KUALA LUMPUR,Dec 5 — Disputes between Islam and other faiths can be avoided with the proper understanding of the Federal Constitution, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today.

Speaking at the ‘Islam in a constitutional democracy’ forum organised by civil society group G25, Tengku Razaleigh said Article 3 (1) and Article 11 (1) should be read together so that the context of the Federal Constitution can be properly understood.

“We need a firm and clear undertaking of Article 3(1) on the Religion of the Federation, which states that ‘Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation’.

“This has to be read in conjunction with Article 11(1) on Freedom of religion and that is, ‘every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it’,” he said during his keynote speech at the forum.

“If the two Clauses are well understood in the context of what our founding fathers had in mind, I am certain the sparks and cracklings regarding Islam and in particular, its position relative to other religions, would not have arisen in the first instance,” Tengku Razaleigh added.

Tengku Razaleigh or better known by his moniker ‘Ku Li’ said it was “urgent to address the breakdown of federal-state division powers” in order to prevent religious disputes.

“We need to find solutions to the heart-wrenching stories of damaged lives and relationships due to the inability by the concerned parties to accept conversions of faith,” he said referring to the multiple court cases which have stemmed from conversions.

The Gua Musang MP added that the provision of the Sultan being head of Islam should be re-emphasised in order to have a proper administration without the interference of religious authorities.

“We also need to stop the mere paying of lip service that the Sultan is the head of Islam. We must stop treating the Sultan as the nominal head of the religion.

“The sultan must be seen to be the ultimate decision maker in the administration of Islam. Returning the dignity of the head of Islam to the proper personality and ensuring that the administration of the faith is professional will surely win Islam the respect that I deserved in the first place,” Ku Li explained.

He also said the Shariah laws in the country should be administered “in tandem” with the Federal Constitution in order to avoid conflicts with civil laws.