Renowned constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari "doubts the legitimacy or even legality of the proposal by Malaysia Muslim Lawyers Association (PPMM) for bills that concerns Islam to bypass parliamentary debate.

PPMM president Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar made the call in an interview published in the Malay daily Utusan Malaysia yesterday citing as authority, article 11(3) of the constitution which provides the right to manage its own religious affairs in accordance with law.

This, Zainul Rijal said, was to "stop non-Muslims from interfering in Islamic affairs".

NONE However, Abdul Aziz ( left ) argued that while the said article, in general, guarantees practitioners of all religions the right to manage and run their own affairs, it does not allow for such exclusivity when it comes to the passing of laws.

"Law making is something that belongs to the state, I mean the elected representatives as provided for in the constitution, their's is the sole authority to make laws," he stressed.

The actual wording of article 11(3) when it mentioned "religious affairs" only touched on the establishment and maintenance of religious and charitable institutions as well as ownership and administration of property.

No mention was made of laws or legislation.

‘Consent of legislature a must'

The IIUM professor contends that laws, at both federal and state levels, have to be made by the legislature, either parliament or state legislative assembly.

Any such laws enacted without the blessings of the legislative bodies are not valid.

While Abdul Aziz grants that there are those given authority by parliament or the state assemblies to enact laws, like local governments for example, he maintained that such powers are neither exclusive nor absolute.

palace of justice 260207 03 "Even those, the laws - known as by-laws - they make are subject to scrutiny by the court,"the law lecturer explained.

Abdul Aziz added that laws and major policies must be debated in parliament, pointing out problems with NEP, Vision 2020, 1Malaysia and so on which were not brought to parliament.

He argued that laws and polices must be debated by the people's representatives as they often will be implemented using taxpayers money, the use of public funds necessitates such consent.

"The approval of the house is needed should it involve financial implication," he said.

‘Puts Islam in a bad light'

Furthermore, Abdul Aziz warned that such special considerations being pushed for by PPMM would put Islam and Muslims in a bad light.

"It would suggest that they enjoy special status in this country. This runs counter to the notion of equality that is deeply embedded in the constitutional structure," said the law expert.

Such a move Abdul Aziz believe, is bad for the image of Islam, calling the proposal "a disservice to Islam", though the association may be misguided into thinking they are discharging their "sacred duty".

Abdul Aziz contended that Malaysia has enough anomalies in the constitution, due to historical forces and special circumstances, it would not do to create another one like the one proposed by the association.

"Even those anomalies - such as Malay privileges - need to be reconciled with democracy and equality that the constitution sought to establish," said Abdul Aziz.