A proposed commission to settle religion-related disputes in multi-faith Malaysia received a blow when the prime minister expressed misgivings about the plan, news reports said Sunday.
Conservative Muslims have also expressed concerns about the commission, saying it would undermine Islam in this Muslim-dominated Southeast Asian nation.
"The controversy related to the proposed commission must be taken into consideration. It would be meaningless to have a commission which continues to receive criticism from the community," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Saturday, according to New Sunday Times and the Star newspapers.
Religion is a sensitive issue in Malaysia, where ethnic Malay Muslims form about 60 percent of the 25 million population and control political power. The others are mostly ethnic Chinese and Indians, who follow Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.
Freedom of worship is guaranteed in the constitution but vague laws mean there are few legal avenues for settling disputes between religions or even within the same religion.
Representatives of all major religions in Malaysia last week suggested setting up a constitutionally approved arbitrating panel.
Abdullah said that instead of the panel there should be in-depth study of the religions in the country, which would help people understand each other better.
"It is not that difficult to understand the religious teachings of others," he was quoted as saying by the reports.
However, Bar Council president Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari said a draft bill on the proposed panel will still be handed to the prime minister.
"The P.M. is supportive of interfaith dialogue. He is not shutting the door on dialogue," he said.
Calls for a committee have increased because of a number of intractable disputes in recent years: a custody battle over the children of a parent who changed his religion; a short-lived ban on Bibles in an indigenous language; and a raid on a disco where scores of Muslims claimed they were unfairly detained by Islamic morality police for indecent behavior.
But many Muslim groups staunchly oppose the proposal, fearing the panel might encroach on the jurisdiction of Islamic courts and enforcement authorities, and undermine the privileged position Islam has in this country.
Others worry the commission might attempt to legitimize apostasy.