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KUALA LUMPUR, Tues.: The Steering Committee of the Initiative Towards the Interfaith Commission of Malaysia expressed its regret today that certain quarters have chosen to misrepresent its efforts and the Initiative itself and these "misrepresentations are reckless and published with disregard for the truth".

"They have had, and still have the unfortunate effect of undermining a necessary and valuable civil society effort.

"These accusations and misrepresentations have further had the regrettable effect of creating tensions where none existed before," said its Chairperson, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar in a statement forwarded to the Web Reporter today.

He said the proposed Commission is an advisory, consultative and conciliatory body and is in no way an adjudicatory body as reflected in section 4(2) of the draft bill which reads: "The Commission shall at all times independently perform its functions as an advisory, consultative and conciliatory body”. This is reinforced, he said, by the powers of the proposed Commission as set out under the draft bill wherein amongst its principal powers as drafted are the powers:

“to promote awareness of the tenets and beliefs of the diverse religions and faiths of the world...” (section 5(1)(a))

“to advise the Government and/or the relevant authorities of complaints against such authorities and recommend to the Government and/or such authorities appropriate measures to be taken” (section 5(1)(b))

“to resolve any dispute or rectify any act or omission, emanating from or constituting an infringement of religious harmony by means of mediation, negotiation or conciliation” (section 5(1)(i))"

He added that the powers of the proposed Commission are similar to the ambit of SUHAKAM, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and that it has no wider power, particularly in changing tenets of religion or staying the hands of the Syariah courts.

Malik also explained why there was a need for an Interfaith Commission. "Simply put, there is no formal process for interfaith dialogue in existence at the moment. Neither is there a mechanism for the shaping of coherent interfaith policy in the country. In addition, the only method of dispute resolution is by legal action in the courts which, in the interests of peaceful co-existence, should be the last resort in disputes," he said.

He further denied the accusations made by the the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic N.G.O.s (ACCIN) that there was a hidden agenda on the part of the organisers of the Initiative. He said ACCIN and others who had parroted the same concerns had not explained why they believed this. He said, "The truth is that there is no basis at all to any of the accusations. This can be seen from the following.

"Firstly, the draft Bill does not have any provisions allowing for the proposed Commission to bypass the State Islamic Religious Bodies or the Shariah Courts. There is no provision aimed at allowing the proposed Commission to use the Civil Courts to decide on Islamic Religious Matters. There is no provision singling out Islam.

Secondly, no explanation has been given as to how the proposed Commission would interfere with Intra-Islamic affairs or how the Commission will infringe on Muslims’ rights to practice Islam. These accusations are sensationalist and manipulative of public opinion against the Initiative.

Thirdly, there are many organizations and individuals which support the Initiative, including Muslims. Having said that, no consensus was arrived at on various matters. Those matters on which there has been no consensus have been omitted from the draft Bill. 173 participants attended the Conference and endorsed the draft bill as ultimately agreed to. The draft Bill was the final product of the consensus of the participants. These included Muslims. The accusations suggest that all these participants had anti-Islamic agendas. This suggestion is ludicrous. The participants respected all religions and believed in the rights of others to profess their own faith. The participants would not have associated themselves with the draft Bill if it was as characterized by ACCIN and other critics.

Fourthly, the draft Bill is just that, a draft. It is not law until Parliament makes it law. This is something for those in Parliament and the Government. The critics have given the impression that the proposed Commission has been brought into existence, and this by means of a fait accompli. This is preposterous."

Malik also said the workshop organised by the Pro-Tem Committee was a success as about 100 individuals, including Muslims, attended and unanimously agreed that a national conference was necessary to consider how best to implement the proposals.

He refuted claims from ACCIN and TERAS that the Initiative and the draft Bill are anti-Islamic as there is no foundation for an accusation of this nature to be brought against the persons and organisations involved in the Initiative. Such accusations, he said, were borne out of a total ignorance of the Initiative, its underpinnings or its context, and a lack of willingness to understand or inquire, and/or the intent to manipulate public perception.

"The Steering Committee is still committed to dialogue, especially with organizations such as ACCIN, TERAS and PAS and welcomes the possibility of these organizations taking the opportunity to do so.

"The Steering Committee believes that the Initiative is a necessary, precious and invaluable step forward in our society’s evolution. It is a means to bringing us closer to the Bangsa Malaysia that we all aspire to. The confrontational air that has been adopted thus far can only serve to divide us further," said Malik.

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