A thought about Article 11(2) of the Federal Constitution

Article 11(2) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia provides that ‘[n]o person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specifically allocated in whole or in part for the purpose of religion other than his own.’

Now that the Malaysian government has embarked on branding (I use this word to emphasize the lack of bona fides, which is of course a wholly personal though much shared opinion, and which I do not intend to elaborate here so as to distract from the thrust of this piece) itself as an Islamic country and thus purporting to introduce Islamic principles and concepts into the administration of government and civil service, namely Islamic Hadhari, can someone who does not profess (this is the word used in Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution) the religion of Islam refuse to pay income tax on the grounds that the taxes paid will be allocated either in whole or in part for the purpose of religion other than his own. After all, the concept of Islam Hadhari makes no pretense that it is inspired from and purports to adhere closely to Islam (say what happened to that whole policy and does the present Prime Minister even remember it?).

I am tempted to think that Article 11(2) was introduced to ensure that this country remains secular in government, both spirit and shape. But that’s just me.

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Tags: Article 11, Federal Constitution, Islam, Tax

Posts by Fahri Azzat

Fahri Azzat was a Tyrannosaurus Rex named 'Bob' in his previous life during the tail end of the Cretaceous period and was reincarnated as a 21st century LoyarBurokker despite being imbued with the character and abilities of a late 19th century dilettante dandy. His current ambition right this very moment is to wear a top hat and coat tails while shopping for fake luxury watches at Petaling Street on a hot day.

Posted on 3 May 2009. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.

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