In the name of religion, we must tear our social fabric apart In the name of religion, the authorities are demonstrating a disturbing propensity to tear this country asunder. Another Hindu man has come forward to tell his story; that his wife has been forcibly taken away by Islamic officials on grounds that she is muslim and thus she has no rights to be with a Hindu man. Laws that are crucial for the existence of a harmonious society are being ignored. The man's lawyers have alleged that the woman was taken away by people claiming to be from the Islamic authorities without showing any proof. It is believed that the woman has been taken away to a so-called rehabilitation camp.

It is as if there is a powerful group operating freely, beyond the control of the government, going around making crude demonstrations of the primacy of Muslims in Malaysia. It is curious that in recent months, most of these actions have been aimed at Hindus, who are a very small minority in Malaysia. On one occasion when a Christian man's body was taken away by Islamic authorities on the grounds that he was a Muslim, the body was returned for a Christian burial within weeks. One could surmise that the government was pressured by powerful international Christian blocs to do so. So there is a need to tread carefully with Christians in this country but not so with Hindus, seen as weak and compliant.

The paralysis of the government under the current leadership is disturbing. It is as if it is willing to forgo the nation's Constitution to pander to a loud minority clamouring for more public pronouncements of Islam's primacy in Malaysia. The latest case of a family being torn apart is unlikely to be the last, under the current environment.  ¶ 11:14 PM