Clause 2 of the Mufti Bill provides that any fatwa issued will be binding upon any Muslim in the Federal Territories. This will affect every aspect of every Muslim’s personal, economic, and political lives. This will allow the criminalising of traditional Malay customs and pastimes, and prevent Malays attending non-Muslim ceremonies and festivals

The Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (known as Dr Maza) contests the bill upon the basis that it restricts freedom of religion and thought, as the Perlis Constitution specifies Al-Sunnah Waljamaah (follower of the Quran and Sunnah), and thus the centre of Salafi/Wahabism in Malaysia. Should the Mufti bill become law, it will allow the author

The Mufti bill will create a second source of laws in the Federal Territories, unintended by the Malaysian Constitution. Fatwas that will become law, will not be vetted by elected representatives and will not have to be gazetted to be legally binding. This dilutes the exclusivity of the parliament to be the supreme law maker in the Federal Territor

The bill was introduced by the minister in the prime minister’s department Mohd Na’im Mokhtar (religious affairs), which presumably had cabinet approval. In addition, the Conference of Rulers name has been used to promote the bill, even with the Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail expressing concerns over the narrow interpre