PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council supports the minority judgment of Chief
Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum that no court or authority should be
easily allowed to have implied powers to curtail rights that are
constitutionally granted.
Its president S. Ambiga said the Federal Constitution “is and must remain in
law, supreme.”
“In an event of any inconsistency or conflict between the provisions of State
Enactments and of the Federal Constitution, the latter must prevail,” she said
in a statement yesterday.
On Wednesday, the Federal Court rejected Lina Joy’s appeal to compel the
National Registration Department (NRD) to remove the word “Islam” from her
identity card.
Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court Justice Alauddin
Mohd Sheriff voted against her appeal and said conversion issues should be dealt
with by the Syariah Court.
In his dissenting judgement, Justice Malanjum described the NRD's insistence
that Lina Joy obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Federal Territory
Syariah Court or any Islamic authority as illegal and unreasonable.
Ambiga said: “We are mindful that issues relating to religion will inevitably
draw emotive responses in a multi-religious society.
“Malaysians must be prepared to confront these issues maturely and
dispassionately within the framework of our Federal Constitution as the supreme
law of the land.”
Council of Churches of Malaysia general-secretary Rev Dr Herman Shastri said it
viewed the Federal Court's decision with regret and concern.
“We believe that the constitutional provision in Article 11 of the Federal
Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion in our country has been
severely violated,” he said.
He said the majority judgement had denied the individual the right to freedom of
conscience and choice of religion.
“It is, therefore, vital that the necessary legislation be enacted to ensure
that no citizen would be penalised when he or she exercises the individual right
to choose a faith and to practice it in freedom,” he said.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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