PETALING JAYA: The Home Ministry has refuted claims that a MyKad holder’s religious status will be abolished.



The allegation came from a video clip with text that had gone viral via Whatsapp, which also came to the attention of the ministry’s on Saturday.



“There is no plan to carry out a thorough research on the possibility of doing away with a person’s religious status in the identification card (MyKad),” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.



It said the record on the religious status in the identification cards is in accordance with Regulation 4 (cc) of the National Registration Regulations (PPPN) 1990.



The statement also said the move to record the details on Islamic faith on the front of the identification card is implemented in accordance with Schedule 1, Regulation 5(2) of the PPPN.



“For other religious faiths other than Islam, the information is stored inside the identification card’s microchip.



“These are in line with the Federal Constitution, which states that while Islam is the official religion of the Federation, it also guarantees that other religions may be practised in peace and harmony,” the ministry said.



The ministry said the details on the religious status for Muslims is one of the important elements to help enforce Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution as well as syariah law.



“The ministry hopes the public will not spread such unverified news or information as it might cause uneasiness among the people as well as causing disruption to public order,” it added.



The viral message purportedly warned all Malaysians that the country was under international pressure.



“No wonder the Home Ministry had mentioned about a thorough study that needed to be done on the proposal to do away with the religious status on identification cards,” the message claimed.



The message was accompanied with a nearly two-minute long



video clip.

Article type: metered User Type: anonymous web User Status: Campaign ID: 18 Cxense type: free User access status: 3