The Bar Council has never been against any religion as such actions would be against the council's core values like rule of law, upholding fundamental freedoms and defending human rights.

"The Bar has never been, is not and will never be ‘anti' any religion as this runs counter to our core values," said council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan in a statement today.

ambiga sreenevasan 030507 bar council Ambiga was responding to claims by Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin that the Bar Council was " anti-Islam " to justify his efforts to stop a forum held by the council on Aug 9.

Zulkifli was among the leaders of 300 protesters outside the forum. He was also among the several individuals who entered the forum venue to disrupt proceedings.

"If one had only looked at the programme and the speakers invited and had heeded our various explanations and statements issued prior to the forum, it would have been apparent that those labelling the forum anti-Islam were plainly wrong," said Ambiga.

Ambiga explained that the forum was organised to address issues resulting from families caught in a conflict between civil and syariah jurisdictions.

She expressed concern that the protest against the forum was likely to discourage those who have genuine grievances from speaking up in the future.

"We have little to be proud of if the voices of those who cry for help are drowned out by those who speak more loudly," she added.

Seeking solutions

Elaborating on the rationale behind the forum, Ambiga said that in April, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had suggested that new legislations were required compelling Muslim converts to inform of their families of their decisions.

Abdullah's suggestion was echoed by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) yesterday while the Institute for Islamic Understanding (Ikim) had expressed views that the syariah court should not have jurisdiction over civil marriage or its dissolution.

"These views are in the public domain. To date, no provisions have been enacted to resolve these matters," said Ambiga.

During the forum which lasted only one hour before it was disrupted by Zulkifli and other protesters, several individuals related their experience on how conflicting legal jurisdictions had affected their lives.

The discussions included lawyers representing R Subashini and her former husband T Saravanan @ Muhammad Shafi Saravanan Abdullah, who were locked in a custody battle after the former converted to Islam.

Among those who were invited to speak to the forum, but pulled out at the eleventh-hour, were former syariah court judge Dr Mohd Naim Mukhtar and Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) representative Dr Wan Azha Wan Ahmad.