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KUCHING, Sept 9: A coalition of Sarawakian activists is calling on Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to fulfill his 2018 promise on amending the State laws regarding religious conversion, and establish clear guidelines for would-be apostates to obtain the necessary Letter of Release from Islam through an administrative process without having to go to court.
In a joint statement, Global Human Rights Federation deputy president Peter John Jaban highlighted the current situation, where most of the process is entangled within the Syariah Court system, whose process is often protracted, with no guarantee of successful release from the religion.
“So far no cases have been successfully completed,” he said.
Therefore, he urges Abang Johari to address his 2018 promise of legislative reform regarding religious conversion, a commitment he made in response to a court case involving individuals seeking to reverse their conversion to Islam.
Peter John noted that in Abang Johari’s 2018 remarks, he pledged to resolve the problem within six months.
Bill Jugah, who founded Independent Coalition of Natives (ICON), has received close to 20 individual cases on this issue, many stemming from divorce cases, and the majority of those affected are women of productive, child-bearing age.
“Once they are divorced from their Muslim spouses, they face a social stigma and are shunned by their own race potential suitors or future husbands because of their outstanding religious status.
“It is much better to simply release these cases instead of dragging on,” he stressed.
He hopes the Premier will fulfill his 2018 commitment, which include establishing a standard operating procedure (SOP), allowing the Sarawak Islamic authority to issue Release Letter for the Home Ministry perusal.
Bill also suggested a nominal fee for these procedures, considering that converts would not face charges during conversion but may be fined thousands of ringgit and other expenses when dealing with Syariah lawyers.
Despite Malaysia being a Muslim-majority nation, Sarawak stands out with a higher Christian population than Muslims. According to the 2020 census, 62.1 percent of Sarawak’s residents practice Christianity, while only 19.2 percent practice Islam. — DayakDaily
