KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is open to suggestions and views put forth by any parties that could improve its services to the community.
Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said this was as long as the suggestions and views did not contravene with the Federal Constitution or values practised by Malaysian society.
"The ministry is always open to receive opinions, complaints or suggestions from various parties, regardless of individuals, registered non-governmental organisations (NGO) and representatives of the ministry's target groups.
"These views can further contribute to improving our service to the people, so long that they do not contravene with the constitution, laws and values practised by the society," she said in a parliamentary written reply on Wednesday.
Nancy said this in response to Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PN-Rantau Panjang) on whether the ministry still considered the women's rights group, Sisters in Islam (SIS) as a strategic partner to the ministry.
Siti Zailah also enquired on whether the ministry still consulted the NGO for views given its 'problematic' status.
However, the written reply did not confirm or deny whether the ministry still engages with SIS as a strategic partner.
SIS is currently on its final bid to quash a fatwa issued by the Selangor religious authorities which labelled the group as deviants at the Federal Court.
The women's rights group and one of its co-founders, Zainah Mahfoozah Anwar, had applied on April 14 this year, seeking to get leave from the Federal Court to appeal against the Court of Appeal's dismissal of its challenge against the fatwa.
This comes after the appellate court dismissed SIS Forum's appeal to quash the fatwa in March, this year.
In 2019, SIS Forum pursued an appeal against the Court of Appeal after their judicial review was dismissed by the High Court on Aug 27, 2019.
The fatwa, gazetted by the Selangor government on July 31, 2014, had declared that SIS Forum, any individual or group that adopted the deviant ideologies of liberalism and pluralism, were deviating from the Islamic teachings.