E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 57 her identity card. Following another appeal, High Court Judge Datuk Faiza Tamby Chik ruled in April 2001 that she could not change her religious identity, beca use ethnic Malays are defined as Muslims under the Constitution. He also said jurisdiction in such cases lay solely in the hands of the sharia court. On 19 September 2005 the Court of Appeal announced the final decision stating that Lina Joy must apply to a sharia court for permission to legally renounce Islam. 248. Law requires all Malaysian citizens over the age of 12 to carry an identity card with them at all times and all identity cards issued to Muslims must clearly display their religious identity. A Muslim designation on an identity card has legal consequences, such as the prohibition of marrying a Christian. Observations 249. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Permanent Mission for acknowledging the communication. She would like to remind the Government that paragraph 9 of General Comment 22 of the Human Rights Committee states that, “the fact that a religion is recognized as a state religion or that it established as official or traditional or that its followers comprise the majority of the population, shall not result in any impairment of the enjoyment of any of the rights under the Covenant, including articles 18 or 27, nor in any discrimination against adherents to other religions or nonbelievers. In particular, certain measures discriminating against the latter, such as measures restricting eligibility for Government service to members of the predominant religion or giving economic privileges to them or imposing special restrictions on the practice of other faiths, are not in accordance with the prohibition of discrimination based on religion or belief and the guarantee of equal protection under article 26.” 250. Moreover, she reminds the Government that the right to change religion is a fundamental part of freedom of religion or belief. In its General Comment No. 22, the Human Rights Committee stated that “the freedom to "have or to adopt" a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another”. This aspect of the right to freedom of religion or belie f is absolute and may therefore not be subjected to any form of limitation (see A/60/399, paras 46 to 54). Maldives Urgent appeal sent on 8 July 2005 with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders 251. The Special Rapporteurs raised their concerns at reports that, on 4 July 2005, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs issued a press release stating that the Universal Declaration, and in particular its article 18, contradicts the Constitution of the Maldives and the Islamic faith. Moreover, the aforementioned Supreme Council prohibited people from acquiring copies of the Universal Declaration that were given out by the National Human Rights Institution. In addition, the Council made the following statement: “As no Maldivian wishes to practice another religion but Islam