Blind to religion, colour or creed

In this new Malaysian chapter, appointments to top posts in key institutions must be based on qualification and ability.

AN Arabic TV journalist asked me a question that made me blush as a Malaysian. He was wondering if the law in Malaysia had a religion. I was taken by surprise as the question did not make any sense to me initially.

Having just read the comments by Umno and PAS leaders on the appointment of Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the Chief Justice, this widely-travelled senior correspondent was aghast at the claims by Umno leader Datuk Lokman Adam.

“I am shocked he is saying the Malays and Muslims will lose out with the top judicial post being given to a Christian for the first time in 55 years. But his allegation that this move is aimed at eventually replacing Islam with Christianity as Malaysia’s official religion sounds ludicrous. I studied law in an Islamic university and was always told that the law must be blind to religion, colour or creed.

“As long as everything is done according to the Malaysian Constitution, which I was told does not prohibit non-Muslims from holding the post, it should not matter. Some of us are shocked that this has become such a hot debate,” said the journalist, who is a Palestinian. Mind you, such words of wisdom were from someone from a Muslim nation that many of us perceive as being is oppressed by the Jews and Christians.

In an abominably wicked religious twist, Lokman declared that the appointment of Richard and earlier Tommy Thomas as the Attorney-General proves that DAP is controlling Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and is attempting to turn Malaysia into a Christian state.

He declared that his Umno- linked NGO Pemantau Malaysia Baru will protest in Parliament when it sits for the first time under the Pakatan Harapan government. He has chosen to play with fire obviously.

Just to put things in perspective, some practices in the Muslim majority world puts us to shame. For example, in Lebanon where 54% of the population are Muslims, the post of president is reserved for Maronite Christians as they are the largest group in that denomination.

The Prime Minister is always appointed from the Sunni Muslim community and the Parliament Speaker a Syiah. The posts of deputy prime minister and deputy speaker are reserved for Eastern Orthodox Christians.

I may not agree with quotas based on ethnicity and religion but I marvel at the inclusivity of Lebanon and its bold stand, clearly not giving in to bigots from both sides.

Over in India where 85% of the population is made up of non-Muslims, the judiciary had seen four Muslim Chief Justices over the last 40 years or so. In addition, two Christians were appointed during that time although only 3% of the 1.1 billion Indians belonged to this religion. There were also two Sikhs in the list.

Closer to our shores, Brunei just appointed Datuk Paduka Steven Chong as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It sounds like a Chinese Christian, doesn’t it Lokman? Will that undermine the position of the nearly 80% of Muslims there? Or does Lokman think Lim Kit Siang has spread the DAP influence to the Sultanate?

In fact, when qualified and deserving non-Muslims are appointed to top posts in key institutions in Malaysia, foreigners appear to be welcoming such a move. On the contrary, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s latest poster boy and his like-minded friends in PAS have spun these appointments as an affront to the position of the majority Malays in the country.

Perhaps Lokman and his gang of critics were ignorant of the fact that Richard got his first degree from the then Mara College now known as Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) as an external student at the University of London. This college only allowed Bumiputras then. The Chief Justice is from Sabah’s indigenous group of Kadazandusun that constitutionally qualifies him for Bumiputra status, thus giving him special privileges like Lokman.

After he obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1975, he went on to obtain his Bar-at-Law study in 1976 and was admitted to the English Bar of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in London. He was the youngest Federal Court judge when he was made one at the age of 52.

Lokman and his merry men who are embarking on an ultranationalist journey should instead hail the appointment of a UiTM graduate with an impressive track record to such a position based on merit and not skin or colour. This is the judiciary for God’s sake Lokman, only the best should occupy the chair, not any bootlicker.

And then came PAS, saying the merit-based elevation has caused unease among Muslims. If doing the right thing for the good of your own nation and the good of the rakyat makes one feel uneasy, we have a long way to go to mature as a developed nation.

These key appointments should not have made to display supremacy of a race or religion, like in the past. We are breaking away from that mould. This is the best time to ensure only the best are appointed to lead important institutions.

In this regard, former Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin’s warning that the new Umno leadership risks folding up in a decade or so if it went further right using racist tactics is highly commendable. He was blunt when he said that attacking the appointment of non-Malays as Chief Justice and Attorney General was an obvious case of playing up racial sentiments.

Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor, the mufti of Penang state, challenged the views of Lokman and PAS Information Chief Nasrudin Hassan, saying there was no prohibition in Islam to appointing non-Muslims to ministerial or legal posts.

“The main objective is to uphold justice. In the Quran, there is no stopping non-Muslims from ruling and there is no hadith that says non-Muslims are not allowed to lead important positions,” he said.

Lokman and Nasrudin must understand and accept the fact that judges are not politicians. And it is imperative that the ruling elites should not make them one by using race and religion as criteria for their appointment.

Those days could be over in this new Malaysian chapter which is unfolding.

K. Parkaran is a journalist and researcher. He was a senior reporter at the now defunct National Echo, deputy editor at The Star and now producer at Aljazeera TV.