The recently proposed guidelines by the Department of Religious Affairs on Muslim participation in non-Muslim religious events and festivals were unnecessary from the outset.
Common sense alone should have dictated that such regulations were redundant and potentially divisive.
Had the guidelines been approved, non-Muslim places of worship organizing events involving Muslims would have been required to seek prior approval from Muslim religious authorities.
Such a measure would have been a clear overreach into religious and cultural freedoms, creating unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and fostering mistrust among communities.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the Cabinet rejected the proposal, recognizing that it would have caused anxiety among both Muslims and non-Muslims.
However, it is troubling that Anwar was seemingly unaware of this proposal despite it originating from a department under his authority.
Did Minister Naim Mokhtar, in charge of religious affairs, consult Anwar before attempting to bring the proposal to Parliament?
If Anwar was uninformed, how did the proposal even make it to the Cabinet level?
Such a controversial policy should have been halted long before it reached this stage.
The crux of the issue lies in a fundamental misunderstanding—attending non-Muslim religious events is not the same as participating in non-Islamic worship.
Organizers of such events are already sensitive to the religious boundaries of participants.
There is no need for bureaucratic interference dictating what Muslims or non-Muslims can do at such gatherings.
The most troubling aspect of the proposal was its blatant infringement on constitutional freedoms.
Requiring non-Muslim religious venues to obtain approval before allowing Muslim attendees would amount to an unnecessary and unwarranted intrusion into religious and cultural rights.
Furthermore, it implies that Muslims require external regulation to engage with other religious communities, which is both patronizing and insulting to their intelligence.
The Department of Religious Affairs, benefiting from substantial government funding, should focus on fostering interfaith dialogue rather than deepening religious divisions.
While certain political parties exploit religion for their own agendas, government institutions funded by taxpayer money should remain above such tactics.
Malaysia risks being trapped in an endless cycle of racial and religious disputes while other nations progress. It is time to prioritize unity and development over divisive politics.
P. Ramasamy
Former professor of political economy at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and former deputy chief minister of Penang.
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Pls go to Indonesia lah bro! A Muslim majority country and see how tolerant they are. And to add, in Pakistan ( though not ASEAN), there are Christian Radio Stations that caters for Christians and anyone who wants to listen. While in Malaysia, the Malays get spooked by Crosses on buildings. C'mon lah! Jangan cuba tegakkan Penang yang basah!
My memory says there's no such word desengenous but disingenuous?