Constitution does not specify Sunni or Syiah Islam, says ex-judge on raids

Former Court of Appeal judge Hishamudin Yunus said it was wrong for the authorities to detain Syiah Muslims as Article 3 of the Federal Constitution does not state which branch of Islam was the official religion.

"I will just approach this issue as a former judge, from a legal perspective. Firstly, Article 3 of the Federal Constitution says Islam shall be the religion of the federation and other faiths may be practiced.

"The word there is 'Islam'. It doesn't say 'Sunni Islam', it doesn't say 'Syiah Islam', it just says 'Islam'.

"The word Islam has yet to be, one day it will have to be, interpreted by the supreme court (to say) what is meant by 'Islam'," he said during a public forum held as part of Human Rights Commission's (Suhakam) 20th-anniversary event in Kuala Lumpur today...