NOVEMBER 14 ― The Court of Appeals' verdict that transgenders should be allowed to dress like women has since drawn the irk of religious and political organisations.

Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) said transgenders and transsexuals were the "cancers" of the Malaysian society; the PAS Ulama Council said the decision was meant to challenge the Syariah Law while the Minister in the PM's Department Jamil Khir Baharom vowed to defend the sanctity of Islam.

The Negri Sembilan state government, meanwhile, said it was ready to appeal to the Federal Court.

Such reactions are by no means surprising. To these religious organisations as well as those prospering under the camouflage of religion, the Appeals Court's decision was highly unfavorable to their cause and was seen as un-Islamic.

Even a lot of Muslims find it hard to accept the court's decision. From their points of view, the mere existence of these transgenders and transsexuals has been an "anomaly" and allowing male transgenders to dress like women is to encourage such anomaly.

To a large extent, this presents a very distinct dissimilarity between religion and secularism. From the religious point of view, anything that is right or wrong has to be clearly segregated, especially when it comes to religious values.

However, from the secular perspectives, a most important value of diversity will be to accept the different and respect individuals' rights.

Such a value of diversity appears all the more important in our country. The way a transgender dresses should be respected while the views of religious clerics should be equally respected, too.

Even if we don't agree to the clerics, we can still try to understand why they think so, and respond to them in a rational manner.

If a cleric or a Muslim friend were to ask me today: Why do you support the court's decision? Are you going to tell me you are supporting transgenders and transsexuals? Do you want more of such anomaly in our society?

"No. I support the decision not because of the transgenders or transsexuals but for the country's Constitution," I would reply.

To me, it doesn't matter whether I personally support these people or the way they dress themselves up.

The transgenders have been in existence for centuries and there is no way anyone can get rid of them fully except through the will of the Almighty. However, the Almighty has allowed these people to exist for so long, and this shows He doesn't seem to have any objection to their mere existence.

What I was trying to say is that the transgenders are human beings, and Malaysian citizens like us. They are entitled to their rights under the nation's Constitution and as such should come under the protection of the Constitution.

The court made the decision based on the Federal Constitution. And as a staunch supporter of the Federal Constitution, I therefore support their rights under the Constitution.

After I read the court's verdict, I felt relieved that if the Constitution protects the rights of the transgenders, it will also protect the rights of other ordinary citizens. Isn't that feeling awesome?

Moreover this rare occasion that confirms the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over a religious law has attested to the fact that Malaysia is very much a secular state.

Sure enough the Negri Sembilan state government can appeal to the Federal Court, just as other states having similar religious provisions are equally unhappy with the court's decision. How the Federal Court is coming up with a decision will be itself a very long journey ahead of us.

Now that we've seen the light, we must not give up our future!

*This is the personal opinion of the writer and does necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.