Freedom of Religion and Apostasy: The Malaysian Experience

Freedom of religion is a basic need central to the nature of human beings. Man needs a belief, authority or power to guide him to the right path and to achieve the objectives of his life. From the very beginning, man has realized the importance of safeguarding the freedom of religion, such as through the enactment of laws. The right to freedom of religion is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed in many international and regional human rights instruments. In Malaysia, the safeguard of this fundamental right is provided under Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution, albeit with limitations. Freedom of religion is a set of beliefs and essentially an intensely personal matter; therefore, it is inevitable that the protection of religious rights is particularly problematic for states that face significant challenges in framing laws that strike the proper balance between permitting freedom of religion and religious practices on the one hand, and protecting the rights of non-adherents on the other hand. Lately, we have witnessed this same struggle play out in Malaysia. In particular, there are areas where religious, cultural, and ethnic interests are competing and clashing over controversies regarding apostasy, conversion, and deviationist Islam and related activities. This article aims to look into these issues with a view of giving a clearer picture to the public on how religious freedom is approached under the Malaysian Federal Constitution. This article concludes that in Malaysia, there is a need for reform as far as freedom of religion is concerned. This is due to the fact that, although Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution declares the document to be the supreme law of the Malaysian Federation, a wide gap has developed between theory and practice. For example, in relation to Islamic matters, a silent and informal rewriting of the Constitution seems to have taken place.