PUTRAJAYA: Any discussion that touches on racial and religious sensitivities in this country should be avoided to preserve racial harmony.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said such discussions could cause misunderstandings which would have adverse implications on the people.

Although the government encouraged open discussions that would have an impact on the people, these discussions should be carried out prudently, he told reporters after attending his ministry’s monthly assembly here yesterday.

He said this when asked to comment on the forum entitled ‘Conversion to Islam: Art 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini And Shamala Revisited’ organised by the Bar Council in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 9.

The half-day forum is among efforts taken by the Family Law Committee in drawing public attention to elements of family law which involves the Islamic religion. The Bar Council said in a statement on Monday that the objective of the forum was to assist families who were trapped in disputes between the syariah and civil laws.

Syed Hamid said debates on religious matters were highly sensitive and thus, such forums were considered dangerous.

“We are playing with fire when we talk about human rights and liberty. Don’t think that when you exercise your rights, others don’t have their rights, this will eventually lead to misunderstandings,” he said.

Asked whether action could be taken against those concerned for organising such activities, the minister said action could only be taken if there were elements present that were against the law or that jeopardised public order. “I don’t want to speculate or pre-empt on action to be taken. I would rather take action if we can do so, instead of saying that we want to take action but no action is actually taken.”

— Bernama