Will Malaysia Be a Hypocrite in the UNHRC?
This letter shows that there are some Muslims in Malaysia who are capable of a civilised discourse and whose actions are not confined to burning objects and street demonstrations.
As Malaysia is going to be part of the UNHRC in 2007, we should really check out if our practices conform to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Article 18 of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance’.
Thus it seems that the Malaysian Constitution may need to be revisited in order to be consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It is interesting to note that the UDHR was proclaimed in 1948 and many articles our Constitution appear to be taken from it.
Graphics: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/amnesty.london/images/gusu.gif
posted by H J Angus @ 5:35 pm
1 Comments:
The letter puts everything into context, doesn't it ? Sometimes, I feel sad for my Malay friends that they had no choice (not even Hobson's choice) in determining their religion.
As for Malaysia being hypocritical, another case is the ASEM Inter-Faith Dialogue sessions in Cyprus and I believe another one coming in Oslo. I really don't know how the govt represeantatives like the Foreign Minister can be sincere in delivering their speeches when they are fully aware that the cauldron is boiling in Malaysia. It has not - thankfully - overflowed yet. The Malaysia of the 60s, 70s and maybe even the 80s were a model of balance of ethnicity and religion.
Things changed and in this new millenium, racial polarisation seems to be lurking closer to the surface than before.
Lastly, the UNHRC itself is a joke if you review who the members are.
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