SARAWAK will amend state religious laws so converts are not “left hanging” when they decide to leave Islam, said Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

The amendments, he said, included a standard operating procedure of what converts need to do if they wanted to renounce Islam. 

Abang Johari added it would take six months for the state to prepare the amendments.

“We are looking into it. There must be a SOP (because) you cannot leave people hanging,” Abang Johari said to questions on last Tuesday’s Federal Court dismissal of three converts and an ethnic Malay woman’s appeals to have their apostasy cases heard in the civil high court.

This was after the Sarawak Shariah Court had told them it had no jurisdiction to hear their apostasy applications.

The Federal Court, however, ruled the Sarawak Shariah Court has the jurisdiction to hear apostasy cases.

The shariah court in 2015 had also written to the four stating the court could not give them the letter of release from Islam as required by the National Registration Department due to the matter of jurisdiction.

“There must be an avenue for them (converts) so they would not get tied down with (administrative) problems,” the chief minister said after opening the St Joseph’s International School in Kuching today.

The chief minister said if there is a loophole in the state ordinance, then that loophole must be plugged and the ordinance strengthened.

“No problem. There is a solution,” he said.

“There must be a court ruling to say he’s no longer a Muslim which NRD should accept.”

Yesterday, Pakatan Harapan Sarawak had called on Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak (state Islamic religious department) “to come up with very clear guidelines and requirements” for those wishing to leave Islam willingly so the letter of release could be issued.

They had also called on the Sarawak government to amend the relevant state religious laws to provide for the requirements for the letter of release now the Federal Court had ruled the Sarawak Shariah Court has the power to hear apostasy cases.

Pakatan had said clear guidelines and requirements are urgently needed so converts who want to renounce Islam are clear on what needs to be done.

They said there are no set procedure at the moment and “each person has been told different things, leading to frustration and helplessness”. – March 3, 2018.