We did not coerce or trick natives into converting, say Sabah Islamic authorities

Sabah Islamic authorities have washed their hands off the conversion controversy in the state, maintaining that they merely carried out their religious duties and the paper work which followed, but did not trick, coerce or persuade any Christian native to convert.

A source from the state Islamic Affairs Department said all the arrangements were handled by Muslim groups which had approached the department with a list of names from three villages in Pitas – Kampung Layung Maliau, Dowokon and Sosop – who were said to be interested in converting to Islam.

“They (Muslim groups) arranged everything. The religious department officers were only there for conversion and registration purposes,” the source told The Malaysian Insider.

He said a list of 100 names from the three villages, together with their identification card numbers, were handed over to the Islamic Affairs Department office in Pitas for checks.

“The arrangement was later made to convert them. Since it involved a large number of people, we decided to do it at a mosque on New Year’s day,” said the source who is familiar with the incident.

He brushed off allegations that the villagers were not told about the conversion nor the purpose of their presence at the mosque.

“When the villagers arrived, they were briefed on Islam and the reason they were there. We also had a lecture and the session lasted one hour,” said the source.

He said out of the 100 over people who attended the briefing, only 36 agreed to convert.

“If they were tricked, all would have been converted,” he added.

The source also denied giving the villagers money as a "token" for conversion. The villagers were given RM100 per adult and RM50 per child.

“The money was to compensate them for coming all the way from the remote areas for the function. The money was given to all 100 over villagers who attended the function,” he said.

The source also said the department was not aware of any promise to give the villagers RM800.

“We did not deal with any money. We were not the organisers. We were there to only help with the conversion and registration,” stressed the source.

It is understood, however, that the problem had started when the Muslim converts returned to their villages.

“Then the news came out saying they were tricked. A police report has been lodged against the person who made the allegation. The department will not interfere in this matter,” he said.

At the moment, the registration of the 36 Muslim converts is still being processed.

The source said the Pitas district religious office also had to write a letter explaining the incident to the Sabah Islamic Affairs Department.

“We do not know what transpired in the village after the conversion nor the promises made to the villagers. But those who attended the conversion function at the mosque were not tricked. No one was forced to do anything,” he said.

A group of villagers had recently alleged that were tricked into converting to Islam.

They claimed that they were approached by a neighbour who had said that someone from Kuala Lumpur would give them RM800 in financial assistance.

All they needed to do was to give their names and identification card numbers to the neighbour.

They were then told to go to Pitas town hall on New Year’s day to receive the aid.

Once there, they claimed they were "directed" to the mosque instead of the town hall.

One of them had claimed that they were asked to sign a form and that no one had explained to them what the form was. All of them are illiterates.

The villagers had claimed that they were given an envelope each which contained a few RM100 notes and RM50 notes.

The source said such a conversion ceremonies on such a large scale only occurred once in a while.

The conversion is usually done at the religious office.

“There were no problems previously. This is the first time I have heard anyone claiming they were tricked,” he said.

Lawyers from several non-governmental organisations are now helping the converted natives to declare the conversation null and void.

The Muslim community represents 65% of the population in Sabah. – January 25, 2014.