The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) today assured that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration of Malaysia as an "Islamic state" last September will not affect the religious freedom in the country.

The topic was brought up at a closed-door meeting today with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Malaysian Consultative Congress of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim), Sisters in Islam and the Malaysian Muslim Scholars Association, among others.

"Jakim clarified that although Malaysia has been called an Islamic state, other religions can be practised freely," said Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman.

"Religious freedom is enshrined in the constitution. What is worrying is the way it is implemented," he added.

Other issues discussed at the meeting included the problem of conversion to Islam in inter-religious marriages that ended in divorce, marriage registrations of Muslim couples by non-Muslim officers, and guidelines for the construction of houses of worship.

Jakim has agreed to investigate the concerns raised.

Inter-religious council

Meanwhile, the consultative congress of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism has proposed the creation of an inter-religious council.

"The council would establish a recognised channel of communication between Muslims and non-Muslims so that we can have a better understanding of each other," said congress secretary-general R Thiagaraja.

However, Suhakam has not fully committed to the idea.

"We have not made a decision whether we support it or not, but we want to make sure that some kind of mechanism is available to address these concerns," said Suhakam commissioner Zainah Anwar.

The congress first made its proposal in a memorandum to then Suhakam chairperson Musa Hitam three months ago.

It has not made concrete plans to push its proposal further.