Revathi Masoosai's wish to be considered a Hindu should be respected by Islamic religious authorities, said PKR's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The ex-deputy premier said that religious freedom was enshrined in the constitution, and as such, Revathi's rights should be respected.

"I think the principle is very clear," said Anwar. "The issues of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are fundamental."

He said this after attending a ceramah in Ampang Indah, Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night.

He was referring to the case of Revathi who was born a Muslim but raised as Hindu, a religion which she wants to follow.

The twenty-nine-year-old woman was released from a religious rehabilitation centre after a six-month detention where she was made to undergo courses and talks on Islam.

Revathi was born to Muslim convert parents and named Siti Fatimah Abdul Karim but she married a Hindu man and has a 18-month-old child with him.

She is now separated from them and living with her Muslim parents as ordered by the Syariah High Court.

Respect her wishes

She was arrested under orders of the Malacca Syariah Court when she went to change her religion and Muslim name on her identity card, and sent to rehabilitation.

On her release last Friday, Revathi told reporters that she was going to remain a Hindu, and that she was severely disappointed with the way she was treated in the rehabilitation centre.

Anwar commented that Revathi should be left in peace after all that she had been through.

Referring to the rehabilitation process, he said, "The procedures need to be respected, and they were respected. Now they should respect her final wishes."

He also that compulsion was not an Islamic principle, adding that the government-controlled media had blown opposition support for Revathi out of proportion.

"The media has given the impression that we encourage conversion out of Islam," he said. "So, of course people resent that stand."

"But in this case, it is her own volition. And we have to respect that."

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