With reference to the Lina Joy case, I would like to emphasise here that the problems of Lina Joy and her like are the result of the inclusion of the word 'Islam' in the National Registration Department's Identity Card (IC) in 1999 for Muslims. Prior to this, Muslims who wished to change their religion would simply need to change their names in their ICs.

The new ruling, however, have caused much problems not only for Muslims who convert out of Islam, but also for non-Muslims who have the word 'Islam' printed on their ICs by mistake. A case in point is one which involves a man in Sabah. His biological father was a Muslim who married his Christian mother in the Natives Court.

Two years after he was born the parents divorced, also in the Natives Court. Throughout their short marriage, his parents professed their respective religions. After the divorce, the mother remarried a Christian in church. The man has never seen his biological father since, and does not even know of his whereabouts.

This man was brought up as a Christian throughout his life. However, his only problem is that the word 'Islam' is printed on his IC. When he went to the NRD to have it corrected, the NRD told him to go to the state Islamic religious department. When he went there, he was asked to go to the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis). Even the Muis staff told him off. His problem is yet to be solved.

So what can he do now? He cannot legally marry because he is considered a Muslim. Then, there are also the cases of Filipino and Indonesian Christians who took up Muslim names to acquire Malaysian ICs during the Berjaya rule. But these people never converted and openly practised their religion. Now they have the word 'Islam' printed on their ICs, and their children cannot legally marry.

Since the Federal Court has recently ruled that those who wish to delete the word 'Islam' from their ICs must be refer the matter to the Syariah courts, what would the people described above do? Once the Syariah courts find out that they are not Muslims, the courts would not accept their cases. And even when the Syariah court accepts their cases, they would be in the trouble for apostasy!

What I can gather from the Federal Court's ruling is that Muslims and non- Muslims who wish to delete the word 'Islam' from their ICs would prefer to hide their faith. Even now there are such cases existing. For example, the person might marry his spouse according to the Islamic faith. But in reality he and his wife would be practising other religions.

As more such situations occur, it will only be a blow to the sanctity of Islam. In their desire to supposedly defend the Islamic faith, certain Muslims might not be aware that what they are doing is only harming their religion and their community.