KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — Making all religions equal under liberalism will make Malaysia akin to Indonesia where one’s name does not indicate their faith, a Wanita Umno delegate claimed today.

Wanita Umno Baling chief Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim insisted that the term “bin” or “binti” in one’s name in Malaysia shows that the person is Muslim, even though the patronymic title is commonly used among non-Muslim Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak.

“In our country, we are grateful for having a system that enables us to know which religion we subscribe to; from ‘bin’ or ‘binti’, we can tell,” Mashitah told the Umno wing in the first day of its general assembly here.

She pointed out that in Indonesia, however, a Christian could be named Siti Nurhaliza and Muslims could be called Tony or Alex.

Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) reiterated their call last August for the National Registration Department to rectify cases of Bumiputera Christians with “bin” or “binti” in their names being wrongly classified as Muslims in their MyKads.

The evangelical church said it lodged a complaint with NRD two years ago for 162 such cases in Sabah, but was told that no further action could be taken because the files were lost.

Mashitah today said that equating “Allah” to “Tuhan” – both of which are terms for God – was akin to liberalism and said people would be confused if all faiths are the same.

“If all religions are the same, then it’ll be like the neighbouring country I had visited,” she said, referring to Indonesia.

According to Mashitah, an Indonesian woman had also told her that there are interfaith marriages in Indonesia.

Mashitah also claimed that a Chinese had burned a copy of the Quran in Kedah and urged delegates to speak up, saying that Islam and Malay privileges are constantly being questioned.

However, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying last Monday that a police investigation found that the Quran was not torched, but torn by a man certified insane and now held in the psychiatric ward of Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital.