Datuk Seri Najib Razak has expressed support for the appeal to overturn a High Court ruling which allows the use of the Arabic term “Allah” for God by non-Muslim groups in Malaysia, according to an interview with global news station Al Jazeera.
The caretaker prime minister also told Al Jazeera English’s Veronica Pedrosa in the interview, to be aired tomorrow, that he did not intend to have a public election debate with Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim before the May 5 polls.
“The concept of Allah is different in the Muslim sense than in the Christian sense, we should not upset the Muslims and Muslims should not upset the Christians, we are living in harmony for years and it should continue,” he was quoted as saying in an excerpt distributed by Al Jazeera English.
The Court of Appeal has fixed May 30 for another case management on the government and Home Ministry’s appeal against the 2009 High Court decision that the word “Allah” can be used by the Catholic weekly newspaper Herald.
In 2007, the government limited the usage of the term to the Muslim context only. This was revoked by the High Court two years later as the judge said the law was unconstitutional. Putrajaya appealed the ruling and the short-lived implementation of the 2009 court verdict has since been suspended.
After the ruling, there was a series of firebombing and stones thrown at several houses of worship in Kuala Lumpur. Some of the culprits were charged and later punished but the case continues to rankle.
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With the Perkasa duo, Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Noordin, entering the fray as Umno-sponsored parliamentary candidates, racism and religious bigotry are set to rear their ugly heads again especially over the “Allah” controversy.
A manifestation of such extremism is the extent to which fringe Malay groups like Perkasa would go to advance their agenda. Cause for concern is their incendiary speeches over the controversy of the use of the word “Allah” to refer to God by non-Muslims. Ibrahim even suggested recently an open season for burning bibles (pesta membakar Alkitab). Nothing can be more seditious and incendiary. Yet this was tolerated by the authorities...
The “Allah” controversy is more than just a word. It is about freedom of religion and about unreasonable government policies and laws that seek to place non-Muslims under the scope of Islamic enactments and jurisdiction.
Two-thirds of the church in Malaysia is made up of Bumiputera Christians in Sabah and Sarawak who use the Alkitab which contains the word “Allah” to refer to God. They view the prohibition on the use of the “Allah” word and restricted use of the Alkitab as infringing on their freedom of religion.
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Before the Sarawak state election in 2011, he came up with a 10-point formula to resolve the issue of shipments of Malay-language bibles, to cater to Bumiputera Christians, that were blocked and confiscated before they were subsequently released by the government.
The report also said that in the 10-point resolution, the Cabinet, through its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala, assured the sizeable Bumiputera Christian population in Sabah and Sarawak that they were free to bring in and use their bibles in Malay as well as in indigenous languages.
And today, Jala apparently declined to comment when asked about Najib’s latest backing for the appeal against the High Court ruling. So, when BN needed the Christian vote before the Sarawak polls, they got Jala to come out with the 10-point resolution but today the minister plays dumb. Maybe this isn’t part of your KPI, minister?
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Christians will not stop calling their God “Allah” even if the courts stop them from doing so in Muslim-majority Malaysia, says UPKO president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, whose party is part of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition government...
The Christian community forms about a quarter of Sabah’s population and almost half of Sarawak’s population, where they mainly worship in Bahasa Malaysia church services and read Malay-language bibles.
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http://www.themicahmandate.org/2013/05/cfm-abhors-and-protests-the-despicable-anti-christian-message-on-election-campaign-billboards/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+micahmandate+%28The+Micah+Mandate+%3A+Mandat+Mikha%29
ReplyDeleteChristians are appalled at the despicable and heinous message on election campaign boards which has gone viral among Netizens recently.
The message asking “Do you want to see your grandchildren praying in Allah’s house” and with two pictures of churches with the Cross and the words “Gereja Allah” is incendiary and may pose a danger for Christians and Churches just because we use the word “Allah”. These fears are real given the recent history of Church burnings and threats to burn the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.
The message pits one community (Muslims) against Christians by spreading fear through scare tactics using the issue of “Allah” which the High Court had allowed as a right to freedom of religion.
CFM and other Christian leaders have in the past said that Bumiputera Christians whose only common language is Bahasa Malaysia had used the Bible in BM and the word “Allah” for centuries without any resistance until recently. Hence, it is extremely mischievous and malicious to pit Muslims against Christians who have always enjoyed good relationships, to gain political points with such blatant misinformation.
Christians and all right-thinking Malaysians should rightly condemn such inflammatory election campaign billboards and for that matter all such campaign materials and rhetoric in the run-up to polling day on 5 May 2013. We strongly urge the Election Commission to immediately remove such billboards and materials and the authorities to investigate and charge the person or persons responsible.
We call upon fellow Malaysians to report to the police such billboards and other campaign materials and speeches which disrespect our communities and incite against another religion for political expedience.
The Christian community maintains its rights as guaranteed by our Federal Constitution, which includes the right of non-Muslims to manage their own religions. This right includes those Malaysians who only know Bahasa Malaysia besides their native language, such as the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, the Babas, and the Orang Asli peoples, using the AlKitab and all other materials in Bahasa Malaysia necessary for their religious purposes.
At the same time, we note with great dismay the upsurge in polls-related violence (as reported in the media) such as the torching of cars, the planting of explosive devices near ceramah centres, arson cases and motorcycle gangs scaring off people going to ceramahs which are attempts to cause fear and intimidation in the days just before election day. We urge all to be more circumspect during this election season.
Yours sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Eu Hong Seng,
Chairman
and the Executive Committee
The Christian Federation of Malaysia
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/bumiputera-churches-hit-back-at-anti-christian-campaign-bob-teoh
ReplyDeleteMAY 2 — Stung by the incendiary anti-Christian campaign in the run-up to Polling Day, Bumiputera churches in Sabah and Sarawak are hitting back with unprecedented vigour.
A “pastoral communiqué” on the “Allah” issue has been hammered out to be circulated today, just two days before polling, to all city and interior churches. A copy of the communiqué was obtained by MySinchew today.
The move is unprecedented in its unusually hard-hitting language which is uncharacteristic of Bumiputera pastors and church leaders who traditionally maintain a cordial relationship with the government.
“We, the native Christians of Sabah and Sarawak, have kept silent for a considerable length of time. Some have taken our silence to mean something else. Therefore, the time has now come for us to speak,” the communiqué said in its opening line.
“Surely the way forward is no longer found in the status quo which expects the Bumiputera Church in Sabah and Sarawak to remain silent,” it added.
“Two-thirds of the Church in Malaysia is made up of Bumiputera Christians in Sabah and Sarawak. In this respect, we speak with pastoral and moral responsibility and authority against religious bigotry, racism and extremism in any form. But we are not alone as our non-Bumiputera brothers and sisters in Christ have also expressed similar concern over the ‘Allah’ issue on other occasions. We, therefore, speak as one voice,” the communiqué said.
http://ccm-youth.blogspot.com/2013/05/sudah-tiba-masa-untuk-kita-bersuara.html
ReplyDeleteKontroversi 'Allah' in sebenarnya bukanlah tentang agama, tetapi adalah mengenai dasar-dasar dan undang-undang Kerajaan yang tidak munasabah. Dalam menghadapi perkara yang tidak masuk akal inilah kami tidak boleh dan tidak harus berdiam diri. Sudah tiba masa untuk kita bersuara.
Dua pertiga daripada umat Gereja di Malaysia adalah terdiri daripada orang Kristian Bumiputera di Sabah dan Sarawak. Dalam hal ini, kami berbicara dengan tanggungjawab pastoral dan moral serta kewibawaan terhadap pelampau agama, perkauman dan sebarang bentuk sikap yang ekstrim. Tetapi kita tidak keseorangan, kerana saudara dalam Kristus kita yang bukan Bumiputera juga telah menyatakan kebimbangan yang sama tentang isu 'Allah' ini. Oleh itu, kita bersuara sebagai satu suara.
Kita memerlukan lebih daripada sekadar paparan ad hoc belas ikhsan. Kita memerlukan satu komitmen yang ketara daripada pihak berkuasa untuk menghormati dan mempertahankan kebebasan beragama yang sudah pun dijamin oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan, iaitu undang-undang tertinggi di negara ini. Kami percaya bahawa orang bukan Kristian, termasuklah umat Islam, juga berkongsi akan kebimbangan kita ini.
Kami juga mengakui dan menegakkan bahawa Islam adalah agama Persekutuan mengikut Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Dengan peruntukan yang sama agama lain juga diberikan jaminan kebebasan sesuai dengan perlembagaanuntuk menganut, mengamalkan dan menyebarkan agama masing-masing denganaman dan damai di mana-mana bahagian di negara ini. Kami tidak meminta apa yang bukan hak perlembagaan kami.
Sesungguhnya jalan penyelesaian bukanlah satu status quo yang menjangka Gereja Bumiputera di Sabah dan Sarawak untuk berdiam diri.