THE Conference of Rulers (COR  must be strengthened so that it can effectively perform its constitutional role as the administrator of the country’s Islamic affairs.

This is proposed by civil society group G25 in its review of the institutions administering Islam and Muslims in Malaysia.

G25 states that some of the ways in which Islamic affairs are currently managed, such as by the federal agency, JAKIM, are unconstitutional and problematic.

An expanded role for the COR would set the administration of religion back on the right path, G25 argues in its latest book, Administration of Matters Pertaining to Islam.

“Given that Islam is a state matter with the rulers as head of Islam in their respective states, the Conference of Rulers should play its role more effectively and actively on all matters relating to the practice of Islam as provided for in the Constitution,” it states in the book.

“In order for the COR to be more effective, it must be supported by an administrative machinery and a governance process as in other agencies implementing the provisions of the constitution.

“The COR must receive a proper budget and its allocations and operations must be fully transparent as any other government agency.”

The secretariat must have as its core staff constitutional, religious, financial and governance experts to enable the rulers to make well-researched and considered decisions, the book said.

Buttressing the COR is one of the G25’s recommendations to address the problems in the administration of Islam in the country, which for the past two decades have led to rights violations and controversy.

These include Muslim authorities trampling on the freedom of non-Muslims to practise their own beliefs and rituals, such as by seizures of Bibles and unilateral parental conversions of non-Muslim children.

The lack of transparency and diverse viewpoints in the drafting of Muslim family laws have led to practices that are discriminatory to Muslim women and children.

The lack of clarity on whether federal or state governments are responsible for religious education has led to the spread of private schools such as tahfiz centres and “sekolah pondok”, many of which are unsafe for children.

To tackle these problems, G25 has listed seven recommendations of which strengthening the COR is one.

Restructuring the COR would go hand-in-hand with a review of the institutions that administer Islam, such as the Islamic Affairs Development Department (Jakim) and the Institute of Strategic Islamic Studies.

“Due to the evolution of religious institutions at the federal level and the transgressions against the federal constitution, a holistic review of these institutions need to be undertaken.

“(This is) to ensure they perform their functions more effectively and efficiently, operate within the laws of their own countries, accord all rights to all Malaysians as guaranteed under the constitution and enable the practice of moderate Islam in accordance with the Quranic principles of justice, equity, compassion and mercy.” – January 12, 2020.