Postpone the Mufti Bill

Malaysian Coalition of Hindu NGOs and Temples hopes that the government would postpone the tabling of the Mufti (Federal Territories) Bill 2024 which is scheduled to be tabled in the current Dewan Rakyat session.

“We urge the government to postpone the tabling of the Mufti Bill temporarily and host consultation and negotiations for the bill at the soonest.

“We have been receiving a lot of questions from the public who are concerned that certain clauses can intervene the in certain aspects of all Malaysians even though they are non Muslims.

“For an example, section 13(1) empowers the fatwa committee to issue fatwas on matters of national interest. There are concerns that the powers are too general and would bind non-Muslim Malaysians.

“Section 11(b) states that fatwa would be recognised as a federal law and cannot be challenged in court in accordance to section 15(3),” the coalition said in a statement.

Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Zulkifli Hasan had claimed that the various non-Muslim groups had been consulted in the drafting of the mufti bill while fielding a question from Suhaizan Kayat (PH-Pulai).

The Christian Federation of Malaysia however denied such consultation were done involving them.

The Malaysian Coalition of Hindu NGOs and Temples is made up of 13 organisation comprising religious, youth, legal and welfare organisations.

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