What Is Religion To A Deceased?

Looks like there is to be yet another case on fighting over the body of a deceased - only a few days past the 1st of January mark.

In this piece of news,

"Ngiam Tee Kong, 53, filed the ex-parte application, which also named the director of Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) as the first defendant."

Apparently, when Mr. Ngiam went to claim the body of Wong Sau Lan - his wife - the hospital informed him that,

"...it would only be released to him if he confirmed that she was a Muslim at the time of her death.
He was also told that the body would be released to him only for having Christian rites to be performed, after which it was to be returned to the hospital for it to be buried according to Muslim rites."

By filing the application, he is seeking a declaration that:

- Wong was a Christian at the time of her death;
- she did not fully embrace Islam before she died;
- she was not a Muslim at the time of her death.

These days, there are more and more cases of non-Muslims being left in a quandary because their loved ones have apparently converted to Islam before their unfortunate death. And always, there are Malaysians who feel that holding on to these bodies are of utmost important, even if the act causes more pain and grief to husbands and wives of the deceased.

Religion, it seems, is being a problem that causes contention rather than something that brings harmony. In Malaysia, people makes use of religion as a reason to divide rather than to unite. In Malaysia, the profession of one's faith is much more important than the practicing of good values. In Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, non-Muslims has to kow-tow to Islamic jurisdiction so long as a Muslim is involved in the dispute. No offense to Muslims on the last statement, but any rational being can see the rising number of disputes we have seen so far in recent years - under similar situations. And the outcome of most, if not all, of these cases hardly gives non-Muslims a boost in confidence in the way they were dealt with in the Boleh-land.