Despite a sedition investigation hanging over him, Tawfik Ismail, the son of former deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, is standing by the view he has taken on the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

Tawfik told Malaysiakini today that he was prepared to be investigated for sedition for the statement he made on Jakim.

“Even if (it means going to) jail. My father fought for this country’s independence from British domination. I will fight for the rights of this country’s citizens, as enshrined in the constitution," he pledged.

The Malaysian Insider reported that police initiated their investigation when a report was lodged in Shah Alam against Tawfik, after a news portal reported him as saying that Jakim should be abolished as under the Federal Constitution, the department has no role.

Tawfik ( photo ) is being investigated under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, which carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a maximum jail term of three years, or both, for first-time offenders.

Tawfik, who is also a member of G25 - the group consisting of top former civil servants - stressed that Jakim, as well as its supporters, needed to answer to the public why it is usurping the powers of the sultans in the matter of religion.

“Is it a political tool? Islam is already enshrined in the constitution as the official religion of the country, and it can only be undermined when the rights of the Malay Rulers are trampled upon,” he argued.

Recent statements by Jakim, he claimed, seemed to point to a government within the government, with Jakim having a say in almost every service ministry that affects the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Every opportunity for abuse if...

“There is every opportunity for abuse if Jakim is given wide powers to determine what is acceptable or non-acceptable for Muslims and this does nothing at all to strengthen national integration, which is the core of the argument against Jakim's existence in public life,” Tawfik said.

He challenged Jakim to show the law that empowers the Islamic agency to proclaim its version of Islam as the only path Muslims can take, especially when Malaysia endorsed the Amman Message that accepts all eight schools of Islam as legitimate.

“Is Jakim also condemning all those before us, including our founding fathers, of living in an age of jahiliyyah (time of ignorance)?” he asked.

Tawfik also holds the belief that funds allocated to religious experts should instead be spent to uplift the Muslim youth.

“Isn't urban poverty and the increasing spread of highrise ghettos a problem for the religious authorities to tackle as it involves mainly urban Muslims?"

Tawfik suggested that minister and deputy minister in charge of Jakim should sort out the problem together with the director-general and rename Jakim as the Ministry of Urban Redevelopment.

“A billion ringgit a year can go very far in arresting all the urban problems faced by Muslim youths and prevent them from becoming Mat Rempit and potential recruits for mischief, at home and abroad, and give dignity to their lives.

“Let the Malay Rulers and their religious councils and advisers handle the religious issues in their respective states, as they are constitutionally entitled to do as heads of religion,” Tawfik said.