Universal values won’t help resolve issues faced by Malaysia
Isma is one of the 17 Muslim groups which had come together as the Muslim NGOs in the UPR Process (MuslimUPRo), and Abdullah Zaik (picture) said the coalition was formed in response to demands made by Comango – a separate coalition of 54 NGOs whose recommendations were officially submitted as part of the stakeholders’ report to the UN.
Alyaa Alhadjri, The Ant Daily
The Al-Quran, Sunnah and the Federal Constitution must be maintained as the points of reference for any government policies rather than subscribing to a universal standard of values in the name of upholding human rights.
Islamic NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman told theantdaily that these three considerations, within a Malaysian context, should supersede any “Western values” championed by global superpowers.
“We [Isma] do not see how adopting wholesale the United Nations human rights conventions can help to resolve issues faced by Malaysians,” said Abdullah Zaik, adding that the conventions were designed based on Western experiences which are then marketed as universal values.
He said, as such, Malaysia should not yield to international pressures to ratify the various United Nations (UN) human rights instruments as it will only create “more problems” within the society.
Isma is one of the 17 Muslim groups which had come together as the Muslim NGOs in the UPR Process (MuslimUPRo), and Abdullah Zaik (picture) said the coalition was formed in response to demands made by Comango – a separate coalition of 54 NGOs whose recommendations were officially submitted as part of the stakeholders’ report to the UN.
Isma and Comango have since been engaged in a battle of words, with the former alleging that there were attempts to undermine the status of Islam in Malaysia through calls for the government to sign the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Comango has also been accused of supporting homosexual acts which are forbidden in Islam, which the coalition had subsequently denied.
When it was pointed out that Muslim nations such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Jordan are already a party to the ICCPR, Abdullah Zaik insisted that there are no “real benefits” to them doing so.
“Each country should consider its own unique situation. Muslim nations are increasingly forced to accept such liberal Western values or risk facing political and economic pressure [from global superpowers],” he claimed.
Malaysia has to date ratified three UN conventions pertaining to rights of women, children and persons with disabilities but with reservations on certain clauses.
Article 18 of the ICCPR states that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and when asked whether Malaysia should instead express its reservation to the clause, Abdullah Zaik insisted that the government should not “compromise” its stand on the matter.
“Once the government decides to compromise [by expressing reservation], there will be future calls to eventually accept the whole convention.
“This is all part of an ongoing Westernisation process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) advocacy officer Yu Ren Chung said while Isma and the Muslim groups are entitled to express their views on the matter, the use of state machinery to vilify Comango is a cause for concern.
WAO is one of the 54 endorsees of Comango’s demands and Yu said the coalition has been subjected to “outlandish comments” and “baseless allegations” – including through the official Friday prayers sermon text prepared by the Islamic Development Department Malaysia (Jakim) on Oct 18.
“It is our responsibility to respond to Isma because what they have said are factually untrue. Isma is claiming to speak on behalf of the larger Muslim community when that is not necessarily true either,” said Yu, in pointing out that matters of religion should be personal to every individual.
He also maintained the overall concept behind championing for adoption of universal human rights standards is so that every individual will be able to live their chosen life with dignity.
This, he said, is due to the fact that a UN member country will receive technical assistance to implement the resolutions which it has ratified for the betterment of the people.
Malaysia has received over 200 recommendations from UN member countries that participated in the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review process on Oct 24 and the government has until March next year to state its commitments over the next four-and-a-half years.
