Malay non-governmental organisation (Teras) has strongly opposed any moves to amend the federal constitution on matters pertaining to the jurisdiction of the syariah court.

In a statement today, its president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said Article 121 (1A) provided a specific guarantee to the syariah court that the civil court will not be permitted to intervene in issues concerning Islam.

"The syariah court should not be seen as an institution that denies justice to non-Muslims. On the contrary, if its laws are fully applied, there is an assurance of better justice here compared to civil laws, which are the heritage of the British colonial rule," he added

Numerous quarters have called for an amendment to Article 121 (1A) following the controversy that surrounded the death of former army commando M Moorthy last month.

Moorthy, who had become paralysed from the neck down due to a training accident seven years ago, died on Dec 20 several days after he fell from his wheelchair and slipped into a coma.

The former member of the Malaysian Mount Everest expedition team had embraced Islam and upon his demise a tussle broke out between his widow S Kaliammal and Islamic religious authorities.

Kaliammal claimed that her husband was a practising Hindu but the syariah court ruled that he was a Muslim and hence must be buried according to Islamic rites.

The widow's attempt to seek redress in the civil court proved futile, after the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over syariah matters.

Meanwhile, Teras also criticised those who tried to portray syariah courts as unfair and described this as an attempt to tarnish the integrity of Islamic laws.

On the other hand, Mohd Azmi said the injustice is felt because of the limitation imposed on the laws and jurisdiction of syariah courts.

"If there is a problem involving a non-Muslim family, syariah laws have avenues to ensure that the rights of non-Muslims are not denied.

"The issue is why are non-Muslims not told how to seek redress in Syariah courts," he added.

Assurance needed

In a related development, Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim) called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to propose that Article 121 (1A) be amended or the original Article 121 be restored or amendments be made to the Courts Judicature Act and all the federal and state Syariah enactments.

The amendments must be to the effect that when there is a dispute that a person is non-Muslim, jurisdiction should immediately be transferred and/or restored to the civil courts, said its pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar in a statement yesterday.

He also called on the premier to provide an assurance that similar episodes do no recur in future.

Such an assurance is pertinent in sending down the right message and signal to the religious authorities and other relevant agencies, he said.

"It will also go a long way in assuring non-Muslims of their religious rights and foster national unity and integration.

"The widow (Kaliammal) and non-Muslims have suffered enough. Please put an end to our misery with your timely assurance that there will no such recurrence," he added.