Racial harmony in Malaysia has been jeopardised by court rulings which ordered that a mountaineering hero be buried according to Muslim rites against the wishes of his Hindu widow, religious leaders said today.

The death of former army officer M Moorthy last week has ignited religious and ethnic tensions amid a battle between Muslim authorities who said he converted to the religion, and his family who insisted that he died a Hindu.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism - the country's main interfaith civil society group - said it was alarmed that the High Court deferred to an Islamic court in the landmark case.

"We want to convey a very strong message to the government that we are uneasy and we are feeling uncomfortable, even to the extent of feeling threatened in terms of the religious and racial harmony in our country," said spokesman Wong Kim Kong.

Wong, the head of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia, spoke alongside some 30 heads of non-Muslim religious organisations and civil society groups representing Catholics, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists among others.

The council called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to intervene in the case which has unfolded against a backdrop of unease over the increasing influence of Islamic authorities in Malaysia.

Abdullah should be "conscious of the feelings and the sentiments of the community and be able to use his good office to at least intervene and do something positive that will continue to promote the sense of unity," Wong said.

The High Court ruled yesterday that it could not overturn an Islamic court's earlier decision which confirmed Moorthy had converted, allowing his body to be handed over for immediate burial according to Muslim rites.

The council said it was concerned that syariah courts were beginning to take precedence over civil courts in Malaysia's dual-track legal system.

"Eventually, slowly, we are fearful that people may assume syariah is the supreme law of the land," Wong said.

Wife: I was shocked

The religious leaders said that as a non-Muslim, Moorthy's widow S Kaliammal had no opportunity to argue her case in the Syariah Court which decided the fate of her husband's remains.

Islamic authorities and army colleagues said Moorthy, who rose to fame after scaling Mount Everest in 1997 as part of a Malaysian mountaineering team, converted to Islam last year and changed his name to Mohammad Abdullah.

He lapsed into a coma on Nov 11 at the age of 36 after falling from his wheelchair to which he had been confined after an accident seven years ago left him partially paralysed.

Kaliammal told the press conference she was stunned to receive a letter from the army while her husband was in a coma, informing her that he had converted.

"I was so shocked, I couldn't believe it. I asked the officer - how can you give a letter like this now?" she said.

"They have been telling lies, nothing but lies," she said of the way the authorities have dealt with the issue.

The religious leaders said they were seeking meetings with the heads of political parties to express their concern, and will create a think tank to look at the legal implications of the ruling on the constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.