A total of 686 applications to renounce the Islamic faith were received by the Syariah Court between 2000 and 2010, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom.

azlan Of this number, only 135 were were approved.

This information was revealed by Jamil in a Parliamentary written reply to Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa, who sought the statistics and also asked what measures the government was taking to prevent apostasy cases.

"To address this problem, the state Islamic affairs departments are frequently conducting programmes and activities, especially for those who have just converted (to Islam)," Jamil said.

The highest number of applications was recorded in Sabah, followed by Negeri Sembilan.

Based on the figures, about 20 percent of applications were successful.

In all, there were 172 applications received in Peninsular Malaysia and 239 applications in East Malaysia.

While freedom of religion is stipulated in the Federal Constitution, Muslims are governed by Syariah law, which imposes strict conditions on apostasy.