00:00Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has ordered National Unity Minister Aaron Agodadang and Religious
00:07Affairs Minister Naeem Mokhtar to meet with the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism,
00:12Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.
00:16Government spokesman Fahmi Fadil said the meeting is intended to address misunderstandings
00:20following MCCBC-HST's recent statement criticizing the placement of Islamic Development Department
00:26officers in government departments.
00:29Fahmi said JAKIM officers are not involved in policy-making and that their placement
00:33in departments has been in place since 2007 without any new additions.
00:38He said these officers only organize Islamic religious programs and are not present in
00:42all ministries, citing the Communications Ministry as an example.
00:46The Interfaith Council had previously raised concerns based on a Daily Express article
00:51which quoted Liberal Democratic Party Vice President David Ong expressing worries about
00:56JAKIM's influence on government decisions.
00:58Naeem earlier clarified that JAKIM officers are not meant to influence policy but to support
01:03religious activities in line with existing practices.
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