Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - A small party in Malaysia's ruling coalition has called for the establishment of a special court to deal with loopholes in the constitution that activists say are leading to an erosion of minority rights in this mainly Muslim country.
The court is needed to deal with "various gray issues" in view of the increasing number of cases affecting the religious, family and basic human rights of ethnic Indians and Chinese, who form about 35 percent of the population, Tan Kee Kwong of the Gerakan party said late Sunday.
A series of court verdicts in recent months seen as going in favor of Muslims have strained ethnic relations in this multicultural country, which has enjoyed racial peace for nearly four decades.
"The government must be brave enough to tackle this problem now before things get worse," said Tan, who is the chairman of Chinese-based Gerakan party's interfaith bureau. "There is a problem and it exists. Yet there are some in the administration who pretend that it doesn't," he said in a speech at a party convention.
It's a radical call in a country where religion and race relations are extremely touchy topics, and where Islam's status is almost never questioned. The government did not immediately respond.
A major discrepancy in the Malaysian Constitution is that it describes the country as a secular state, but recognizes Islam as the official religion. Because of the vague wording, the constitution can be interpreted either way.
Also, Muslims are governed by Islamic courts while non-Muslims go to civil courts to settle family, marriage and other personal law disputes. But there is no clear understanding which court has the higher authority in dealing with disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims, especially within a family.
Civil courts have generally steered clear of taking a position in such cases, leaving it for the Islamic Shariah courts, where verdicts have mostly been in favor of Muslims.
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals sent shock waves by ruling that a Hindu woman, R. Subashini, must seek redress in a Shariah court in her appeal against her husband's efforts to convert their children to Islam. The couple was married as Hindus but the husband converted to Islam last year.
The ruling caused an uproar among minorities who protested that as a Hindu, Subashini cannot be forced to seek justice in the Shariah court.
Last year, a Hindu man, M. Moorthy — who converted to Islam secretly without his family's knowledge — was forcibly buried as a Muslim by Islamic authorities. In another high-profile case, a Muslim woman, Lina Joy, who converted to Christianity, has been unable to get her religion or name changed on her national identity card.
Malaysia has not seen major racial violence since 1969 when hundreds were killed in riots between Malay Muslims — 60 percent of the country's 26 million people — and ethnic Chinese.