Open Letter to PM, Ministers and MPs

Open Letter By
Bruce Lim

To our beloved Prime Minister of Malaysia, Members of the Cabinet and all Members of Parliament,

I am writing to each of you, as all of you collectively, will control the destiny of this country and its people, for the immediate and near future.

On this dawn of a new year, I wish all of you “Happy New Year, and may all of you and your family be happy, enjoy good health and prosperity for Year 2010 !”

Some recent personal and profound experiences, prompted me to write to each of you. I might share these experiences, which saddened and embarrassed me, with you on another occasion.

For now, I wish to merely forward to you a short article which was published in the Star newspaper on 21.12.2009, reproduced below. The article contains amongst others, figures and charts, which I think, can hardly be disputed. The fact is, our country is lagging behind many other countries. The average Malaysian is so far behind in terms of quality of life, relative to the countries in comparison. Our well-being is at stake. Please study the figures, and ask yourselves :-

Why is Malaysia lagging behind?

What can we do to arrest the decline?

What is going to happen if we can’t arrest this decline? Will we or our children end up like in the Philippines?

Everyone of you will have your own ideas and answers. For me, I think the article provides a short but good insight to some of the reasons and answers.

As the political masters, I feel that it is incumbent upon each of you to do what is the best for the well-being of all Malaysians. This should be the single most important objective. Please work towards ensuring that all Malaysians have a good quality of life, to be able to hold our heads up high when we travel abroad, to be knowledgeable and well-educated. I appreciate it is difficult to govern a country, and I laud the 1-Malaysia concept and the current efforts to improve the country, but there appears to be insufficient conviction and consistency.

Personally, I feel that Education is crucial. For Year 2010, I appeal and pray that the government will revert to PPSMI. Otherwise, the scrapping of PPSMI will go down in history as a monumental disaster for the country, and I am speaking in the context of towards arresting the decline of the country, and towards improving the quality of life in the long run. Scrapping PPSMI is simply not in the roadmap towards a high income society or developed nation status.

I write with no intention to offend. Any judgemental errors here are purely mine.

Thank you and Happy New Year again.

Regards,

Bruce Lim

Vexed Parent, and Concerned Patriot

—-

This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) :-

Monday December 21, 2009

Arresting Malaysia’s relative decline

Hock’s Viewpoint – By Choong Khuat Hock

THE book, The global financial crisis and the Malaysian economy, written by Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin, director-general of ISIS Malaysia, and Professor Dr Rajah Rasiah, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration at Universiti Malaya, in collaboration with UNDP and ISIS makes interesting reading.

In particular, it highlights the declining trend in manufacturing labour productivity in Malaysia due to lack of technological upgrading, making it difficult for our manufacturing sector to compete with those in South Korea, Taiwan, China and Singapore.

It further highlights it has been difficult for existing firms to shift towards higher value-added activities due to a lack of focus on research and development (R&D). Malaysia’s R&D is pitifully low against those in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (see table on R&D expenditure in GDP).

The authors suggest that a combination of factors may be to blame: a scarce supply of engineers and R&D scientists and technicians, the poor quality of those leaving universities in the country, low R&D investment, and the reluctance of most qualified Malaysians to return home from foreign countries.

Lack of competitiveness

Malaysia’s lack of competitiveness is highlighted by the extremely small number of researchers and engineers per million persons in the country. The number of engineers also fell sharply over the period 2004–2006 (see table on researchers and engineers per million population).

A JobStreet.com survey shows graduates from local institutions earn 15% less than foreign graduates while in Singapore local and foreign graduates earn broadly similar salaries.

This indicates that something is indeed wrong with our education system. On paper, we seem to churn out many graduates but the poor quality of local graduates is reflected by their relatively lower salaries.

Perhaps it is our tertiary education beset by racial quotas and lax qualification standards. Applying racial quotas for university places treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. If this has not worked for over 50 years after independence, perhaps it is time we address the root cause.

The root cause probably started much earlier in the primary and secondary schooling system. The problem probably lies with an inadequate standard of teaching. For example, if teachers have a poor command of English, how can they teach Mathematics and Science properly in English?

Khazanah Nasional Bhd and government-linked companies (GLCs) have adopted 165 rural schools and proved that given sufficient teaching support, the rural Malay students can perform as well or even better than more racially mixed urban schools.

The proposal to give schools flexibility to choose their own curriculum and placing emphasis on English should be supported as it allows capable students to excel.

It is rather tragic that the rural, mainly Malay, students are left behind through inadequate teaching resources. As the pilot project on 165 rural schools has succeeded, all schools should have access to better teaching. If there is a shortage of teachers with specific skills, import them if need be, while resources are being invested to boost teaching standards.

Lastly, never compromise on qualification standards, something that may be possible if the foundation is strong. Education has an equalising effect and will serve as a long-term sustainable solution to narrow the racial and rural-urban divide.

Perhaps, another important factor that enabled countries like Sotuh Korea and Taiwan to escape the middle-income trap is the adoption of meritocracy to determine how resources are allocated.

A World Bank report highlighted that 13 economies (including Malaysia’s) managed to grow by 7% a year for at least 25 years since 1950. In Asia, growth stalled in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia while Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan made it into the ranks of higher income countries with per capita incomes exceeding US$12,000 a year as defined by the World Bank.

Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at slightly above US$5,000 a year requires a skilled workforce focusing on knowledge-based high value-added industries or services before its high income aspirations can be realised (see chart above).

Many of the successful Asian countries have interventionist policies but allowed market forces and meritocracy to reward companies that were globally competitive while culling losers. Cases in point: Proton versus Hyundai and Toyota or Perwaja versus POSCO, a successful South Korean steel company.

Malaysia has been falling behind in relative terms. The chart above shows the per capita GDP of selected countries as a multiple of Malaysia’s per capita GDP (at constant 2000 US dollar prices) since 1960.

In 1965, when Singapore separated from Malaysia, its GDP was 2.8 times higher than Malaysia’s but in 2008, its GDP was 5.4 times higher. South Korea and Hong Kong’s GDP per capita have also grown faster than that of Malaysia’s. Malaysia has performed better than countries like the Philippines but then our aspiration is to be a high-income country and not another Philippines.

Malaysia may have strong macroeconomic fundamentals like a sound banking system and a current account surplus. This may lull us into complacency as we savour the cheap subsidies arising from our depleting oil reserves. Subsidies to select groups, like cheap fuel for fishermen, have led to smuggling.

Rather than creating a complicated system of selective subsidies, a simpler system like cash for the needy would be less susceptible to abuse. Indeed in the longer term, a social safety net for all Malaysians should be considered, a financeable dream if we become a high-income nation.

Subsidies ought to be used to create new industries, e.g. wind and solar in Europe and ethanol in Brazil. In Malaysia, we cannot even get our biodiesel policy right, reducing the biodiesel target from 5% to 3% of diesel even as Brazil has successfully used incentives to run its cars purely on ethanol (alcohol). World-class industries in Malaysia like rubber glove companies should be nurtured and not be held back by the lack of natural gas supply.

1Malaysia Breakthrough

The 1Malaysia is a refreshing breakthrough concept that aims to unite Malaysia and ensure that everyone has a place under the Malaysian sun. Only when there is a sense of belonging can we expect Malaysians to invest long term in R&D and make Malaysia the preferred venue for their business and family rather than joining the brain-drain bandwagon.

Such hopes are not pipedreams; another multiracial country, America, despite all its faults and weaknesses, is still the richest and strongest nation on earth. It is a country of equal opportunity that seeks and attracts global talent and where all citizens are Americans first.

For 1Malaysia to succeed, the concept has to move from rhetoric to implementation in substance rather than form. For example, in form, courses under the National Civics Bureau (NCB) may look fine but in substance, its alleged racist overtones are divisive.

Rather than the spirit of “them versus us”, it has to be the spirit of “all of us” working together to arrest the relative decline of Malaysia, if not for us, then for our children. Only education and meritocracy can arrest Malaysia’s relative decline while treating the symptoms can only enhance dependency and mire us in the middle income trap.

Choong Khuat Hock is head of research at Kumpulan Sentiasa Cemerlang Sdn Bhd.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 4 January 2010, 12:22 pm and is filed under
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Police plan to pin sedition charge against Pornthip

By
Dr Chen Man Hin
, DAP life adviser

THE POLICE AND MACC HAVE A HIDDEN AGENDA BY LEVELLING CHARGES OF SEDITION AGAINST LIM GUAN ENG AND THAI PATHOLOGIST PORNTHIP

If the Suara Keadilan report were read carefully, it is quite clear that the ‘leaked sources’ need not be from Pornthip, but could be from anyone who was connected to the autopsy room at the time the second post mortem was conducted.

The leaked source could be from MACC or the police who are usually privy to the information from the autopsy room.

The wild accusation that Pornthip was responsible for the leaks might backfire on the police and or MACC who have their own agenda, which is to attach blame on the pathologist Pornthip engaged by the opposition to get to the truth of the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

Pathologist Pornthip has a formidable reputation of world renown and would not resort to unethical behaviour. To implicate her for breach of ethics is foolish and ill advised.

The truth of the matter was that the cause TBH death was homicide 80% and possibly suicide 20% as stated by Pornthip to the Inquest on 21st October 2009. To prove her point Pornthip gave a power point presentation on the evidence from the first autopsy, which conclusively point to death by homicide.

The second autopsy could produce more clues and evidence to expose the truth of the matter. More likely these would only substantiate what Pornthip had already disclosed at the inquest.

The charges against Pornthip and Lim Guan Eng are a panic reaction of the police and MACC as they would have access to the truth, which must be very painful for them. Hence the allegations of sedition against Lim Guan Eng and Pornthip. They have a hidden agenda.

POLICE MIGHT HAVE HIDDEN AGENDA TO DECLARE THE INQUEST A ‘MISTRIAL’?

The MACC and police should be advised not to plan to declare the inquest a mistrial, in view of the so called leaks by Pornthip and Guan Eng.

The Inquest on the death of TBH has captured the attention of the world. International pathologists are involved.  Any attempt to subvert the findings of the second autopsy would be exposed, and the integrity of the country would be subject to international condemnation and mockery.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 4 January 2010, 12:28 pm and is filed under
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Two things Abu Kassim can do to demonstrate that he will lead a MACC which is independent, non-partisan and professional gaining national and international confidence and recognition as a foremost graft-buster in the league of Hong Kong’s ICAC

Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed was sworn in as the new Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission today. Congratulations.

The question is whether Abu Kassim can redeem the reputation of MACC, which has plunged to the lowest ebb ever plumbed by its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency, in its 41 year history from 1967-2008 – a most adverse reference and comparison.

There are two simple things Abu Kassim can do to demonstrate that he will lead a MACC which is independent, non-partisan and professional gaining national and international confidence and recognition as a fore-most world graft buster in the league of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), viz:

To direct MACC officer Raub Ghani to drop the baseless police report he lodged against Thai pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand for allegedly “leaking” information to unauthorized people on the forensic report on the second post mortem on Teoh Beng Hock on Nov. 22; and

To ask the Selangor police to drop baseless investigations against Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng and DAP Selangor State Chairman and Selangor Executive Councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah in connection with the Teoh Beng Hock inquest so as not to compromise public confidence in the independence, professionalism and integrity of the MACC.

Is Abu Kassim capable of doing both?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 4 January 2010, 1:15 pm and is filed under
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Cabinet tomorrow should convene an inter-religious conference to reach an out-of-court settlement of the “Allah controversy” to demonstrate that Najib’s 1Malaysia policy has meaningful application towards creating inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony

The
PAS leadership’s decision last night to back the use of the word Allah
 by Catholics as it is consistent with the federal Constitution and Islamic principles, with the condition that it cannot be misused or inappropriately addressed, is most welcome as a commendable contribution to the resolution of the “Allah controversy” following the Dec. 31 judgment of Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan.

Lau said that pursuant to Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution, it was an offence for non-Muslims to use the word Allah to Muslims to propagate the religion.

However, it was not an offence for non-Muslims to use the word to non-Muslims for the purpose of religion.

Pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the Federal Constitution, the Catholic weekly Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in respect of instruction and education of the congregation in the Christian religion.

Article 10 allowed it to use the word in the exercise of its right to freedom of speech and expression.

The proposal from influential  Islamic scholar Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin that  the government draw up reasonable guidelines on the usage of “Allah” among non-Muslims so that “other people’s rights will not be marginalised” is most constructive.

The former Perlis Mufti suggested reasonable guidelines to avoid the misuse of “Allah”, but at the same time, people should not be denied their rights to mention God’s name, even though they are not of the Muslim faith.

He said: “The best thing for a government to do in a multi-racial society is to set reasonable guidelines or rules. I feel that in a country, it is not about emotions, it is about how we manage ourselves with proper rules of conduct. Rules need to be drawn up so that people won’t misuse the name of Allah.

“However, at the same time, to absolutely deny a person from mentioning Allah’s name is just not right. ”

Mohd Asri stressed that caution needs to be exercised in this matter, as Arab Christians before this and even Sikhs use the name “Allah” in their worship.

The Cabinet tomorrow should convene an inter-religious conference to reach an out-of-court settlement of the “Allah controversy” to demonstrate that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy has meaningful application towards creating inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony.

In the first place, the Home Ministry should not have imposed  the ban on the Herald from using the world Allah in the Catholic weekly publication.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 5 January 2010, 2:01 pm and is filed under
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Have the two missing RM100 million F5 fighter jet engines ended up as scrap metal or sinkers for fishing? All the more why there must be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into rampant kleptocracy in Malaysia

The explanation by the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on the two missing RM100 million F5 fighter engines have raised public incredulity and outrage to new heights, spawning even more questions, including:

Firstly, why have the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers taken such an inordinately long time of over 16 months in the investigations into the two J85-GE-21 engines, which power the F5 fighters, which had been stolen from two RMAF facilities while some components from the same planes were also unaccounted for?

All that Gani can say now is that police had completed its investigations “to a large extent” and that he would announce “very soon” the decision on the next course of action against those involved in the thefts.

This is totally unsatisfactory as according to police investigations, the engines were taken out of the RMAF base on Dec 20, 2007 and Jan 1, 2008, and sent to a premises in Subang Jaya.

The military only realised that the engines were missing on May 22 of that year and launched an investigation, and the base’s chief Major Zulfikli Ayub later lodged a report at the Brickfields police station on Aug 4.

Secondly, have the two missing RM100 million F5 fighter jet engines ended up as scrap metal or sinkers for fishing?

Gani stressed that he was being sarcastic as “I really do not know what is being done to it now, whether the engines are used as scrap metal or as sinker for fishing.” (Star)

But such unintended sarcasm is at the expense of the Mindef, Police and the AG himself!

Thirdly, what is the use or worth of Gani’s “vow” to bring back the two stolen jet engines when the government does not know where they are, what they have become or has not been able to bring to book the culprits responsible?

Fourthly, has kleptocracy (a government characterized by rampant greed and corruption) become so rampant that mere “rank and file” can walk away with two RM100 million jet engines from top-security areas without the involvement “senior military personnel” in the scandal?

This is the implication when Gani said that no senior military personnel was involved in the scandal, only those from the “rank and file”.

If so, this is all the more justification why there must be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into rampant government kleptocracy in Malaysia.

The questions posed by a visitor to my blog warrants response by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, himself as he  was the Defence Minister as the operative time of the theft of the two jet engines and also because of all his sloganeering about KPIs, NKRAs and most of all, “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”:

“What kind of outfit are they operating if rank and file could steal and cart two RMAF F5-E jet engines out with impunity???

“If security were so lax in a military base what is there to prevent enemies of the state from securing corrupt rank and file for access to plant bombs in the jet planes at the base in sabotage of the nation’s defence system? Isn’t this a case of criminal negligence of higher ups to allow security breach of such nature to occur in extreme threat to national interest?

“If the theft occurred in 2007 you mean that they need to take over 2 years to discover this? Does that not mean that in these two years no pilot test-fly the jet plans and no maintenance people maintain these planes for all the two years for otherwise the theft would surely have been earlier discovered?

“If thats the way they neglect the planes that are supposed to defend the country’s territorial integrity – what hope is there for a proper defence of the country’s national security? And why should so much of the Public Expenditures/Taxes go to pay for these defence systems if there were no proper inventory controls?

“Worse still if higher ups were in complicity for a sting of such daring proportion and scale to be carried out.

“If it were so easy to take out military hardware from a secure base due to lack of inventory controls what is there to stop the hardware being highjacked at source even before it arrives at the secure military base???

“For example if we buy planes or submarines from a foreign country what is there to stop the so called low ranking rank and file from selling them to another third country and arrange for these planes and submarines from going direct from the first mentioned to the third country direct whilst the inventory over here registers that they (planes and submarines) have arrived at the base here when in fact they have not? Have you seen the military arms-in-being when they arrive here? Can we check inventory records ? No – because of Official Secrets Act.

“So if rank and file can pull a stunt of such magnitude what is there to stop a total hijack and detour (at source) if ever (hypothetically) some higher up general or brigadier were ever involved in complicity in such a bold sting???

“I am just extrapolating the situation as logically will result based on such a ridiculous situation of jet engines being in the position to be stolen by rank and file!”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 5 January 2010, 5:08 pm and is filed under
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A Letter to Lim Kit Siang

Dear Mr. Lim Kit Siang,

I have utmost respect and admiration for your tenacity in remaining in Malaysia to champion the cause of justice and equality and fight for a  Bangsa Malaysia.

My heart broke when I read about your article regarding the honest cyber cafe operator especially when he wondered if he ‘had chosen the wrong country’ to start and operate his business.

I see my situation summed up in that phrase. You have said before that the best and brightest are leaving this country. Well, I am making every preparation to leave. I have consistently scored straight As in every public exam and placed among the top 3 of my form. In university, I studied medicine and am among the top scorers. I have just graduated and scored near perfect results in a medical licensing examination that will enable me to work abroad and further my studies.

I was born a Malaysian yet I cannot see myself as a Malaysian. As a Chinese, I feel that I am being discriminated against. I feel that the government is trying its hardest to sideline me just because of my race. I look around and see this discrimination manifested in various  forms. From the issue regarding religious conversion to the allocation of places in local universities, the stench of discrimination is sickening.

It was horrifying to note in my batch of medical students, there were a substantial number of malay students who actually did not apply for medicine but were sent to study it. It is disgusting to think that many STPM straight A scorers are deprived of a chance to study medicine while the government gives the places to people who are not even sure that they want to study medicine.

I have seen how racial politics sully the environment in the university and how unqualified people are in high posts at the expense of far more intelligent and qualified individuals just because they are Malay. I have heard the terrible statements made by delegates at the recent UMNO General Assembly about revoking my citizenship rights should I question their special rights.

I have seen the videos on YouTube where UMNO MPs have the audacity to  ask us to ‘keluar’ of the country if we don’t like what they are doing to it. And I see the pathetic attempt by the PM to ‘discipline’ these racists. I hate the fact that Gerakan and MCA have done NOTHING to fight for my rights instead of just kow-towing to UMNO for their own gains.

Patriotism isn’t about singing the national anthem or raising the flag. It  isn’t about accepting at face value everything the government says. It isn’t about attending merdeka celebrations. It is about feeling accepted as part of your nation. It is about knowing that your nation accepts you as a son or daughter. It is about realizing that being a part of a nation entails certain responsibilities. That is my definition of patriotism.

And right now, as a Malaysian, I am feeling anything BUT patriotic. 50 years of independence? So what? What has it done for me? Whoopee. I have a chance to change my life. I will change my destiny. I  could not choose the country where I was born but I can very well choose the country that I will swear my allegiance to. I want a country that will recognize me as a citizen and grant me rights equal to that of all other citizens. I want a country that has the wisdom to recognize my potential and talents and reward me accordingly. I want a country where the government fears its people and conducts itself in a manner worthy of respect and honor.

This is not my nation. I am leaving. Mr. Lim, I salute you and all those like you who can find the strength and energy to fight for an ungrateful bunch of people. How many actually held mass protests, hunger strikes or rose up to defend you and your family when you or your son was imprisoned for fighting for us? How many did more than just shake their heads and move on with their petty little lives? None that I know of. Yet you continue to defend their rights.

You are an amazing man, Mr. Lim and I truly admire you for that.  Unfortunately, I have a bright future ahead and I will not waste it in this country. It is not my nation.

Thank you for fighting the good fight.

(Author’s name withheld for privacy)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 6 January 2010, 8:50 am and is filed under
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Nazri would have been arrested and charged for serious offences including contempt of court for saying what he said about the KL High Court judgment on the Allah issue if he is in Pakatan Rakyat

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz would have been arrested and charged for serious offences including contempt of court for saying what he said about the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the Allah issue if he is in the Pakatan Rakyat.

Every informed observer, whether Malaysian or foreigner, would be struck by the sharp contrast in such treatment with the swift police action to investigate the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng for sedition over his expression of the national sentiment about the death of Teoh Beng Hock at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam as being caused by murder as well as the unexceptional call by the DAP Selangor State Chairman and Selangor Executive Councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah on the police to stop its baseless investigation of Guan Eng.

I am not suggesting that Nazri should be arrested and charged in court for his statement about the judgment of High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan but to question how Malaysia is to restore national and international confidence in institutional competence, independence, professionalism and integrity – which is a major cause of Malaysia’s losing out in international competitiveness – if the key national institutions continue to behave in utter disregard of basic national standards and international benchmarks.

Nazri said High Court judge Lau was wrong in making the ruling that Catholics could use the word “Allah” in their weekly publication Herald, arguing that the judicial review was supposed to be on whether the Home Minister had the power to impose the ban, not on whether non-Muslims should be allowed to use the word “Allah”.

He said:  “The Home Minister was definitely acting within his powers in exercising the ban, in view of public interest and sensitivities in order to avoid public unrest over the matter.”

Is it proper for Nazri, who is the de facto Minister for Law whose jurisdiction covers the judiciary, to so publicly venture his views on an ongoing legal case, as it could be construed as improper attempt to influence the appellate process against the High Court judgment by a Minister having oversight over the judiciary?

As the Minister directly responsible over the judiciary, should he be suggesting to the judges how they should decide cases before them, especially those affecting the government?

Nazri’s comparison of the  “Allah” uproar to the cow-head protests in Shah Alam is most unfortunate and inappropriate, as they just cannot be mentioned in the same breath.

Nazri was neither fair nor right when he blamed the Catholic church for being “irresponsible” and “looking for trouble” over the Allah controversy, claiming that “For 50 plus years after independence this issue has never cropped up before”.

He need only consult his Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Plantations Industry and Commodities, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, for the answer to his own rhetoric – that the term “Allah” had been used for a long time, even before Sabah and Sarawak decided to form Malaysia with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963.

Dompok said yesterday: “The Sabah communities have always used Bahasa Melayu as it is the regional lingua franca and Christianity has been in Sabah since 1881.”

Dompok said the Christian Bumiputra community in Sabah, like the Murut and Kadazandusun, perform religious rites in three languages – English, Bahasa Melayu and their mother tongue. In the rites where English is used, the term is God while the rites in Bahasa Melayu is Allah and the one in the mother tongue, like Kadazandusun, is ‘Kinoingan’.

Most churches in the cities use English while Bahasa Melayu is used widely in churches in rural areas in Sabah – the result of Bahasa Melayu as the national language and the medium of instruction in the national education system.

As Dompok has rightly pointed out,  the younger generation in the Christian Bumiputra community from Sabah (which applies also to Sarawak) who have migrated to the peninsula to work or for further studies have also asked church authorities to have services in the national language.

The Allah controversy is not a time for one-upmanship or brinkmanship. It is a time for responsible and sober response and rational conflict-resolution.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had more than once said that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians, and not just for any one race or group.

This is Najib’s supreme test whether he will live up to his pledge – whether he will walk the talk of his slogan of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 6 January 2010, 11:46 am and is filed under
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Najib and Hishammuddin would fail as 1Malaysia leaders if they take the easy way out to court popularity in the “Allah” controversy

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein would fail as 1Malaysia leaders if they take the easy way out to court popularity in the “Allah” controversy and fail to effectively represent all ethnic and religious groups in the country.

Hishammuddin said yesterday that the government does not prohibit the people from expressing their views over the use of the word “Allah” by the Catholic weekly magazine Herald, but on the condition that their actions do not undermine national security.

Najib today defended Hishammuddin’s stand on plans by several organizations to stage a demonstration on Friday tomorrow to protest the use the word “Allah” by other religions.

Would Najib and Hishammuddin be so benign and tolerant if demonstrations are organized to support the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s Dec. 31 judgment that the Herald may use the term “Allah”?

Both the Prime Minister and Home Minister’s stance are  in direct contradiction to the rationale for the urgent “stay” application on the KL High Court’s “Allah” judgment made by the Attorney-General on behalf of the Home Ministry on the ground of “national interest” and agreed to by the Catholic Church also in the national interest.

Why have the “national interest” and concerns of national security prompting the extraordinary speed with which the application for stay for the KL High Court judgment of Dec. 31 was made, a hearing date fixed and application granted – all within a week – suddenly disappeared from the radar of the powers-that-be immediately after the granting of the “stay” with the consent of the Catholic Church?

Was the government decision to appeal against the KL High Court judgment made in the name of “1Malaysia” – receiving the Cabinet’s approval and not just at the instance of the Home Minister?

Malaysians of all faiths and the world are watching how Malaysia – Najib and his government in particular – are handling the “Allah” controversy, whether in line or totally in disregard of the Najib policy and slogan of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.

There had been responsible and rational responses as well as irresponsible, irrational, emotional and even extremist responses.

The “Allah” controversy is not a time for one-upmanship or brinkmanship. It is an acid test as to whether the Najib administration is capable of responsible, sober and just  response and rational conflict-resolution in plural Malaysia.

On its handling of the “Allah” controversy, Malaysians and the world may be making a conclusive judgment whether Najib’s “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” policy is to be taken seriously or is just an empty slogan.

I had suggested that the Cabinet should convene an inter-religious conference to reach an out-of-court settlement of the “Allah” controversy to demonstrate that Najib’s 1Malaysia policy has meaningful application in conflict-resolution and  creating inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony in Malaysia.

Why is Najib and his Cabinet shy in responding to this proposal?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 7 January 2010, 12:58 pm and is filed under
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In just 9 months, Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan facing most critical test – all top political party leaders must condemn the spate of church attacks in the wake of the “Allah controversy” and ensure no further escalation

What many Malaysians had feared would happen and which the Prime Minister and Home Minister had discounted with their far-from-responsible stances – the exploitation of the “Allah” controversy by irresponsible and extremist elements – have unfortunately come to pass.

All top political party leaders should take a common stand to condemn in the strongest possible terms the spate of church attacks in the wake of the “Allah” controversy and ensure that there is no further escalation.

As Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should immediately impress on the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to take all urgent and necessary measures to protect the good name of the country or be held responsible for any undesirable consequences.

In just nine months, Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan is facing its most critical test as  its very credibility is at stake.

Malaysia also cannot afford further adverse international publicity over the “Allah” controversy, which would  only aggravate Malaysia’s declining international competitiveness if there is escalation of deplorable incidents by irresponsible and extremist elements like the spate of church attacks.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 8 January 2010, 12:40 pm and is filed under
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Call on Malaysians –  including religious bodies, political parties, NGOs – not to take part in demonstrations over the “Allah” controversy to avoid the trap of irresponsible political desperadoes out to exploit, manipulate the politicize the issue

Just before I come on stage, I received the following SMS which I believe represents the views of Malaysians inside this Hall and outside in the country:

“UMNO, esp Najib & Hishammuddin must bear full responsibility for d churches burning incidents since they failed to address d Allah issue properly, allowing people to demonstrate, thus causing it to escalate & spin out of proportion”.

Let me ask you by a show of hands whether you agree with this SMS.
(Almost unanimous spontaneous show of hands from the close to a thousand-people crowd in support of the SMS).

The  year 2009 ended badly for Malaysia despite having a new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak with his new “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan with setbacks on all the major priority KPIs and NKRAs, viz:

Corruption – the newly-formed Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) ending its first year with lowest level of public confidence ever experienced by its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency, in the previous 41 years from 1967-2008 and Malaysia suffering international humiliation of worst ranking of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 15 years, the lowly position of No. 56 in 2009 as compared to No. 23 in 1995.  The year ends with the tragedy of the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16 continuing to haunt the MACC, the Najib government and the nation.

Crime – Police boasts of improving crime index not reflected in public confidence in the ability of the police to restore to Malaysians their two fundamental rights  – to be free from crime and free from the fear of crime. Ipoh is following Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya with the emergence of more and more “gated communities” where the people pay an extra income tax to pay for their own safety and security as police has failed to deliver this most fundamental of its public responsibilities. The real measure of police success to restore public confidence in its core function to keep the streets, public places and  the privacy of their homes safe is when Malaysians begin to dismantle “gated communities” and not when more and more “gated communities” are mushrooming in various parts of the country.

1Malaysia – Najib’s signature theme of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” suffered a severe setback when 2009 ended with the divisive, racist and seditious Biro Tata Negara (BTN) “brain-washing” scandal and 2010 started with the “Allah controversy” culminating in the burning and attack on churches today, aggravating Malaysia’s losing battle to enhance our international competitiveness so crucial to attract foreign direct investment for  our national development and prosperity.

Malaysians are entitled to question the Najib government why Malaysia is the only country in the world where the “Allah controversy” has assumed such explosive character when:

this has not been a problem in Malaysia in the past 52 years of nationhood, with “Allah” used by the Catholic weekly Herald before its ban by the Home Ministry in 2007;

Sabah and Sarawak non-Muslim indigenous people have been using the word “Allah” for God even before formation of Malaysia in 1963 – going back to as far back as 1818.

The word “Allah” has been used by pre-Islamic Arabs for God and Arab Christians still use the term “Allah” for their God.

Other religions refer to “Allah” as their God.

The Holy Quran and the Hadith do not prohibit the use of word “Allah” by any other religion.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim in the world  with 240 million people, 90 per cent of whom are Muslims but Indonesians do not have the “Allah” controversy with its explosive intensity.

Why then is this happening in Malaysia when we have always held ourselves as the exemplar of multi-religious living and inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony for the world?

The answer must be found in the failure of leadership by the Prime Minister and Home Minister and the exploitation and  manipulation of the issue by  extremist and irresponsible elements to serve their political ends.

Unlike UMNO, PAS has taken a very open, progressive and Malaysian approach to the “Allah” controversy with  Pakatan Rakyat demonstrating that it is more capable than UMNO/Barisan Nasional to manage and resolve the thorny issues of a plural society.

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat had right from beginning advocated that the “Allah” controversy should be resolved through an inter-religious conference.

Malaysians, both Muslim and non-Muslims, should remain cool, calm and collected, stay steadfast on their fundamental rights, to help resolve differences in our plural society by dialogue and discourse and should not be provoked into any rash or irrational responses.

For this reason, I call on all  Malaysians –  including religious bodies, political parties, NGOs and individuals  –  not to take part in demonstrations over the “Allah” controversy to avoid the  trap of irresponsible political desperadoes out to exploit, manipulate and  politicize the issue.

[Speech by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor at a DAP Public Forum “What’s wrong with our government”  at Chin Woo Hall, Ipoh on Friday, 8th January 2010]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 9 January 2010, 9:31 am and is filed under
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Church bombings the work of demons

By
Azly Rahman

Peace, mercy, and blessings to all Malaysians.

My heart goes to those affected by the recent bombings. Today’s ‘World Briefing’ section of The New York Times carried the news.

The three attacks on the churches are terrorist attacks by definition. Thus begin a rough period of turmoil ahead beginning with the blowing up of the French-speaking Mongolian translator for Malaysia’s arms dealings. Violence, Machiavellian-styled will be the order of the day — we have entered a period of the emergence of  demons and demolition. I hope these are not the work of those out to create chaos; in view that the current regime is losing power and seriously challenged by the growing strength of the emergent alternative government. The ends justify the means. Violence is the means and the end as well. While physical violence is the means to cling on to power, structural or the unseen/hidden/structural  violence is the goal of the State.

We are entering “into interesting times,” as Mao Zedong would say. You and I are part of the game – in the Malaysian matrix of complexities.

The immediate reaction for all of us should be to condemn these terrorist attacks, so that God forbids, when and if
masjids
, or and other houses of worship are being bombed, non-Muslim friends of ours will come to console us and help become vigilantes. Terror has no face, nor religious affiliation. Terrorists need to be smoked out of their holes and their hiding places. Organizations supporting them must be exposed and brought to justice.

Malaysians of all faiths must be united in condemning these terrorist acts. All NGOs  must issue a statement on this. These demons need to be incarcerated and the culture  of “demolitions in Malaysian politics” need to be destroyed.

God forbids any of your loved ones were nearby during the morning explosions.

I see this development as a consequence of race-politics, mass panic over a plausibly positive outcome of the next general election, and the implosion happening like a nuclear fission in the concept of
Ketuanan Melayu
. I have written quite extensively on the pathology of Malay-Muslim extremism. I hope the bombings are not a prelude to the creation of Malaysian suicide bombers. It will be a shame for a peaceful country such as Malaysia to be relegated to be a “Travel Advisory” country as defined by the US State Department.

Democracy in Malaysia is almost dead with the recent happenings. The government is powerless in face of this– should have stopped those rallies and should have monitored the growth of hate-based NGOs, especially those championing idiotic pride.

Where are we going? What will happen to the future generation of Malaysians as we try to teach tolerance? What then must we do? How do we dismantle all these race-based parties that are using religion to create chaos and destruction? Is the country still safe — or is Malaysia turning into a Pakistan — out of our own Talibanization of ideas? “1Malaysia” is now “1Scary Malaysia”

We must speak up for peace and justice for all, and encourage others to leave organizations that are entrenched in racial and religious hatred.  We must console the Christians and Catholics affected by the bombings and address their fear, assuring that the bombings are done not by rational Muslims but by demons on Mat Rempit bikes.

I suggest Malaysians offer donations for the rebuilding of those churches. For me, I offer this piece of writing.

May the Universal God of Humanity grant us Mercy and Compassion in dealing with demons and demolitions. We will be strong, as a nation.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 9 January 2010, 11:19 am and is filed under
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Have no fear, Christians will not retaliate

COMMENT

By
Thomas Lee

Following the cowardly, contemptuous and condemnable attacks on several churches in the Klang Valley by some obviously fanatically and foolhardy persons, Police Tan Sri Musa Hasan has ordered all state police chiefs to organise patrols to monitor mosques and churches as “we do not want any untoward incidents happening at the mosques or churches.”

It is certainly commendable of the IGP to order the beefing-up of security around the places of worship in view of the perceived and real threats of such detestable and destablising by persons of deranged and destructive character and conduct.

However, I can say behalf of my fellow Christian believers that none of us will take any violent revenge or retaliatory action on people who abuse or prosecute us unreasonably without any just and fair causes.

As Christians, we are to honour God with our righteous character and morally correct conduct, which include adhering to the principles of love, peace and good neighbourliness, even to peoples whose faiths are different from ours. We will never resort to violent actions to promote, propagate or protect our faith as we believe that we are created in the image of God who is holy, loving, kind, compassionate, merciful and forgiving.

We also believe the governing authorities are appointed by God as part of his soevreign design to ensure the proper operation and functioning of the civil society.

We have been taught to submit ourselves to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established (Romans 13:1). Hence, we expect the authorities, to whom we pay tax (Matthew 22:21), to be just, fair, transparent, accountable, and be held responsible for our well-being.

The injunction to submit to the authorities, however, is not just a blind blanket acceptance of everything imposed upon us by the government. As believers in God, we assess, evaluate and measure every piece of legislation, policy, programme and project in accordance what is instructed in the Word of God. We reserve our God-given fundamental right to oppose and protest against unjust and oppressive laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA). Ultimately, “We must obey God rather than men!” as the apostle Peter tells us in Acts 5:29.

But whatever we do to protect our rights in the country, as believers in the God who has imbued in us the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), WE WILL NEVER RESORT TO ARSON, RIOTS and VIOLENCE!

The principle which govern our life and lifestyle are those that the Lord Jesus Christ gave us in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

So the IGP, and the government, can rest assured that no Christian groups will around launching counter-attacks on those we believe to be responsible for causing damage to our church building.

There are only four actions we Christians will take in the face of such calamities. The first is to pray, because as true believers in the true God, we know he will take care of us. Secondly, we will use constitutional and legal means to seek redress in the courts for the injustice caused to us. Thirdly, there are times when we are forced to resort to civil non-violence protests such as hunger strikes, silent boycott of certain things and events to register our unhappiness. Finally, we will use the ballot box to bring about the redemption of our rights as citizens.

NOTE: Thomas Lee, who retired as a deputy editor in The Star in June 2009, has been a socio-political analyst since he returned from studies in Australia in 1975.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 9 January 2010, 10:50 am and is filed under
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Najib 1 Malaysia fails once again

By
Dr Chen Man Hin
, DAP life adviser

UMNO LED OPPOSITION TO THE USE OF ALLAH BY CHRISTIANS IN MALAYSIA, IS AGAINST WORLD MUSLIM OPINION AND WILL BACKFIRE ON THE PROMOTION OF 1 MALAYSIA REFORMS OF THE PRIME MINISTER.

PM Najib open support for UMNO’s retrogressive stand against the use of Allah by Christians, shows that his 1 Malaysia so called reforms for a multicultural society with religious freedom will once again fail to deliver his promises to the people.

Firstly, the majority of world muslims, including muslim Arabs, muslim Africans, muslim Indonesians, and muslim Malaysians have no problem with the use of Allah by christians living amidst them for centuries.

So why is the Home ministry objecting to the use of Allah by christians in Malaysia.

According to YB Bernard Dompoh, he disclosed that christian indigenous peoples of Sarawak and Sabah have been calling God ‘Allah’ for a century or more, long before the independence of Malaysia and before UMNO was formed.

The Federal Constitution contains articles which permit the use of Allah by people of the christian faith. a judgment to this effect was made by the high court judge.

UMNO and its supporters have opposed this judgment and are organising protest rallies against it.

It looks like that UMNO’s stand against the use of Allah by christians is contrary to the thinking and practices by muslims in the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia.

It is even more astonishing to see that PM Najib and his government are supporting the stand of UMNO, and by doing so the PM has gone back on his word to build a 1 Malaysia where all Malaysians are given equal opportunities and where there is freedom of religion and the people can practice their beliefs without any restrictions.

PM Najib cannot deny the undeniable. He, his home minister, the IGP and the the Police have openly supported the demonstrations against the use of Allah by christians by UMNO and Umno NGOs. This is in sharp contrast to the attitude of using force against demonstrations organised by the opposition.

Yesterday, the Police protected UMNO protesters in their demonstrations, and gave them special kid glove treatment. There was no arrest, no water spraying and no police battering with trunches. This is in sharp contrast to the treatment of protesters involved in opposition rallies, who were beaten, battered and arrested without rhyme or reason.

The display of open discrimination by Najib’ government, and by the IGP and his police personnel is an open admission that it is UMNO that is power behind the the prime minister and that Umno calls the shots.

It confirms that 1 Malaysia is nothing more than a political gimmick to fool the people into thinking that the new government will bring reforms for the people.

PM Najib open support for UMNO’s repressive policies will bring bring serious consequences. He is going against world opinion of both the christian and muslim world.

Foreign investors will view the developments with displeasure, and this will cause FDIs (foreign direct investments: to fall further Economic development will slow and the country will remain poor like the banana republics.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 9 January 2010, 11:53 am and is filed under
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Najib and Hishammuddin should apologise for their irresponsible, insensitive and maladroit handling of the “Allah” controversy

The announcement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak of a RM500,000 allocation to the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati to help it to relocate to new premises in Batu Caves after experiencing the worst case of a series of church arson in the past few days is commendable and a step in the right direction but it cannot undo the grave damage whether to nation building or to Malaysia’s international reputation as the best location for foreign investment, tourism or educational opportunities.

The claim by Najib that his 1Malaysia slogan is not affected by the spate of church arson attacks only demonstrates the seriousness of the denial syndrome of the Najib premiership even before the end of  his first year as Prime Minister.

When Najib visited New York end of November to attract American investors and boost trade and investment ties between Malaysia and the United States, he was dogged by Malaysia’s adverse international image, not only by our endemic crime rate but also controversies over moral policing and religious disputes.

Najib found out first-hand that it “takes us months” to clear up adverse international publicity like the case of  Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, even before the implementation of the order for six strokes of the cane for drinking beer.

If “Malaysia Kartika” is googled, it turns out 263,000 results – which is small fry if the “Allah” controversy is googled, as a google search for “Malaysia Allah” turns up 7.1 million finds, proof of the enormity of the damage the current “Allah” controversy is doing to Malaysia’s international image.

The adverse international image arising from the “Allah” controversy and the attacks on the places of worship would probably haunt all Najib’s investment trips overseas to attract investors, tourists and students in  the rest of his premiership!

Najib has called for a halt to “finger pointing” and denied that Umno should be held responsible for the spate of church attacks.

There is no doubt that those in power would have no hesitation or compunction in blaming PAS, PKR or DAP for the religious sacrileges committed against places of worship if they could pin some relationship, however remote, fictitious or chimerical.

In this case, however, no one would believe in any such allegations. On the other hand, there is substance to believe the involvement of Umno hands in the incitement of religious hatred and intolerance over the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the “Allah” controversy, as pointed out by DAP Selangor State Secretary and State Assemblyman for Kampung Tunku, Lau Weng San in his statement on his
blog
.

When Hishammuddin said last Thursday that the government did not prohibit the people from expressing their views over the use of the word “Allah” by the Catholic weekly magazine Herald and Najib defended Hishammuddin’s stand on plans by several organizations to stage demonstrations to protest against the use of the word “Allah” by other religions, many feared the worst and the worst had come to pass.

How was it that Najib and Hishammuddin could not see what the majority of Malaysians could see?

This was also why I had asked whether Najib and Hishammuddin would be so “benign and tolerant” if demonstrations were to be held in support of the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s Dec. 31 judgment that the Herald may use the term “Allah”?

Najib and Hishammuddin should not only apologise for their irresponsible, insensitive and maladroit handling of the “Allah” controversy, the Cabinet should on Wednesday institute an independent inquiry whether Umno elements were behind the spate of religious incitements resulting in the church arson.

The single greatest challenge of the Cabinet on Wednesday is whether it is prepared to make amends for its past failures in  allowing the “Allah” controversy to reach its present combustible point.

The biggest mistake of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet Ministers was to allow the the former  Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to disrupt the religious equilibrium by imposing the ban on the use of Allah by Herald.

Why no other Cabinet Minister, whether from UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, the Sabah and Sarawak parties had spoken up in Cabinet to stop  such a ban because of long common usage of the practice particularly in Sabah and Sarawak predating the formation of Malaysia in 1963 we well as  world-wide in the Middle East and Indonesia?

This mistake was compounded by the haste with which the government appealed against the KL High Court judgment and secured an instant “stay”, without first allowing a full and balanced discussion and decision by the Cabinet last Wednesday on what is the appropriate response of the Barisan Nasional government, representing not only Umno, but also MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional.

The Cabinet on Wednsday should make amends for its failure of leadership on the issue and seek to resolve the “Allah” controversy by convening immediately and urgently an all-party/inter-religious roundtable to restore the inter-religious equilibrium, amity and harmony before the 2007 ban by the Home Ministry on the Catholic Herald on the use of “Allah” to steer the country away from irresponsible incitements of religious discord, intolerance and hatred.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 10 January 2010, 2:04 pm and is filed under
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It Happened Under Your Watch, Najib!

By
M. Bakri Musa

“Don’t point the fingers at UMNO or anyone else,” so declared an angry Najib Razak, responding to a question on last Friday’s bombing of a church. It was pathetic to see him react thus, a body language that bespoke of a sinister kid whose bag of malicious tricks finally exploded in his face.

Najib would like us to believe that those acts of arson were spontaneous combustion. What a pathetic attempt at extricating himself from the ugly and dangerous mess he helped create! His performance was more to convince himself, for he could not possibly convince us.

Here he was after pouring the gasoline feigning surprise when someone finally lit a match. It was Najib who only the day before the incident declared that “Muslim groups were free to protest and express their views about the ‘Allah’ issue.” Just in case that message did not register, he added that the authorities would not stop groups from gathering at mosques and protesting there.  Najib’s cousin and Home Minister, Hishammuddin, echoed the same sentiments.

Obviously somebody took them at their words. It is truly touching to see these two ministers belatedly becoming so protective of citizens’ rights to protest! The pair obviously do not appreciate the subtle but enormous difference between having those rights and the wisdom to exercise them appropriately.

Najib and Hishammuddin must think that Malaysians are a dumb lot not to see through their charade.  It was Hishammuddin who first unhinged that dangerous religious wrecking ball with his banning of the use of the word Allah by that Catholic publication.

Contrast the words and deeds of these two very public purveyors of the “1Malaysia” fantasy to that of the leaders of Pakatan.  In a statement issued through PKR, Anwar Ibrahim declared that “the wish of the non-Muslim community to use the term ‘Allah’ is a positive and welcomed development. We must not let that be an opportunity for those with malicious intent to seize the occasion to portray themselves as champions of Islam.” Amen to that!

Anwar realized only too well the potential dangers of stoking the religious fire. To emphasize his point, Anwar called for restraint and urged his followers not to participate in the planned Friday demonstrations. It was a particularly prescient call. Anwar must have read Najib, Hishammuddin and all the other characters in UMNO well; he knew their mischievous if not evil intent.

Anwar was not alone; leaders of PAS went out of their way not only to discourage the demonstrations but also to defend the rights of the Catholic publication to use the term “Allah.”

I do not know whether Malaysians, specifically Malays, are becoming more sensible or the restraint urged on by Anwar and the others had an impact, for come Friday the demonstrations were definitely muted. The egging-on by UMNO leaders fell flat; instead the rotten eggs landed on the faces of UMNO leaders.

The exemplary stand of the opposition leaders was a stark contrast to the mischievous if not downright dangerous antics of UMNO leaders. The contrast did not end there.  Immediately following the tragic incident, Selangor Pakatan Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim visited the charred church. His was a much needed and very comforting presence, as well as a deeply symbolic gesture. It was a spontaneous yet splendid demonstration of common sense and deep concern for your fellow citizens, as well as of leadership.

Najib was content to condemn the hooliganism from afar, and in the process found himself in an uncomfortably defensive position. He did not visit the damaged church until the next day, but not before he had launched his party’s People’s Champion campaign in preparation for the next elections. That was Najib’s priority.

The only UMNO leader who visited the damaged church right away was its Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin. He conveyed genuine empathy; his condemnation and expression of sympathy were genuine and heartfelt, a welcomed change from the hollowness of Najib’s.

Khairy’s presence made the absence of the other UMNO leaders that much more noticeable, and vulgar. These supposedly more seasoned UMNO leaders could learn a thing or two from Khairy on the importance of showing leadership in moments of crisis.  You cannot teach that; either you have it or you don’t. Obviously Najib does not have it.

Najib’s bag of tricks was so crude that even foreign observers saw through it. “The real reason UMNO is politicizing the issue and pandering to its conservative base,” wrote the Wall Street Journal, “may be to deflect attention from its own political vulnerabilities.”

Najib had every reason to want to change the horrible headlines that were damaging his leadership, the latest being the jet engines stolen from a military base. The theft occurred during Najib’s tenure as Defense Minister but was only recently being made public.

That was not the only serious lapse of security during Najib’s tenure as Defense Minister. There was the spectacular and potentially devastating collapse of the naval base in Pularek just before its official opening.  And to balance things out, there was the lethal attack on the army base in Grik, Perak, by a band of sarong-clad Al Maunah gang members. This recent revelation of the stolen jet engines was merely part of Najib’s trademark pattern of incompetence.

Thus far Najib is determined to repeat that same pattern as Prime Minister, except that he has now progressed beyond incompetence to being sinister.

It is downright malicious for Najib, Hishammuddin and others in UMNO to attempt at dividing Malaysians by needlessly treading on our religious sensitivities. Najib’s “1Malaysia” campaign has barely begun and he has already made a mockery of the ideal.

Specifically, Najib’s attempt to split Muslims in the opposition parties was brazen, crude and potentially destructive.  There were initial intimations that his dirty scheming would work, what with the mainstream media continually harping on the supposed differences among the leaders of PAS and Keadilan over this issue. Najib and others must have been licking their chops, savoring the ‘brilliance’ of their strategy while remaining oblivious of the dangerous forces that they had unleashed.

Thankfully this time around Malaysians are far ahead of their leaders; we did not fall for this ugly and dangerous ploy. I am heartened that even UMNO’s own New Straits Times felt emboldened enough not to defend the administration on this matter.

In a thoughtful commentary, Rehman Rashid not too subtly reminded us of the terrible mess we found ourselves in with this manufactured crisis. Left unstated is the role of our leaders in leading us to be where we are today. Of course it would be too much to expect the mainstream media, specifically NST, to explore that. Under the circumstance, Rehman has gone as far as he could, and I applaud him for that.

In his piece Rehman wrote, “Debilitating dogmas need to be debunked, political parasites purged, and Little Napoleons stripped naked and hounded out of town.” Strong words! At least he has demonstrated that sycophantic editors (or at least their toadying editorials) are out too!

I hope that the positive gestures by Khairy and refreshingly candid commentary by Rehman would move Najib, Hishammuddin and others in UMNO away from their dangerous games. If they do not, then it is time we take the match away before they burn down the country. It is also time we tell them in no uncertain terms that they are not only unfit to lead our great nation but they also pose an imminent danger to Malaysia.

The nation suffered terribly in 1969; that national tragedy was instrumental in elevating Tun Razak to the nation’s top post. We should never risk our nation to another tragic episode under the inept and sinister leadership of his son.

We must not let Najib and his UMNO cahoots continue their bag of dirty tricks upon us. The fire next time might not be so easily contained. The conflagration then could rip us all apart. Let us not even contemplate giving them another chance; we have had enough!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 11 January 2010, 11:11 am and is filed under
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Najib should do what Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman would have done instinctively in such a situation – to convene and preside over an inter-religious roundtable to end the religious dispute over the “Allah” controversy

At 9.43 am I received the following SMS from DAP MP for Rasah and Negri Sembilan State Assembly Opposition Leader Anthony Loke:

“Another church attack in Seremban. SIB Seremban church. Door was damaged. I am at the scene now.
”

This was followed by other SMS from him on the latest dastardly and cowardly sacrilege, viz:

“The name of the church – Siding Injil Borneo. They have BM service. This is the church mentioned by Wong Chun Wai, the fastest growing church in Malaysia.”

“Idris Jala belongs to this church.”

“The church is located less than 1km from the Seremban IPD”

This is the fourth day since the Black Friday of January 8, 2010 when Malaysia’s international reputation as a model of inter-religious peace, understanding and harmony was soiled and sullied, aggravating Malaysia’s international crisis of confidence as a safe haven for investors, tourists and international students as well as undoing all the multi-million ringgit “1Malaysia” propaganda of the past nine months.

However, apart from a RM500,000 allocation by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to help relocate the fire-bombed Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, dire warnings by Najib and the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein not to blame Umno over the religious incitement and church attacks, and the far-from-convincing assurance by Hishammuddin that “the situation is under control”, nothing very concrete had been done to undo the grave damage to nation-building and our international image.

In my media statement yesterday, I had said:

When Najib visited New York end of November to attract American investors and boost trade and investment ties between Malaysia and the United States, he was dogged by Malaysia’s adverse international image, not only by our endemic crime rate but also controversies over moral policing and religious disputes.

Najib found out first-hand that it “takes us months” to clear up adverse international publicity like the case of  Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, even before the implementation of the order for six strokes of the cane for drinking beer.

If “Malaysia Kartika” is googled, it turns out 263,000 results – which is small fry if the “Allah” controversy is googled, as a google search for “Malaysia Allah” turns up 7.1 million finds, proof of the enormity of the damage the current “Allah” controversy is doing to Malaysia’s international image.

The adverse international image arising from the “Allah” controversy and the attacks on the places of worship would probably haunt all Najib’s investments overseas to attract investors, tourists and students in the rest of his premiership!

I issued my statement at about 2 pm yesterday when googling the two words “Malaysia Allah” turned up 7.1 million finds. At 12 noon today googling these two words produced 11.1 million finds or a three-million leap in less than 24 hours!

Najib should do what Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman would have done instinctively in such a situation – to convene and preside over an inter-religious roundtable to end the religious dispute over the “Allah” controversy.

Nobody is impressed by reports that the Barisan Nasional government is on the “damage-control mode”, with plans to dispatch several ministers to hold a series of dialogues between religious leaders.

All eyes will be on this Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, whether it is prepared to rise to the occasion to make amends for its past failures in  allowing the “Allah” controversy to reach its present combustible point.

The biggest mistake of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet Ministers was to allow the the former Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to disrupt the religious equilibrium by imposing the ban on the use of Allah by Herald.

Yesterday I posed the following question:

Why no other Cabinet Minister, whether from UMNO,  MCA, Gerakan, MIC, the Sabah and Sarawak parties had spoken up in Cabinet to stop such a ban because of long common usage of the practice particularly in Sabah and Sarawak predating the formation of Malaysia in 1963 we well as world-wide in the Middle East and Indonesia?

Can the Cabinet answer this question in a statement after its meeting on Wednesday?

The Cabinet’s mistake in 2007 was compounded by the haste with which the government appealed against the KL High Court judgment and secured an instant “stay”, without first allowing a full and balanced discussion and decision by the Cabinet last Wednesday on what was the appropriate response of the Barisan Nasional government, representing not only Umno, but also MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional.

The ball is in the Cabinet’s court at its meeting on Wednesday – whether it is prepared to act boldly  to rescue the nine-month-old “1Malaysia” slogan and policy from having to be relegated to oblivion and to bring to a close the religious discord, hatred and incitement over the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the Allah controversy.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 11 January 2010, 12:36 pm and is filed under
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Hishammuddin, don’t gloat as damage is not just door of a church, but the priceless religious harmony and national unity and billions of ringgit in lost investment, tourism and Malaysia as an international educational hub

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein should not gloat that “the situation is under control” when he said yesterday that “since last night there had been no serious incidents” and that “the only damage I was informed of is to the door of the church (Sidang Injil Borneo church in Seremban)”.

Hishammuddin should know that the damage to the country from the spate of church attacks and arsons in the past few days cannot be dismissed and reduced to just the door of a church, when the casualty is the priceless religious harmony and national unity in the country and the billions of ringgit in lost investments, tourism and Malaysia as an international educational hub with the country losing its place of distinction as a multi-religious country which had been able to maintain an incident-free record in inter-religious conflict.

In the past five days, Malaysia had been in the international news for all the wrong reasons.

It must be very galling that in Indonesia, the two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah are calling on Muslims in the country not to draw inspiration from the Malaysian church attacks.

“Don’t be influenced by the incidents in Malaysia. Don’t attack churches. It is against the teachings of our religion and the laws of our state,” NU deputy chairperson Shalahuddin Wahid was quoted as saying by Koran Jakarta daily on Saturday.

The “Don’t compare apples with oranges” argument presented by the Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam to foreign missions yesterday to explain the government’s ban on the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims when other countries allow the practice lacks persuasive power, whether to interested foreigners or Malaysians.

If anyone is guilty of comparing apples with oranges, it is the UMNO leaders, as for instance likening the use of the term Allah by non-Muslims as equivalent to the cow-head sacrilege in Shah Alam, when the latter act  was perpetrated with religious hatred and venom which is not the case at all with the former.

This is one SMS which I have received:

“You people are the community leader and the word Allah being sang everyday in school. How shall I answer my little kid. We parents have no answer for them.”

The Cabinet cannot shirk responsibility for the crisis of confidence, not only to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan but five decades of Malaysian nation building, and should set up an inter-faith commission tomorrow to restore national and international confidence in Malaysia as a model for inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, 2:38 pm and is filed under
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“Allah” issue: Who started it?

By
Jacqueline Ann Surin

12 Jan 10 | The Nut Graph

LEST we forget, the source of the Allah controversy that resulted in churches, and a Catholic school, being torched and threatened did not begin on the streets. It did not begin with narrow-minded and ignorant Muslim pressure groups threatening to spill blood to assert their sole right to use “Allah”.

Lest we forget, it began with the 1986 government ban on the use by non-Muslims of the word “Allah”, and three others — “solat”, “Kaabah” and “Baitullah”. That’s the Barisan Nasional (BN) government we are talking about, the one that Umno leads.

Hence, lest we forget, the issue of non-Muslims using the word “Allah” would not be an issue at all in Malaysia if the Umno-led government had, to begin with, respected the legitimate rights of other faith communities. The “Allah” issue would not have spiraled into, to quote a friend, suburban terrorism — and it is terrorism when violence and intimidation are used towards achieving one’s goals — if the Home Ministry had not acted to deny the rights of non-Muslim citizens in the first place.

Today, in the aftermath of churches being torched and threatened, we hear Umno leaders, most notably Prime Minister and party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak denying that Umno is responsible for the situation we find ourselves in. We hear BN leaders condemning the violence committed against churches throughout the country. But as a lawyer friend commented on Twitter on 8 Jan 2010: “If you inflame passions, you cannot condemn violence.”

Doing what’s right

We know historically and culturally that firstly, “Allah” predates Islam; and secondly that it is used by non-Muslims in other Muslim countries with no restriction. So, the government is responsible for this narrow-minded and bigoted interpretation of who can use “Allah” in Malaysia. And by continuing to defend its position through a court appeal, the government is the one responsible for perpetuating the notion that Muslim rights will always supersede non-Muslim rights no matter if it is illogical, irrational or unconstitutional.

Are we surprised then that some groups will resort to acts of terrorism in Malaysia in order to assert their superiority at all costs? With the kind of government we have today — one that consistently does little to delegitimise violence in the name of Malay and Muslim superiority — I’m not at all surprised that there are those who think they can get away with using fear and intimidation to strip others of their rights. After all, the government is already doing it.

And even in this particular issue, Najib and his Umno ministers continue to resist doing the right thing instead of kow-towing to and fanning the flames of ignorance and fear among the bigots in our midst.

No more dialogue

In an attempt at damage control, the government and a couple of politicians including Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin have now called for an interfaith dialogue to resolve the issue.

But really, the time for dialogue is over. Meaningful dialogue can only happen when all parties to the dialogue are treated as equals. In the current scenario, I’ll wager that any “dialogue” will involve non-Muslims acceding to the perceived “sensitivities” and assumed rights of Muslims to own copyright to the word “Allah”.

And mind you, the use of the word “Allah” is not a “sensitive” issue, as top Umno leaders and the Umno-backed Utusan Malaysia are fond of restating repeatedly. It’s a copyright issue. And there is nothing at all that gives Muslims in Malaysia, or elsewhere, the copyright to use the word to refer to God and deny others the right to do so.

Indeed, there have been Muslims who demand that Christians should use the word “Tuhan” instead of “Allah” so that Muslims won’t be confused. But if Christians and Sikhs have not been confused thus far from the use of “Allah” in their worship, what makes Malaysian Muslims so special that the government should continue to perpetuate their ignorance about a word that pre-dates Islam?

Additionally, since copyright for the word does not belong to Muslims, what right do Muslim groups and politicians have to demand that non-Muslims can only use “Tuhan” and not “Allah”?

Instead of an interfaith dialogue where non-Muslims are likely to be asked to compromise on their rights to protect the false sensitivities of some Muslims, here’s what I would like to see happen. If Najib’s administration is really sincere about 1Malaysia, I would like to see the government host public forums and seminars for Muslims who may be confused about the word “Allah”.

Really, what’s stopping the Umno-led government from wanting to educate the ummah? Islam, after all, brought enlightenment to those who lived during zaman jahiliyah — the age of ignorance. If Umno is such a champion of Malay Muslims, why is it perpetuating this age of ignorance instead of educating Muslims while simultaneously respecting the rights of non-Muslims? Why is it enforcing the ban and appealing the High Court decision that nullified the ban when it is even stated in the Quran that “Allah” doesn’t just belong to Muslims?

Perchance the home minister, who was from Umno in 1986 when the ban was gazetted, and continues to be from Umno, is ignorant about historical fact and constitutional rights? Or perhaps Umno would rather Muslims remained ignorant? Or perhaps, Umno just doesn’t care about the legitimate rights of non-Muslims no matter the rhetoric about 1Malaysia?

BN-sponsored fascism

The West often likes to describe Malaysia as a “moderate Muslim state”. We are far from it. We have become a fascist state under BN rule. How so? Well, a state that actively and aggressively promotes racial and religious superiority is no different from the Nazi state that asserted that the Aryans were superior to the Jews. And the systematic use of violence, fear and draconian laws to diminish and suppress the legitimate rights of minority groups can only be described as fascist.

The BN will, of course, deny responsibility for the way the “Allah” issue is playing out. The government will provide financial aid to churches to prove to Christians that it does not condone these acts of violence. It will now be open to interfaith forums, where before it banned any such attempts by groups such as Article 11.

Too little too late, I’m afraid. Make no mistake: the BN government started this. And by denying culpability now and stubbornly refusing to do what is right despite the historical, cultural and religious evidence, the BN is responsible for the rising fascism in our midst.

Is this the kind of Malaysia we want to live in?

Is this the kind of government we want?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 10:57 am and is filed under
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Hishammuddin is too truculent and controversial an Umno leader to be a good and professional Home Minister to inspire confidence of all Malaysians that he will not use his ministerial powers for party political ends

“KDN akan ambil tindakan ke atas Anwar – Jika sengaja guna isu agama perkauman berhubung insiden serangan gereja”
 is the Utusan Malaysia headline today, whose real casualty is public confidence in Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as a good and effective Home Minister who could resolve the crisis caused by attacks on places of worship and church arson tarnishing Malaysia’s international reputation as an international example of inter-religious harmony, peace and goodwill.

Hishammuddin is too truculent and controversial an Umno leader to be a good and professional  Home Minister to inspire confidence of all Malaysians that he will not use his ministerial powers for party political ends.

Why is Hishammuddin talking about action against Anwar when he has not been able to take any action in the past five days against anyone for the spate of attacks on places of worship, whether church, surau or Sikh temple which have placed at risk billions of ringgit which might otherwise benefit  Malaysia in the form of foreign  investment, tourism and educational opportunities?

Such truculence and controversial stance from Hishammuddin is all the more unbecoming  when he cannot completely disclaim responsibility for the present deplorable state of affairs because of his irresponsible and insensitive statement last Thursday that the government did not prohibit the people from expressing their views over the use of the word “Allah” by the Catholic weekly magazine Herald.

It is regrettable that Hishammuddin did not make use of his one-hour TV3 Soal Jawab session to admit his mistake and apologise for his irresponsible and insensitive statement last Thursday, but instead, to continue to make truculent statements and baseless accusations against Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

This is the time for Hishammdudin to be a good, effective, non-controversial and professional Home Minister and to stop playing Umno politics.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 1:55 pm and is filed under
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Is Lagu Johor Illegal and Promoting Racial Hatred?

Letter by
Karamchan Naidu

I am a Johor boy. Studied there all my life. Every week for the past 12 years of my primary and secondary schooling I used to sing the Lagu Johor at the school assembly.

The song is as follows;

Allah peliharakan Sultan

‘Nugrahkan dia segala kehormatan

Sihat dan ria, kekal dan makmur

Luaskan kuasa, menaungkan kami

Rakyat dipimpini berzaman lagi

Dengan Merdeka bersatu hati

Allah berkati Johor

Allah selamatkan Sultan.

The government and more recently, the Sultan of Selangor has said the usage of the word Allah by non Muslims are illegal and wrong. If this is so, how come I, as a non Muslim, was forced to sing this song every week?

The word Allah is engraved in my mind as reference to the Almighty God.

Am I now in a position to sue the Johor State government for encouraging me to do something illegal? Mind you, Johor is the BN stronghold, so, how come the government is also not banning the Lagu Johor?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 11:03 am and is filed under
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Praying for peace is not enough!

By
Azly Rahman

There is a Buddhist lesson in how we ought to perceive Malaysia’s emerging style of terrorism.

When one is bleeding after being shot by an arrow, the first step is not to look for the culprit that shot the arrow and pondering why was it shot but to pull out the arrow from the victim’s body and to quickly put a stop to the bleeding. This is what Siddharta Gautama would teach as crisis intervention.

Malaysians might never know who carried out the series of church bombings, nor what organisations are behind them, and if there is a higher order involved in the long-term planning of terror.

Postmodern debates will be a tedious exercise on whether this or that name of a Universal God can be copyrighted or whether a pastor or an archbishop can be pushed to the ground or physically attacked for using the forbidden name of the Universal God during their sermons.

Malaysians can only speculate if the reign of terror they are entering will lead to more bombings, arson, and even attacks that will take innocent lives away or even, God forbids, people are actually willing to die in the name of religion.

Governments are voted into power to protect citizens so that life, liberty, and the pursuit of basic needs and next, justice and safety and security, and finally self-realisation and civility can be pursued.

What is left in the self-worth of a government when swift action to protect property and people cannot be carried out?

When churches are no longer safe and Christians will live in fear over their right to worship the Universal God they are accustomed to by name – when these are happening, why should peace-loving people of Malaysia of any faith continue to keep the current regime in power?

Buddhist solution

In these last few days of seemingly sectarian violence, Malaysians want to know how trustworthiness is the government in using it’s machinery in making sure that the first order of the day is to be responsible and systematic enough to “pull the arrow out of the bleeding man and to quickly heal him” and next, to prevent more arrows from being shot.

Seemingly this Buddhist solution to a Christian-Muslim dilemma will have to be the logical step the regime will need to take.

In America, the mere receipt of a phone call of a terrorist threat will send the police, the bomb disposal squad, the fire engine, and perhaps a SWAT team to the scene to cordon the place in a “lock-down situation”.

The local government is strong and the police is highly efficient and every step is taken to ensure damage control, to provide both the perception and reality of providing safety and enforcing the law.

The citizens of the municipality or township pays high taxes that pay the salary of the police, the firemen, and also the teachers. As such, they expect their neighborhood to be safe in return. That is one key performance of a civil society.

In America, if there are even talks of one attempting to bomb a mosque, a fleet of patrol cars would be at the scene with helicopters hovering above.

Of course American democracy and the practice of it still has its flaws but in the case of providing assurance that things will be fine, I have seen numerous instances of the efficiency of the law enforcement agency.

Deploy volunteers…

Malaysians must demand that the churches are constantly kept safe and the government must also ensured that the police force will not come up with lame excuses that they are short handed to do the job.

If needed, they should deploy the cadet police, youths trained in the National Service, Rela volunteers, and any citizen watch groups such as the Rukun Tetangga to ensure that terrorists, perhaps paid handsomely, don’t throw Molotov cocktails into houses of worship.

Arrest the terrorists as fast as we can if we claim that our police force is one of the best in the world, and investigate who or what is behind these demonic acts.

We are in a crisis that might be a prelude to something bigger and will have us see our cities burning while Neros amongst us play the fiddle. We cannot allow this magnitude of violence to continue to spread.

We might even one day have, the Universal God forbids, suicide bombers blowing themselves up in our marketplaces or the pasar malam (night markets), if we do not act upon this fast and furiously.

We must stop all rallies that incite hatred and takes action against newspapers that invoke the ghosts of May 13, 1969.

Let our police and other law enforcement agencies be seen in public, patrolling the streets, the kampongs, the churches and other houses of worship – so that the rakyat that voted for this government will at least feel safe.

That was the sense of security Americans felt as the country was healing from the Sept 11, 2001 attacks – when two ‘arrows’ were plunged into the Twin Towers.

The healing process was painful one for Americans but healed they were and a new agency, The Department of Homeland Security, there was.

In Malaysia, what is the worth of a government if I cannot provide all the means necessary to guarantee safety.

Malaysians might as well vote in a new regime – that will not only ensure that no arrows will be shot and healing is in the form of administering holistic and preventive medicine.

That ought to be the solution. We cannot allow demons to rule, nor demolitions to define the democracy we dearly yearn for.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 10:59 am and is filed under
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Use of ‘Allah’ could cause confusion among Malay Muslims and encourage religious conversion, which is illegal in Malaysia is a political gimmick by UMNO

By
Dr Chen Man Hin
, DAP life adviser

THE CLAIM BY THE HOME MINISTRY SECRETARY GENERAL MAHMOOD ADAM TO FOREIGN DIGNITARIES THAT THE USE OF ALLAH BY CHRISTIANS COULD CAUSE CONFUSION AMONG MUSLIMS IN MALAYSIA AND ENCOURAGE RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS, WHICH IS ILLEGAL IN MALAYSIA, HAS DAMAGED THE REPUTATION, INTEGRITY AND SINCERITY OF MALAYSIAN MUSLIMS.

Most Malaysian muslims, including Anwar Ibrahim and Hadi Awang will not share the sentiments of the Home Ministry official. Malaysian muslims and christians have been living together for several centuries, in relative peace and harmony, and have progressed and prospered.

In a plural religious society, minor frictions may exist, but these were kept to a minimum by inter-faith dialogues. However,there exist underlying fears that the muslims might want to islamise the country and suspicion that christians might want to convert muslims to their faith.

Muslims and christians have been living side by side in this country for centuries, and they all pray to Allah who is the God to christians, muslims and jews.

In Sabah and Sarawak there are christian natives who have been praying to Allah for centuries, in the same manner that  jews, christians and muslims have been praying to Allah for centuries in the Middle East. Incidentally, the word Allah is arabic for God.

FOREIGN DIGNITARIES AND THE WHOLE WORLD ARE PUZZLED WHY THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT IS OPPOSING THE USE OF ‘ALLAH’ BY CHRISTIANS IN MALAYSIA.

The whole muslim world in the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia allow the free use of allah. The odd man out is Malaysia.

The natives of Sarawak and Sabah are also unhappy that they are being deprived of the use of Allah, a custom which has been handed down by their for centuries past, very much before the formation for UMNO and the independence of Malaysia.

In view of this, it is obvious that the Malaysian government has no leg to stand on on this issue. Their lame excuse is that to allow the use of Allah by Christians would confuse Muslim Malays who could then be easily converted to Christianity.

Umno’s confusion theory is an insult to Malaysian Muslims who are devout muslims and true to their religion, and do not change their faith. If the use of Allah by non-muslims could confuse muslims, how is it that islam could thrive so rapidly while living with the jews and christians in the Middle East?

The muslims of Malaysia should not fall prey to the falsehoods spread by Umno. Their confusion theory is conceived to further their political survivial, and not for the benefit of muslims.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 9:25 am and is filed under
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