exclusive A researcher concurs with data disclosed last week that the official numbers pertaining to conversions from Islam are minimal. She differed, however, on the significance placed on the numbers and the conclusions reached thereby.

International Islamic University Malaysia (UIA) lecturer Dr Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz said the number of apostasies may indeed be very small as compared to those - said to be in the hundreds of thousands - cited by some religious figures and groups.

However, these numbers recorded by the state syariah courts, religious departments and the National Registration Department (NRD) by their very nature can only represent the tip of the iceberg of the apostasy problem, said Shamrahayu.

The 'unofficial' incidence of apostasies from Islam is, thus, far greater and still warrants immediate attention by the authorities and the Muslim community, she added.

"Are we waiting for the level of seriousness to reach the last or most critical or dangerous stage before we seek or apply the remedies?" she asked when met at her office today.

Shamrahayu said the data compiled for her research on apostasy differed only slightly from that of Dr Mohd Azam Mohd Adil ( right ) of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Azam last week said that the NRD recorded between 1999 and July 2003 only 220 changes of names - from Muslim to non-Muslim - in the identity cards.

Low numbers

The law professor said the state with the highest number of recorded conversions, Negri Sembilan, saw only 16 cases of apostasy approved by the syariah courts in that period.

The official numbers, Azam concluded, shed some light on the nature of the problem of apostasy in Malaysia.

Public figures, therefore, should refrain from making statements on sensitive issues that were not based on credible evidence and facts, while groups and members of the public have to ascertain the veracity of such news before taking action, he said.

Shamrahayu said her data compiled from the NRD and the Negri Sembilan syariah courts, for example, for the period 1999 to 2005 are almost exactly the same as Azam's findings.

She said she diametrically opposed, however, his conclusion that such numbers are fair indication of the problem on the ground.

"There are many who have started practising or embraced religions other than Islam but are not willing to come out and declare themselves as non-Muslims," said Shamrahayu.

"From the religious point of view, it is important to take measures to curb it even if there were only 1,000 cases of such conversions in a country of 10 million Muslims."

The civil and Islamic institutions have focused on four objectives of the syariah - preserving life, intellect, property and progeny - but neglected the fifth and most important objective of preserving the Muslims' faith, said Shamrahayu.

"The priority should be in the reverse, because once you have preserved the faith, the other four immediately come into line," she said.

Jakim urged to come clean

Other than educating Muslims on their faith, furthermore, the authorities must extend penalties against apostasy already in place in Pahang, Perak, Malacca, Sabah, and Terengganu to the other states of the country.

Four of the above states criminalise apostasy by imposing fines not exceeding RM3,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than two years.

Pahang's syariah laws contain the harshest sentences where, upon conviction, an apostate is liable to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than three years, and possibly six strokes of the cane.

Another UIA professor of law, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, urged the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) to come out with the real numbers of apostasy if these were indeed far lesser than contained in rumours.

Speaking on the criticisms that have been levelled against Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria for having publicly claimed that 100,000 Malays had become Christians and 100,000 more were applying to do so, Abdul Aziz said Harussani's requests for Jakim to disclose the real figures have been rejected.

"The government has the mandate to deal with and clarify the real issues. The onus is on Jakim to come out with the numbers. Just as in the Asli report dispute, the government cannot go on, just to avoid embarrassment, sweeping things under the carpet," said Abdul Aziz.