Suhakam's sermons used by three state religious depts

KUALA LUMPUR: Three state religious departments have used Friday sermons prepared by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), says its commissioner, Dr Nik Salida Suhaila (pic).

Focusing on human rights issues such as rights of children, women and the environment, among others, Suhakam sends sermons to all states as part of its engagement with the religious departments.

Nik said that so far, the religious departments of Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Negri Sembilan had responded to several of the sermons they submitted.

"Our sermons are more about creating awareness and educating people about how human rights work," she told reporters at an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the commission on Thursday (Sept 12).

She said this had been done since last year, being a proposal of former chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail.

She said there might have been problems previously, because there were different perspectives between both Suhakam and the religious departments.

"Before this, we had never sat down together and never agreed on anything. But now, we agree on 80% of things, which is good," she said.

She gave an example of how to knock on the door when conducting a raid.

"When you bang the door, people are trying to save their lives by jumping because they are shocked. With human rights, they knock on the door. If there was no cooperation, then have to tell them first and let them get ready," she said.

She said there were situations where enforcement officers came in with third parties, such as the media.

"They take photos of people wearing towels. There are situations, according to our reports, where they asked for money for the pictures not to go viral. That is not human rights. That is not Islam," she said.

She said that there were those against Suhakam's engagement with the religious departments.

"We have to understand in reality that Muslims are the majority in this country. We do a lot of issues on human rights involving Muslims. So, without their support and understanding as the main agency dealing with Muslim matters, I think it is difficult for Suhakam to work in silos," she said.