With reference to Melayu Terbaru and Lisa Jaafar's letters, I think there is a misunderstanding of the constitution.

Although in the constitution, a Malay is defined as one who is a Muslim, among other criterias. It must be seen to be just that, a definition. Nothing more and nothing less.

It has nothing to do with the Quranic injunction that there is no compulsion in religion. To say that all Malays are born Muslims without choice, is a little misleading. All children are in fact born not to a religion of their choice, but of their parents.

Anyway, if a Malay chooses to leave Islam, the constitution does not make it illegal. Even today there is an increasing number of apostasy cases. All that happens is that he or she is not a Malay as defined in the constitution. Ethnically, they are still Malays.

In short, the constitution does not force a Malay to be a Muslim, it just contains a definition of a Malay.