Only by freeing up space for public discourse and speaking out without fear can fundamental rights be protected from being further ravaged by the executive and legislature.

Urban Malaysians are visibly hungry for more space to openly express and discuss concerns over the alarming rate of erosion of fundamental rights.

This was evident from the turnout of more than 800 people at a half-day public forum on 'Federal Constitution - Protection for All' in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

By the end of talk, about 450 signatures were collected in support of an open letter addressed to the government reaffirming the supremacy of the Federal Constitution.

The letter, which emphasised the constitution's supremacy enshrined in Article 4(1), reminded all parliamentarians, cabinet ministers and judges to be true to their oath of office and to singularly defend it.

It asked the government to uphold the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and reaffirm Malaysia as a secular state, to immediately initiate the removal of the judiciary from being subjected to the legislature and to return judicial power to an independent judiciary.

"Liberty and justice for all Malaysians may only be through an independent judiciary. Sadly, Malaysians have witnesses the subordination of our judges to the legislature and executive by an ill-conceived amendment to the constitution in 1988.

"In recent cases in the High Courts, our judges have declined to adjudicate on pressing issues simply because of an element of Islamic law, litigants are left without any remedy," read the letter.

"This is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs nd one which no civil society must endure."

Secular state

The letter cited Article 3(1), the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Commission 1956-1957 Report and the federal court precedent as a reaffirmation of Malaysia as a secular state.

Quoting from the commission report, the letter said Article 3(1) "shall not imply that the state is not a secular state" and the Che Omar Che Soh (1988) case had reaffirmed this.

Met after the forum, lawyer Haris Mohamed Ibrahim said the encouraging turnout was a good sign although unexpected.

"Individuals and groups are very keen to lend their signatures to the letter which will be translated into the major languages. The campaign for signatures will be an ongoing one.

"Article 11 is preparing for a road-show which will take his message to the rural communities because it is crucial to reach out and increase their awareness of fundamental rights as Malaysians."

The five-member panel comprised prominent lawyers Dr Cyrus V Das and Malik Imtiaz, constitutional expert Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, Kota Baru MP and lawyer Zaid Ibrahim and women's rights activist Ivy Josiah.

It was organised by the Bar Council and Article 11, a coalition of 14 non-governmental organisations named after the constitutional provision committed to upholding fundamental rights for all Malaysians "regardless of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender".

The huge turnout was seen by many as a sign that more public discussions are needed on fundamental rights that affect the lives of ordinary Malaysians.

Free space

Bar Council vice-president Ambiga Sreenevasan who chaired the session said what had emerged from the four-hour discussion reflected concerns from the ground.

"A lot of people can sense that something is wrong and know that there is a problem but they don't know what to do or how to go about it."

Rights activist Zaitun Kassim said the fear was ever-present in people's thoughts although there was a freeing up of some space.

"The fact that all these people are here on a Sunday morning and stayed on till the end is very telling of the lack of discussion on the fundamental issues of freedom and rights. We need more space for dialogue.

"It's also very uplifting to see that people are now more comfortable talking openly about their problems and predicaments," she said.

Referring to the open letter, Josiah, who is Women's Aid Organisation executive director, debunked the popular meaning of the word secular as being anti-God.

"Secular does not mean godless. Now, we need to increase the debate on how to reaffirm the supremacy of the constitution among Muslims."

In addition to stories of persecution, there was a suggestion to introduce the Federal Constitution in secondary education in order to inculcate a culture of constitutional awareness.

To prevent further constitutional amendments and erosion of fundamental rights, a participant called on concerned Malaysians to deny the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional a two-third majority.