I fully agree with Abu Mubarak who argued that it is "unfair to force Muslims to abandon Syariah".

Indeed, no one should force anyone not to abide by the teachings of their religion. It is the duty and responsibility of Muslims to accept and support Syariah for their moral aspiration, and non-Muslims must respect the moral choice of Muslims.

However, all human beings must also have the human right to the freedom of religion. And since Malays are also human beings, we must also have the human right to choose our own religions, faiths or ideologies after we have become legal adults.

All Malays in Malaysia have no choice because of the constitutional definition of a Malay - that he/she must be a Muslim - although not all Muslims are necessarily Malays. All Malays are born Muslims without choice.

It could be argued that the constitutional definition of Malays in Malaysia seriously contradicts the Quranic injunction that there is no compulsion in religion. As a matter of fact, there are Christians among Arabs, Palestinians and Indonesians, just as there are Muslims among Europeans, such as the Bosnians.

In Indonesia, Malays, Javanese, Bugis and all other ethnic groups enjoy the right to freedom of religion and faith. There are Malays, Bugis and Javanese Christians, Buddhists and Hindus just as there are Muslims of Chinese and Indian origins. There is also no law in Indonesia that forces the spouses of any Muslims to convert to Islam.

In fact, Malays in Malaysia are the only ethnic group in the contemporary world that are still deprived of the human right to freedom of religion. Seen in this light, we are the only country that does not respect the Quranic injunction that there is no compulsion in religion.