If you want shariah, give Sabah and Sarawak autonomy, Upko tells Umno

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: If Umno wants to amend the constitution to expand shariah law, it must first give Sabah and Sarawak greater autonomy so the states can be kept free of religious influence, the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) says.

Responding to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s vow to “empower” shariah law should they achieve a two-thirds parliamentary majority at the next election, Upko said this vision runs counter to the guarantee of religious freedom upon which Malaysia was formed.

“The commitment for a secular and liberal society is reflected in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and enshrined in the Federal Constitution, which all Malaysian parliamentarians have sworn to uphold,” Upko said in a statement.

It said that those instrumental in the formation of Sabah and Sarawak, who came from various religious backgrounds, would have rejected the formation of Malaysia had they known “their countries would become part of an Islamic federation where personal sins would be slapped with heavy shariah punishments.”



- More -