem minorities.

More importantly, such an image is necessary to maintain the flow of foreign investment and information technology to Malaysia's shores and enhance its trade links with the rest of the world. The last thing that Mahathir wants is for Malaysia to go the way of Iran, which is shunned by many prospective investors who fear its ultra-conservative Moslem laws.

It is the reaction of the Malays rather than the Chinese, Indians or other non-Moslems that Mahathir must consider when he calls for a review of the enforcement of syariah laws and the role of Moslem religious officials -- in such a way so as not to confuse Moslems or frighten non-Moslems.

Non-Malays were effectively marginalized in Malaysia's race-based politics after racial riots shook the capital Kuala Lumpur in 1969. Since then they have come to accept Malay rule and Moslem hegemony as necessities for the country's political stability and economic progress in which they would also play a supportive role.

Mahathir feels that too many officials are issuing fatwas according to their own arbitrary interpretations of what the syariah should be rather than how it should be interpreted by a central authority like the Islamic Affairs section of the Prime Minister's Department. He also suspects that some of the muftis have been influenced by conservative Moslems who do not share the government's views that Islamic thinking must adapt to global changes in an increasingly borderless world.

Although muftis and other Islamic officials are government servants, it is not easy for the federal government to tell them how they should interpret Islamic law. This is because Islam comes under the purview of the different Malay states and not the federal government. Thus the sultans, rather than the chief ministers whose appointments are decided by the prime minister, are the leaders of Islam in their respective states.

This peculiar situation is a legacy of British intervention in Malaysia in the 19th century where the sultans continued to retain effective control of religion after surrendering their civil authority to the colonial power. The government of independent Malaysia inherited this legacy.

Because of its profound impact on Malay society, this legacy has given muftis much clout when it comes to enforcing the syariah laws. Backed by the full weight of the sultans, they can claim to be more knowledgeable than the secular government in matters concerning Islam.

By and large, Malay society continues to hold them in high regard, particularly as some muftis are conservative Moslems who believe that the government's economic development also brought drug addiction, alcoholism, high divorce rates, prostitution, loafing and other "un-Islamic" values into Malay society.

They have been able to impress upon many Malays that the enforcement of syariah laws strictly according to the book, is the only way to curb influences which corrupt the Moslems morality. Some of the officials are being endorsed by the Theocratic Islamic Party (PAS), the rival of UMNO for the support of the Malays on whom Malaysia's political stability and economic prosperity hinge.

PAS has always wanted an Islamic state in Malaysia along the lines of Iran. It has blamed the social problems of the Malays on UMNO's secularization measures. Some conservative sections of UMNO have feared the religious appeal of PAS, leading analysts to suggest that it was such UMNO leaders who supported the move of religious officials in Selangor to admonish the three Moslem women in order to outflank PAS.

To date, Mahathir has moved circumspectly to clip the muftis' wings, by first allaying the suspicions of non-Moslems. The mandatory Islamic studies course has been broadened to include the study of Chinese, Indian and Japanese under the category of Asian Civilizations to accommodate non-Moslems. The proposed ban on the rap group KRU has also been lifted.

What is next on the cards is for the muftis to be persuaded that a subjective matter like Islamic dress code must be interpreted in such as way as to enhance Islamic values without appearing to be too harsh on an individual's personal liberties.

This may only be a small step in Mahathir's overall scheme of things to unify the enforcement of syariah law so as to do away with a peculiar legacy of British colonial rule where religion is concerned. The final battle to rein in the muftis will only be won when the Malays by and large overwhelmingly support the government on religious matters in the same way as they did for secular matters, going by the massive mandate it received in the last general election in 1995.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Singapore.