KUALA LUMPUR, 25 March 2005 — Malaysia clipped the wings of its religious police yesterday, warning that it did not want to be like Afghanistan under Taleban rule, and ordered national police supervision of their controversial raids.
The religious police stirred a storm of protest with heavy-handed behavior during a January raid on a nightclub in the Malaysian capital, and in another incident by detaining a transsexual person visiting the home of Muslim friends.
“This is a very serious matter, we do not want to see Malaysia turning into Afghanistan during the Taleban (rule),” said Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, the minister who announced the change. “If this is not stopped, it may happen,” he said.
Nazri, a minister in Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s department, said the cabinet was unhappy at the haphazard manner in which the raids were done and wanted them to be more orderly.
“So since we haven’t decided whether it (the law) should be reviewed or not, I’ve been informed that the cabinet wants it (the raids) to be done with the approval of the police,” Nazri told reporters.
The district’s chief of police must now first approve raids by religious police, and senior police officers must accompany the raiders to ensure someone can be held accountable if a raid goes wrong. Nazri’s remarks followed a meeting with members of an influential coalition of rights bodies, Islamic groups, political personalities and business people that has launched a campaign demanding the repeal of the Muslim religious laws.
Zaitun Kasim, of the rights group Suaram, who attended the meeting, said the government’s move brought the coalition a step nearer to its goal of getting the laws repealed.
“In terms of checks and balances, of course it’s a step forward. It really affirms that you cannot allow certain authorities to go off on their own and do things. It sends a good message to the public — that you can demand these things.”
Authorities have also put a stop to a surveillance program for Muslims to spy on each other in the southern coastal city of Malacca, Zaitun said.
Religious police usually patrol parks and hotels to check on unmarried couples kissing in the shadows or visit restaurants to track down Muslims not observing the fasting month of Ramadan. But the nightclub raid was more heavy-handed.
About 100 young Muslims were accused of breaking rules on drinking and attire, detained, taunted and denied the use of toilet facilities while they were held.
Public anger prompted the government to drop action against the offenders and call for a review of raid procedures.
