00:00The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism
00:08said it is concerned over purported plans to place Islamic Development Department officers
00:13in every government department. It said JAKIM's encroachment into the public sphere may be
00:18unconstitutional, potentially affecting the fundamental rights guaranteed to all Malaysians.
00:25While supporting Article 3 Sub 1 of the Federal Constitution which stipulates that Islam is the
00:31religion of the Federation, it argued that JAKIM's role in ensuring government policies
00:36aligned with Islamic principles would fall outside the constitutional scope of the term
00:41Islam as interpreted by the courts. It said JAKIM's involvement in government policy making
00:47could be unconstitutional as the public sphere only includes Islamic acts related to rituals
00:53and ceremonies, adding that this legal position is well established. It was referring to the
00:59Supreme Court judgment in 1988 in the case of Che Omar bin Che Soh, the public prosecutor,
01:06which defined Islam under Article 3 as relating only to rituals and ceremonies.
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