Outrage In Malaysia

Malaysia gives man Muslim burial, ignoring widow's wishes : Reuters

Muslim burial for Malaysian hero : BBC

M Moorthy, 36, was a Hindu when he became a national hero in 1997 as a member of the first Malaysian expedition to conquer Mount Everest.

But when he died a week ago family supporters and state Islamic officials jostled one another at the mortuary as each tried to claim his body.

An Islamic Sharia court subsequently upheld a claim by his former colleagues in the army that he had become a Muslim last year.

However his family, who want him to have a Hindu funeral, were not allowed to appear before the court to dispute his conversion because they are not Muslims.

Shame on you, Malaysia. You have a long way to go before you can be considered a peer of the secular democracies of the world.