By Leven Woon. Published by Free Malaysia Today on 24 March 2014.
The widely-touted theory that Christianisation is taking place in Malaysia cannot be valid when official data suggests that no Muslim has converted to Christianity in the last 10 years, said Kampar MP Ko Chung Sen.
He said according to a government reply in Parliament today, no Muslim including those who are new converts to Islam had renounced the religion. This was based on Syariah Court records whereby no such applications had been received.
There were however, applications by individuals seeking to verify conflicting recording of their religion status on their birth certificate and identity card.
“A lot of them have said Islam is under threat, Christiantionisation is happening in the country. But actual figures suggest that none of this has ever happened in this country,” Ko told FMT.
He said politicians and NGO’s should not raise the spectre of Christianophobia out of thin air, and should only speak based on concrete evidence. “And this figure comes from the Prime Minister’s Department,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry said there were at least 4,520 individuals who had embraced Islam between 2008 -2012.
Read more here:
Diterbitkan oleh Malaysiakini pada 24 Mac 2014.
Setakat ini tiada penganut Islam termasuk saudara baru yang keluar daripada Islam, tegas Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
Ini, katanya, berdasarkan rekod, tiada permohonan untuk keluar Islam dibuat di Mahkamah Syariah.
Dalam jawapan bertulisnya, Jamil bagaimanapun berkata terdapat permohonan menentukan status agama yang dipohon oleh individu berikutan kekeliruan pada sijil kelahiran, kad pengenalan atau sijil akuan memeluk Islam.
"Mahkamah Syariah akan menimbang permohonan tujuan menentu status agama dalam keadaan berlakunya kekeliruan semasa pendaftaran nama terutama di negeri Sabah dan Sarawak di mana nama mereka seperti nama orang beragama Islam tetapi mereka bukan beragama Islam," kata Jamil.
Jamil (BN-Jerai) berkata demikian bagi menjawab soalan Dr Ko Chung Sen (DAP-Kampar) mengenai jumlah orang Muslim-Melayu yang keluar daripada Islam dalam tempoh 10 tahun lalu.
Bagi menjawab soalan Ko berhubung jumlah bukan Islam yang memeluk Islam, Jamil berkata maklumat yang tepat hendaklah dirujuk kepada jabatan agama atau majlis agama Islam negeri-negeri.
Beliau berkata pendaftaran masuk Islam berada bawah kuasa jabatan dan majlis itu, seperti yang termaktub dalam Senarai 2 Jadual Kesembilan, Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
"Dalam konteks ini, bagi Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur mengikut rekod Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (JAWI), bilangan orang yang memeluk Islam bagi tempoh 2008-2012 adalah seramai 4,520 orang," kata Jamil.
APRIL 1 — As far as the “Allah” issue is concerned, the change in Sarawak’s chief minister had not brought any changes to the state’s stance. The awkwardness for Putrajaya remains.
ReplyDeleteLast weekend. newly-minted Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem promised that Christians in the state would be free to use the word “Allah” for as long as he remains in office.
“There is no law in Sarawak that says you (Sarawakian Christians) cannot use the word ‘Allah’, and I will not permit such a law in Sarawak as long as I am the chief minister,” Adenan was quoted as saying.
To recap, Adenan’s predecessor Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said last October that the use of the word “Allah” is a non-issue in the state.
On the other side of the fence, Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and the Attorney-General went on record in the same month to say that the “Allah” ban extends to Sabah and Sarawak too. Prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak also weighed in saying that the court ban on the word’s use by non-Muslims does not apply to Sabah and Sarawak.
While most national leaders had been quiet on the issue, news reports suggest that the ban had also been enforced beyond its scope and has led to two different religious laws for the country.
So how? As long as this issue remains unresolved, it will continue to stir the embers of religious tension. Not to mention continuing to embarrass West Malaysian figures playing up the issue, when it is actually not an issue at all in the East.
As an aside, the Sarawakian in me appreciates the not-quite-subtle reminder from Kuching that Sarawak is an equal partner in Malaysia, with certain rights guaranteed by the 18-point agreement presenting the terms of it joining the federation.
But I digress. It is worth noting what exactly the ban specified.
In essence, the Catholic Church is banned from using the word to refer to God in the Malay language section of its weekly newspaper, the Herald. That’s it.
In other words, the ban is not pervasive despite the impression of it being so among various parties, including some foreign media.
However, the implications are serious — if the use can be banned in one context then presumably a future ban on other types of usage can and may follow. Better to clarify and end the dispute now than wait for further complications to arise.
On March 5, 2014, the Federal Court (FC) reserved decision on the Herald’s application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling that it cannot use the word in its Malay language publications.
But the ball has been in the politicians’ court for far longer. We should hope that by the time the FC’s decision is announced, a clear path for permanent resolution to this issue is in sight.
Maybe it’s not too late for the prime minister to take the lead and adopt a strong position over the politicisation of the matter. For it to have dragged on for so long clearly indicates that ignoring it won’t make the problem go away.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/khairie-hisyam-aliman/article/sarawak-keeps-allah-issue-awkward-for-putrajaya#sthash.MKJ2s75E.cGMZghwg.dpuf