Ramadan Dialogue: “The Future of Freedom of Religion in Malaysia Post-GE 15”

On 8 May 2021, Southeast Asia Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (SEAPForB), in collaboration with Komuniti Muslim Universal Malaysia (KMU) and Sisters In Islam (SIS), organized a Ramadan Dialogue, aimed at fostering collaboration between parliamentarians, and faith and CSO leaders to strengthen the protection of FoRB in Malaysia. The Dialogue was a follow-up to the APHR-IPPFoRB Fact-Finding Mission to Kuala Lumpur in January 2019, to assess the FoRB situation, and how the political climate had changed since the previous year’s election. 

The Dialogue brought together a number of speakers, including parliamentarians, faith leaders and civil society representatives. They includeed Hon Charles Santiago and Hon Tuan Hanipa Maidin, both who are Members of Parliament from Malaysia, Aizat Shamsuddin from Komuniti Muslim Universal, Shareena Sheriff from Sisters in Islam, and Desi Hanara from SEAPFoRB. The Dialogue was moderated by Dr Azmil Tayeb, a scholar activist from Aliran and University Sains Malaysia.

The speakers underlined the importance of protecting the rights of religious and belief minorities by the state, as an integral part of citizens’ fundamental rights, and discussed the crucial role interfaith dialogue plays in building respect and mutual coexistence among people of different faiths. The Dialogue also introduced SEAPFoRB’s work in Southeast Asia and Malaysia, and reiterated a number of recommendations from the 2019 Fact-Finding Mission, including the need to repeal or substantially amend Malaysia’s legal framework that restrict the rights to FoRB; as well as to reform Islamic institutions that have posed unreasonable and unnecessary restrictions on the rights to FoRB.

Please watch the Dialogue in this link.