Earlier this month, a school’s assistant principal caned
10-year-old Basil Beginda from the eastern state of Sarawak for
taking fried rice with pork to school for his lunch. Consuming
pork is not permissible for followers of Islam, which is
Malaysia’s official religion, but there are no laws that forbid
non-Muslim students from eating it in schools or public places.
The boy’s outraged mother lodged a complaint with the state’s
education department, and the assistant principal – who is
Muslim – subsequently issued an apology. However, the case has
sparked fierce debate on the rights of religious minority groups
in Malaysia. Non-Muslims, comprised mostly of Christians,
Buddhists and Hindus, make up just over a third of Malaysia’s
28-million population. Basil’s case has revived longstanding
claims by minority religious groups that their rights to
practise freely have been threatened under the Muslim-dominated
government. In the last two days, debates in Parliament have
skirted around the legality of the assistan