KUALA LUMPUR - The government needs to enact new laws related to race, religion, and royalty (3R) to act as a guideline outlining what qualifies as an offence.
Kota Bharu member of parliament Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the current laws were unclear about what constitutes 3R and what is considered an offence in the context of 3R.
"We are unclear about what offences are associated with or fall under the 3R category.
"What offences can be classified under matters related to 3R? Is it related to anything about religion, royalty, and race, and to what extent is it considered wrong?" he said during the Supply Bill 2024 debate in Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
Therefore, the proposal to create such a law was in line with the suggestion made by Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
"Create a law, specify what cannot be said, and so on. We hope that the Madani government today embraces civilization and does not continue with the previous law," he said.
Besides, Takiyuddin said that the lack of a clear interpretation on this issue has seen many political leaders being investigated without a clear basis.
However, he said that several cases referred to the courts directly touching on 3R issues were not subject to any action.
Taking as an example a petition challenging the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Enactment (I) 2019 in an attempt to declare 20 provisions of the enactment null and void, Takiyuddin stressed that such actions should also be considered as involving 3R issues.
"Currently, the case challenging the Kelantan enactment is waiting for a decision from the Federal Court.
"We believe that the individual has taken actions that contradict or touch on the 3Rs: religion, sensitivity, and the royal institution, which is the head of religion in the states.
"Sultan Kelantan (Sultan Muhammad V) recently issued a statement regarding this challenge. Sultan Selangor (Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah), who is also the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) chairman, has warned that action should be taken, including amending the law, to curb this matter," he said.