KUDOS to Astro TV for showing a debate on the highly-contentious issue of public morality policing and religious enforcement at prime time on Sunday. It was an exciting 45 minutes of dialogue you'd least expect to encounter on a night when live telecasts of the San Marino F1 Grand Prix and Premier League soccer were also fighting for your attention.

The debate came on at 10pm under the Agenda series on Channel 92, just after the Al Jazeera world news headlines. It was moderated by Suhaimi Sulaiman and had four speakers: Lawyer Haris Mohd Ibrahim, National Fatwa Council chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Ibrahim, Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (Abim) secretary-general Azizuddin Ahmad and Tunku A'amash Tunku Adnan, a spokesman for what has been described as a concerned group of 221 Muslims who had organised a petition to appeal to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay Rulers for a re-evaluation of local religious rulings deemed unjust.

A representative from the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) had also been invited but declined, said Suhaimi in his introductory remarks.

It was clear from the start that everyone was in for a touchy evening when Tunku A'amash, after his salam salutation, delivered this opener: "Civil laws are adequate enough to deal with moral issues. There’s no need for the Syariah to overlap on these matters because it would mean two sets of laws — one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Equality before the law?"Below is a gist of what the others said during the stimulating exchanges:

Haris: Let there be no compulsion in Islam, which is a religion of compassion and tolerance. And there must be room for dissenting opinion. For instance, it is an offence under the Syariah for a Muslim to express an opinion contrary to a fatwa. This is like putting our minds in shackles because fatwa is a man-made decree issued by a mufti who, being human, is sometimes exposed to shortcomings and controversies too. Islam also means submission to God — not fear of court prosecution. We should not be promoting munafikism (hypocrisy) in the name of Islam.

Ismail: The tenets and hukum hakam in Islam are clear. It would be ideal if we could leave morality and decency issues to parents or the family like what some people are suggesting. But we are not living in an ideal world and parental watch is often not enough. Therefore this responsibility is passed down to the Government and that’s why we need the laws. Perhaps it’s only the enforcement of these laws that needs to be straightened out. The controversial raid by Jawi on a nightclub (on Jan 20), for instance, was within the law. But taking action against women deemed to be indecently dressed was wrong because Jawi had no power to act on the decency of one’s dressing.

Azizuddin: The Government has been given the mandate and trust by the rakyat to see to it that everyone is comfortable. If there are people who are not happy to see moral deterioration in our society, then it is the duty of the Government to tackle it in a way it sees fit. It is also the Government’s duty to educate the people.

What was most pleasant about the session was that the whole atmosphere was so cordial and the exchanges civil. Add that to the prime time slot it occupied , and it showed one thing — Malaysians do have the maturity and wisdom to chew on issues considered sensitive or even taboo.

Agenda last Sunday provided an excellent discourse on a topic of great public interest and a rare occasion for the much-talked- about moral policing to be deliberated on national TV — no, satellite TV — by those for and against.
The issue has inadvertently caused a divide among Muslims — those taking the hardline stand against those believing that an individual’s religious obligations are something personal while leaving morality matters to the family and criminal matters to the police.It was not about who scored more points or who fared better in the arguments. The mere fact that there was room for that kind of deliberation on that kind of subject opened a new chapter for freedom of expression in the country.

Syed Nadzri, Apr 28, NST