PAS’ Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad today defended fellow MP Nurul Izzah Anwar for her statement that there was no compulsion in religion.

“The message that Nurul Izzah wanted to present was that for Muslims, don’t assume that we are Muslims because we are Malays, don’t assume that we are Muslims because of ancestry.

“Religion must be based on confidence and faith and what we want is for people to be Muslims by choice and not due to ancestry or hereditary factors,” Khalid told journalists at the Parliament lobby this afternoon.

NONE Hitting out at her critics, Khalid ( left ) said those who think that Malays were Muslims by force ought to check their facts.

“There is no compulsion in religion, people who assume that Malays are Muslim because of their ancestry or being forced, I think that they need to check their facts.

Nurul Izzah had said that there was no compulsion in religion when responding to a question at a forum last Saturday on whether religious freedom also applied to Malays.

However, she had added that she was tied to the prevailing views in the country.

According to Article 160(2) of the federal constitution, Malays are defined as being Muslims, habitually speak the Malay language and practice Malay culture.

The main effort, Khalid said, should be the creation of a Muslim community which was confident of and has a strong faith in Islam by choice rather than by force or ancestry.

“What is important is people must be Muslims because of faith, people who are Muslims because they are Malay, Allah will not accept; People who are Muslims because they are forced to, Allah will not accept.

NONE “It has to be based on personal choice, the freedom to choose to be with Islam, that is what we want,” he said.

He added that Pakatan Rakyat had no intention of amending the constitution on this matter.

Nurul Izzah had come under fire after Utusan Malaysia today front-paged Malaysiakini’s report on Nurul Izzah at the forum and questioned if the PKR vice president supported apostasy.

She vehemently denied this in a statement today, stating that she neither accepted nor encouraged apostasy.

'Malay race will be destroyed'

Meanwhile, Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Nordin insisted that Nurul Izzah's statement amounted to apostasy.

"Pakatan Rakyat must make clear their stance because Nurul Izzah is not just anyone... she is the PKR vice president," he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby later in the evening.

He claimed that Nurul Izzah's position would indirect destroy the Malay race.

"It is enshrined in the constitution that Malays... must be Muslims, it is compulsory. What she said... indirectly means they are conducting an agenda to destroy the Malay race, because Malays without Islam are not Malays," he said.

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