I refer to the letter Apostates can go to Sabah, Sarawak .

In suggesting that apostates in Islam make a statutory declaration that they have left the religion, the writer, SMB Iree, must be naive to think that this would resolve their plight.

Does he/she know that many 'murtad' are doing that or in fact have already done so, but that the civil courts - which have a duty to decide on their cases - have conveniently abrogated this responsibility and passed it on to the Syariah courts.

Instead of giving them a fair hearing, the latter - as expected - have insisted that the apostates (like the four in Kelantan ) are still Muslims and penalised them by committing them to periods of rehabilitation in order to get them to repent and return to the faith.

Iree also suggested that instead of emigrating, the 'murtad' go to Sarawak or Sabah where presumably - unlike the peninsula - the restrictions imposed by the Syariah do not apply as the majority of the indigenous peoples are not Muslims.

Iree's presumption is that the religious authorities would not bother much about apostates as they can easily blend in with the Christian Ibans, Melanaus, Kadazans, Kayans, Muruts, etc there.

But this may only be a temporary solution at best for all concerned. One must remember that the aim of the Syariah is to bring apostates back to the path of Islam by using all kinds of means. It will not allow Malays to profess other religions irrespective of how strong these people belief in the said faiths.

While they may reluctantly let a few of hardcore apostates escape their clutches, they would be quick to change their minds if too many apostates make use of this avenue. The religious authorities will somehow find ways and means to stop this and eventually going to Sarawak and Sabah won't mean the end the plight of the 'murtad'.

The only solution to this nagging and complex problem is to adhere to the spirit of the Constitution by allowing Malays the freedom to choose their own religion just like anyone else.

So long as religion becomes politicised and is used as an ideology/tool to consolidate the ruling party's power based on race, the only recourse apostates in Islam have is to emigrate, as many will be doing or already have done so.