A group of Muslim non-governmental organisations called on the prime minister to take firm action against his cabinet members who had issued statements which worsened the public outrage on religious conversion arising from the M Moorthy's case.

In a memorandum addressed to Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the organisations expressed their unhappiness over "provocative and irresponsible" statements by certain ministers that had not only heightened the furore on the issue but had also "hurt the feelings of the Muslims".

The memorandum - signed by Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM), Muslim Professional Forum (MPF), Persatuan Ulamak Malaysia (PUM) and Teras Pengupayaan Melayu (Teras) - claimed that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz were among the insensitive ministers.

"Nazri was reported by the media as saying: 'If we allow the syariah courts to decide on the issue (of conversion of faiths), justice may not be attained because it would side with the Muslims.'"

"He had accused the Syariah Court of being biased. His statement portrayed his ignorance on the Islamic judicial system and its history. The provocative and irresponsible statement had hurt the feelings of the Muslims and thus raising doubts on the commitments of several Muslim ministers in defending their race, religion and country," they stated in the memorandum.

They also proposed that the government take actions to stop those with ulterior motives in making statements on the issue.

The memorandum - which among others supported the preservation of Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution which provides a clear dichotomy between the jurisdiction and civil court - was officially submitted to Abdullah's political secretary Osman Desa at the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya yesterday.

Relevancy of Article 121 (1A)

The debate on the relevancy of Article 121 (1A) of the constitution was rekindled by the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of former army commando M Moorthy.

Despite his widow S Kaliammal claiming that he was a practicing Hindu, he was buried according to Muslim rites after the High Court stated that it had no jurisdiction to review a syariah court's ruling on the case.

Kaliammal has since filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal for a judicial review. The appellate court had decided yesterday that it would hear the case on June 20.

JIM's president Zaid Kamaruddin, who were among the delegates who submitted the memorandum, said the group had requested for a meeting with the premier to further discuss the issue.

"We told the prime minister's representative the importance of the issue at hand and hoped that we can convey our concerns personally to the premier. We were assured that our request will be looked into," he said when contacted.

In the memorandum, the group expressed their thanks to Abdullah for rejecting the calls for the amendment of the contentious constitutional provision.

"Your firm and fast action was a tremendous help to ease the tension among Malaysians whose sentiments were riled up by irresponsible actions by certain organisations, individuals and also the media."

They also claimed that many had blamed the Syariah Court without checking the facts and background relating to the Moorthy case.

The groups reiterated their views that the Syariah Court was the best avenue to make decisions on issues of conversions as syariah judges are trained not only to deliberate on facts presented to them but also on Islamic jurisprudence - something which the civil judges are not exposed to.

They also called on the government to make amendments to Syariah Rules of Evidence to extend the jurisdiction of the syariah court to non-Muslims who wants to subscribe to the syariah court proceeding.

They also proposed the government to look into establishing a special Syariah Court of Appeal consisting of judges exposed both to the syariah and civil laws to hear controversial religious disputes.