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With reference to the press statement dated 4 February 2002 issued by the Muslim Scholars Association of Malaysia (MSAM), the Bar Council wishes to record its objections in the strongest possible terms to insinuations made against the Human Rights Sub-Committee (HRSC) of the Bar Council, its chairperson, Mr Cecil Rajendra, and the Malaysian Bar as a whole.

The MSAM Press Statement

In the said press statement, MSAM stated amongst other things the following:

'Majlis Peguam dengan kerjasama Sisters In Islam dan National Human Rights Society telah menganjurkan Bengkel Festival Hak Asasi sempena Hari Hak Asasi Sedunia pada 8 Disember 2001 di Kuala Lumpur. Suatu rencana berjudul ISLAM THE GREAT DEBATE yang ditulis ... dalam New Straits Times 11 Disember 2001 telah melaporkan beberapa panelis jemputan member anggapan negatif terhadap system keadilan Islam. Antaranya:’

[Excerpts of the NST article follow]

'Selain dari itu badan-badan yang menganjurkan Bengkel tersebut adalah tidak layak untuk membincangkan tentang Islam dan mereka menjemput para panelis yang tidak layak untuk membicarakan topik tersebut termasuk dari yang bukan Islam’.

'Oleh itu pandangan mereka banyak bertentangan dengan Islam dan kadangkala akan menyerang Islam secara langsung’.

'Adalah amat dikesalkan apabila semua pihak merasakan mereka layak dan mampu untuk membicarakan soal Islam terutama mengenai hukumhukum syariat tetapi tidak merujuk kepada kaedah-kaedah rumusan hukum yang benar dalam disiplin Ilmu Islam dalam membicarakan perkara tersebut’.

'Umpamanya Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Hak Asasi Manusia (HRC) Majlis Peguam Malaysia, Cecil Rajendra telah mengedarkan surat terbuka dalam Mesyuarat Agung Majlis Peguam itu pada tahun 2001 yang telah mengkritik dan tidak mengakui serta tidak mengiktiraf hak kebebasan beragama sebagaimana termaktub dalam Artikel 11 Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Sebaliknya beliau dan Jawatankuasa HRC mendesak agar orangorang Islam boleh keluar dari Islam tanpa sebarang sekatan. Tujuan surat terbuka itu adalah untuk meluluskan suatu usul dalam Mesyuarat Agung Majlis Peguam itu bahawa Artikel 11 Perlembangan Persekutuan adalah bertentangan dengan Deklarasi Universal Hak Asasi Manusia’.

Oleh itu kami berpendapat telah wujud (sis) perancangan berniat serong dan seolah-olah ada suatu usaha tersusun dari pihak-pihak tertentu untuk menyerang Islam dan institusi ulama di negara ini’.

Objections of the Bar Council

Those portions of the MSAM press statement quoted above are inaccurate and/or entirely misleading in the context of their publication.

The Bar Council reiterates its full and unstinting support for the freedom of speech and expression, and recognises that these freedoms are fundamental to the continued evolution of democratic society in Malaysia. These freedoms are enjoyed by MSAM in as much as they are enjoyed by other individuals and organisations in Malaysia including those individuals and organisations involved in the Festival of Rights held on 8th December 2001. The views expressed at the seminar are the views of those individuals expressing them. The Bar Council stands by the organisers of the Festival of Rights and those panelists invited to participate in the said seminar in so far as their right to express their views are concerned. The Bar Council refutes any suggestion that it, or its members in connection with the Festival of Rights - Dr Farish A Noor, En Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Cik Zainah Anwar and Dr Patricia Martinez, HAKAM and Sisters in Islam - have expressed views or associated with views against, or which seek to attack, Islam.

The Bar Council strongly refutes the allegations, if any, that the HRSC and Mr Cecil Rajendra in his capacity as a chairperson of the HRSC and a member of the Bar Council have urged Muslims to leave the religion of Islam. The Bar Council reiterates its support for the freedom of religion as set out in the Federal Constitution. The open letter referred to in the said MSAM press statement did not reject the notions of the freedom of religion as set out under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution. The said open letter did not single out any particular religion and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.

The Bar Council states that it is not part of or involved in a larger plan or conspiracy to attack Islam or Islamic scholars in Malaysia. Any suggestion to the contrary is entirely baseless. The Bar Council is involved in efforts, as exemplified by the efforts of the HRSC in connection with the Festival of Rights, to promote greater understanding, awareness and appreciation of the socio-legal context in which Malaysians exist through amongst other things academic debate and discourse.

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