Toot…

Malaysians always find pride in saying that Malaysia is a multi-racial country where people from different races and religion can live together in peace and harmony. If what the Malaysians claim is true, the Constitution of Malaysia is surely a successful model of which a lot of nations in the world can learn a thing or two from. This is because the Constitution of Malaysia seemingly has solved a lot of problems arise from the differences between groups of people, especially different religious groups.

Before I continue any further, I would like to describe the few major religions in Malaysia. Firstly, there’s Islam, the official religion of Malaysia. I think it is quite safe to say that this is the religion with the most followers in Malaysia, due to the fact that Malays are Muslims. The reason? I will discuss it later. Then there’s Hinduism, of which Indians make up most of the followers, hence I think, the major religion in Malaysia with the least followers. Next will be Christianity. Christianity is surely more of a multi-racial religion in Malaysia, where the followers consist of mainly Chinese and Indians.

The finally, there is “Buddism”. “Buddism” in Malaysia is a very interesting topic which deserves a whole paragraph or two to itself. The reason I said “Buddism” as opposed to simply Buddism is because, well, in Malaysia, “Buddism” is not Buddism. In understanding this seemingly weird happening, we must first understand the Rukun Negara, or National Principles. To help refresh the memories of those who have long since left primary or secondary school, below is the Rukun Negara and its English translation.

Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan,
Kesetiaan Kepada Raja dan Negara,
Keluhuran Perlembagaan,
Kedaulatan Undang-Undang,
Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan.

Belief in God,
Loyalty to King and Country,
Supremacy of the Constitution,
Sovereignty of Law,
Courtesy and Morality.

From the National Principles alone, you can see how important it is for a Malaysian to believe in God. In fact, you can even say that Malaysian should conform to these principles and hence are somewhat “defined” to believe in God. God, I believe, in the context of the Principles, refers to the Creator who listens to your prayer, monitors your actions and thoughts, and not to forget, judge you according to your performance during your life time. One of the common things about the other major religions in Malaysia is the existence of a Supreme Being who we refer to as God. However, for the case for Buddism, there is no teaching of the Ultimate Creator. From this fact alone, I believe it is quite safe to say that Buddism is not a religion. In fact, a few year ago when I was reading Reader’s Digest, I was so shocked that Dalai Lama said “Buddism is not a religion, but a way of life.” Now, I have to say, I am sincerely sorry to have called myself a buddist.

So, what’s with “Buddism”, you may ask. In Malaysia, “Buddism” IS a religion. This is because “Buddism” consists of not only Buddism, but also some of the other, usually Chinese, beliefs which does involves a Personal God, regardless whether the issue of creation is involved or not. The God of Wealth, Dragon, or the Old Man of the Moon are just a few of the many examples I can give. Some of the followers prefer to call themselves Taoist, but I believe that true Taoism is not how they defined it. In fact, Taoism is more of a moral teaching and a way of life. For those people who happens to call themselves Taoists, I suppose it’s totally fine with me, but certainly, they will encounter some inconvenience in their life, especially when it comes to filling in forms, even more so when they are forms from the government.

In Malaysia, filling in forms usually mean stating what your religion is. It is as if the religion which you are in affects how the forms are going to be processed. Maybe it does. The usual choices which you can tick are: Buddism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Others (please state). When a “Taoist”, agnostic, or even atheist sees it, guess what he or she will do. Yes, tick the box next to Buddism. Easy, fast and no hassle. It’s been a while since I have to fill in such forms. During this period of time, I have my consciousness raised on the matter of religion. Out of my respect for Buddism, I do not think it is right for me to tick the box next to it. And also as an atheist, I think it is right for me to state my stance, however odd it may seem in Malaysia. However, I’m not sure if I am actually allowed to write Atheism as my “religion”, or even if it is allowed by the law, considering the Rukun Negara.

In my attempt to understand more about this issue, I decided to take a look at the Constitution of Malaysia. Certainly, according to the Rukun Negara, the constitution is supreme and certainly can provide me a good answer. During this attempt, I actually came across some lines in the constitution which deal with the issue of religion. Some of them are common knowledge in Malaysia; some are just so interesting that I would really like to share it with you. Note that first number refers to the Article and the second number refers to the Clause in that particular Article.

(3, 1) – Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.

(3, 2), (3, 3) and (3, 5), (32, 1), (42, 9) deal with the issue of who is to be the Head of Religion in the different states in Malaysia, and their responsibility as the Head of Religion.

(8, 2) – Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

(8, 5b) – This Article does not invalidate or prohibit any provision or practice restricting office or employment connected with the affairs of any religion, or of an institution managed by a group professing any religion, to persons professing that religion.

(11, 1) – Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to (11, 4), to propagate it.

(11, 2) – No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.

(11, 3) – Every religious group has the right to manage its own religious affairs, to establish and maintain institutions for religions or charitable purposes, and to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.

(11, 4) – State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

(12, 2) – Every religious group has the right to establish and maintain institutions for the education of children in its own religion, and there shall be no discrimination on the ground only of religion in any law relating to such institutions or in the administration of any such law; but it shall be lawful for the Federation or a State to establish or maintain or assist in establishing or maintaining Islamic institutions or provide or assist in providing instruction in the religion of Islam and incur such expenditure as may be necessary for the purpose.

(12, 3) – No person shall be required to receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own.

(12, 4) – For the purposes of (12, 3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian.

(160, 2) – “Malay” means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or is the issue of such a person.

If you consider (11, 2) and (12, 2) clearly, you can see that they are somewhat contradicting. (11, 2) states that nobody should “pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own”. (12, 2) states that “it shall be lawful for the Federation or a State to establish or maintain or assist in establishing or maintaining Islamic institutions or provide or assist in providing instruction in the religion of Islam and incur such expenditure as may be necessary for the purpose”. And how do the Federation of the State pays for the expenditure? Tax payer’s money. And who are the tax payers? Malaysians, be they Muslims or Non-Muslims. Ah… of course, of course, Income Tax is not “specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion”… My bad.

Clause (12, 3) and (12, 4) are somewhat contradicting also. It implies that if you are under 18, you have no right to choose your own religion, and if your parents demand of you, you must conform to their decision on the issue of religion. Also, since a religion is “chosen” for you, by what (12, 3) implies, you should “receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of” your religion. What if you have Christian parents but you found out that Islam is obviously the One True Religion? That would make a scene.

If you are wondering why all Malays are Muslims, you can clearly see it in (160, 2), where Malay is actually defined as a person “who professes the religion of Islam”. Alright, you may wonder, what happens if a Malay found out that Christianity, Judaism, Mormon or heck, Scientology is more suitable for him of her? The only answer I can think of comes from mathematics: function is not defined as it is out of the domain.

From the above clauses in the Constitution of Malaysia, you will more or less find that Malaysians do have freedom of religion, regardless of the few seemingly contradicting clauses. Thankfully, I have not found a single clause which demands Malaysians to have a religion. Hence, I believe, atheism must be allowed in Malaysia.

Reading the Constitution of Malaysia, I realized that secularism can never happen in Malaysia, at least not in the near future. In fact, of what I see now in Malaysia, secularism would surely take away the whole identity of Malaysia, if you know what I mean. However, this is not what I am asking for. What I am hoping is this: stop asking me what my religion is, or at least prepare a check box specially for Atheism!