Insights into MP Khalid’s proposal which incurs the Sultan’s wrath

By admin-s On Jul 23, 2014

While the Sultan may act on his own on matters pertaining to Islam, he is in no position to interfere with the religious rights of the non-Muslims as protected by the Constitution.

Aziz Bari, The Ant Daily

Reports on the Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafudin Idris Shah expressing his displeasure with Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad hit the front page of most Umno-owned dailies on July 16.

The Sultan was reportedly upset by the PAS MP’s suggestion made more than a month ago to take away the enforcement powers of the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais). Following that the police, as confirmed by IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar on July 17, launched an investigation under the sedition law.

That came as a shock to me as the second term Shah Alam MP did not say anything about the Sultan’s powers as the head of the Islamic religion in Selangor. He was merely making a suggestion that the powers of the religious council be taken away through an amendment at the Selangor State Assembly.

And this was understandable as Mais and Jais, both of which are under the Sultan’s purview, have been taking actions that are widely seen as interfering with non-Muslims’ rights.

Over the past few years both agencies have been conducting raids on non-Muslims’ religious premises such as Christian churches and offices. The most recent ones included the seizure of Malay-language bibles from a bible society and a raid on a Hindu marriage ceremony.

To put things in the proper perspective perhaps we need to look at the constitutional structure under which the Sultan is the head of Islam for his state. In carrying out this function he is allowed by the Constitution to have discretion, independent of the advice of the sitting government.

To assist his functioning as head of religion, the Constitution has allowed him to appoint a council, to be composed of people he handpicks. When it comes to the routine administration of Islam which includes mosque upkeep, tithes collection and so on, a department, known as Jais in Selangor, has been established.

It is clear here that the state government, headed by the menteri besar, has got nothing to do with the administration of Islam and this has been the case from the day we gained independence. Indeed this was part and parcel of the agreement between the rulers and the politicians who were represented by Umno and the Alliance during the independence talks.

It is important that this be clarified as many have raised questions over what they saw as inaction and incompetence on the part of Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Given the structure outlined above, religion is obviously beyond the ruling politicians.

It is true that they have an Exco man in charge of religious affairs. But we need to see this in the light of the above scheme. As such the Exco member is largely there to coordinate things and perhaps stands to complement the existing establishment under the Sultan rather than calling the shots as expected by many.