Different religions and races in Malaysia have lived for the most of its young history without conflict. However, religion is now regrettably being abused for political ends and is more often the cause of conflict. The politicisation of Islam and growing extremist voices claiming to speak on behalf of Islam are posing a threat to Malaysia’s secular constitutional system and our constitutional safeguards for religious freedom.

Ostensibly in trying to “defend” the special position of the Malays and the position of Islam as “the religion of the Federation”, a concerted movement now seeks to redefine Malaysia’s secular constitution to a constitution with Islamic law as its grundnorm. Some lawyers and nonstate actors pushing an agenda of Islamisation, aided by government agencies and many lawyers in government service, are seeking to alter the basic understanding of religious freedom in Malaysia and advocate a system of law where the imposition of religious law on others is seen as a right or freedom in itself.

The MCCHR has been assisting to advance the cause of religious freedom as understood in international human rights norms. It supports litigants and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) advising persons who have been attacked for expressing their religious freedom.

These modules (divided into five parts) cover the most frequently observed types of religious freedom disputes. This manual is intended as a guide for legal practitioners intending to undertake religious freedom cases in Malaysia; they serve as a basis and introduction to issues that have been made overly complex due to a judiciary who has been accused of abdicating their duty to protect and preserve the Constitution when it comes to religious freedom disputes.

We trust the handbook proves useful. Best efforts have been made to state the law as at 20 May 2019.