Unsilenced

Belinda Cranston captures some of the key points from Haris Ibrahim’s talk at the ANU on why he is adamant that it must be “Anything But UMNO”:

Haris told the audience his journey from high-powered lawyer to political activism began in the late 1990s, when four Malays who renounced Islam were trialled for non-compliance by a Syariah court and jailed for three years each.

“I thought Article 11 of the Federal Constitution (of Malaysia) said every person has the right to freely profess and practice their faith,” he said.

Of the decision to jail the Malays, he added “I saw the most creative legal gymnastics in court that day to avoid the plain language of the constitution”.