Early Skirmishes Of A Malay Civil War

by
M. Bakri Musa

Recent attacks on churches are not a sign of an impending religious war in Malaysia.  There is no doubting that in a plural society like ours those incendiary incidents could easily explode out of control.  That notwithstanding, these recent ugly acts are merely sub-plots of a much larger and more dangerous drama that is now unfolding, one that is far more consequential and destructive.  These are the early skirmishes of an explosive, protracted and very ugly civil war among Malays.

            There is a definite pattern between these recent events and earlier ones involving only Malays, specifically the whipping of a young mother for consuming beer and the call for apostasy to be a capital offense.  Connect the dots and you have a Malay community in deep conflict.

            What struck me most with the recent spate of church attacks were the relatively muted responses from the victims.  This reflected not merely a charitable “turning the other cheek” reaction, rather an intuitive realization by non-Muslims that they were not the target but merely innocent victims of a much larger conflict raging under the surface:  a vicious Malay civil war.  Those poor Christians were caught in a cross-fire in a conflict they did not realize was going on around them.

            Contrast the reactions of non-Muslims to those of Malays.  No, the Malay vitriol was not directed at non-Muslims rather to fellow Malays.  On one side were those who view those attacks as debasing our great faith, and the other, those who consider them as the purest jihad.  When commentators use epithets like “idiots,” “racists” and “pengkhianat” (traitors), we know this is a serious matter, beyond the reach of sensible dialogs.

            The issue of the use of the word “Allah” is merely a symptom.  Today it is over that, yesterday over Ketuanan Melayu versus Ketuanan Rakyat, while much earlier it was the use of English to teach science and mathematics.  Tomorrow, God (or Allah) knows what else.  Already some of the sultans are weighing in on this Allah issue.  Expect another battle soon over the sanctity of the sultan’s titah (command) versus a court decision.

            I do not mean to belittle the seriousness of those arson attacks on churches.  Indeed it was hard to describe the sinking feeling in the pit of the my stomach as I watched CNN News, and the ticker tape kept blip-ping the latest news break, “Fourth Church Attacked!” and then, “Fifth Church Arson Attack,” and now the eleventh, and realizing that those were happening not in war-torn Lebanon or strife-ridden Sudan but in our own “Truly Asia” Malaysia.

            A more sickening feeling was seeing Home Minister Hishammuddin smugly ‘reassuring’ us that everything was ‘under control.’  That was after the third or fourth arson attack.  He could hardly refrain from patting himself on the back for (presumably) a job well done.  His “government’s commitment to maintain peace” had averted a major religious catastrophe, he asserted.  Obviously to him, the damage wrecked was only the burnt buildings and scorched church doors.

            Somebody ought to tell Hishammuddin to wipe the grin off his face, and make him realize that the enormous damage wrecked upon the nation went well beyond the physical defacement of those churches.  Those can be readily fixed, with or without government grants.  With simple technologies like surveillance cameras, those attacks could also be prevented.

            Hishammuddin could not see beyond his broad nose the inevitable enormous economic fallout, as in scaring away potential tourists and investors.  Even a taxi driver realized that, but not Hishammuddin.  If he cannot make that connection, I have little faith in his assurance of “everything under control.”

Deeply Polarized Malay Society

Bluntly put, what we are witnessing today are the external manifestations of a deeply divided and conflicted Malay society.  This divide is already irreversible and unbridgeable; meaning, expect continuing turmoil with increasingly ugly and brutal skirmishes.

            Civil wars are always much more brutal and difficult to resolve.  Look at Indonesia.  The Aceh insurrection, pitting essentially ethnic Malays against fellow ethnic Malays who are also Muslims, was more protracted, more vicious, and more difficult to resolve then the Irian Jaya conflict of the 1960s and 70s, or the anti-Chinese pogroms of the 1950s.  The scars of those later conflicts, which began way after the Aceh rebellion, have all healed, but the wounds of Aceh are still raw, ready to flare up at any moment.

            I do not anticipate Malaysia having another May 1969 race riot.  Malaysians have come a long away since those dark days.  Non-Malays in particular realized that the constraints of the NEP notwithstanding, they could still thrive in Malaysia.  There are enough examples of successes to discredit those who would assert otherwise.

            For Malays, gone too were the days when we would meekly and almost as a reflex follow our leaders or their dictates.  When they tell us that the Christians have nefarious motive in using the word “Allah,” we scoffed at our leaders.  Our leaders – hereditary, political, religious, and others – face unprecedented cynicism and scrutiny, and rightly so especially after they have failed us all these years.

            What Malaysia faces today is an entirely new and novel challenge:  conflict among Malays.  We have never experienced that.  We are used to considering ‘outsiders’ as enemies, beginning with the colonialists and later the ‘pendatangs’ (newcomers).  We therefore cannot fathom much less anticipate this new ‘internal’ danger; it has yet to enter our collective consciousness.  This lapse is most noticeable among our leaders; hence their continuing to egg on their followers, oblivious of the dangers.

            Malay leaders have also failed to prepare us for the modern age.  Instead of acknowledging and learning from their mistakes, these leaders resort to the oldest tricks, of creating phantom external enemies.  Today the new enemies are those who would infringe upon our faith, or so our leaders would like us to believe.

            There are still sufficient numbers of Malays who believe in rallying around their leaders especially during times of crisis, real or manufactured, the old circling-of-the-wagon instinct.  These leaders, specifically in UMNO, are bankrupt of ideas on how to improve our lot.  These manufactured enemies help divert our anger away from these leaders, so they hope.  Their frequent and misplaced calls for Malay ‘unity’ are also part of this strategy.

            As a society we have not learned to disagree agreeably.  Again this is the deficiency of our leaders for they too have not demonstrated the ability to disagree among themselves civilly.  The Mahathir-Anwar disagreement for example, nearly ripped our society apart, and we have yet to recover from that.

            Our leaders lack the intellectual capacity or leadership qualities needed to solve the myriad problems facing our people, from the lack of jobs to rampant crimes, from our failing schools to corrupt institutions.  About the only activity they are capable of is to engage in such puerile activities as worrying how the Christians address God.

            There is not much that we can do about these leaders; they will continue their ineffective and destructive strategies until they are relieved of their leadership positions.  In a democracy, that power resides only with the people.  Thus the more we can let our people see through the hollowness of these leaders, and the hoax they are attempting to perpetrate upon us, the faster will these leaders reach their day of reckoning.

            In these days of Internet, twitters, blogs and cell phones, the avenues for reaching and educating our people on the emptiness of our leaders are limitless.  Thus it behooves us to enlighten our people, and we do this one person at a time.  We need not convert everyone, only a sufficient critical mass.  Once we reach that, the momentum will carry us through.

            Only by getting rid of these incompetent and useless leaders could we ever hope of finding more enlightened ones who could diligently work through our many problems.  This is the only route.  The alternative would lead us to a civil war and a path of continued destruction.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 January 2010, 11:38 am and is filed under
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The DAP Ipoh Resolution

The DAP Ipoh Resolution:

MUAFAKAT TRANSFORMASI MALAYSIA

(adopted by the DAP National Conference 2010 in Ipoh on Sunday, 17th January 2010)

PREAMBLE

That the nation is waiting for a profound change is beyond doubt and that it is now a fact that the government-of-the-day is incapable of changing the intolerably arbitrary, self-serving, unjust, cruel and corrupt system of governance;

That the world does not stand still to wait for Malaysia, and we risk watching Asia changing and its economy growing not as an active participant but as bystander if we do not catch up fast;

That to save Malaysian governance from further deterioration, the economy from further plunder, and the people from further injustices is a shared imperative;

That the Democratic Action Party (DAP) therefore, in partnership with other Pakatan Rakyat parties and in cooperation with civil society, is determined to transform Malaysia through a new muafakat (consensus)

by reversing distortions and corruptions of the Constitution, the rule of law and the system of governance,

by restoring mutual respect amongst Malaysia’s multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious peoples,

by renewing trust in public institutions and in the security services,

by rejuvenating the economy

by conserving the environment,

by revamping the education system, and

by re-establishing hope in our future as a nation;

The DAP National Delegates gathered here in Ipoh, Perak, on 17th January 2010, at the turn of the decade and at a time of a sustained national crisis to chart a new future for Malaysia which departs from the expiring status quo, and thus hereby resolves to:

PRINCIPLES

REAFFIRM
 our noble aspiration since the formation of the party to create a nation that puts MALAYSIAN FIRST, based on common universal values of democracy, freedom, justice, integrity and human dignity, that ends divisions based on race, religion, creed and gender, and that unites all Malaysians

to face the rapidly changing world as one people;

REASSURE
 the people that a society based on common universal values of MALAYSIAN FIRST will not marginalise any community or individual and aid all who are in need;

REITERATE
 our dedication towards establishing social democracy in Malaysia with social justice, equal opportunity, solidarity, peace and sustainability as its core values, with an additional emphasis on the

question of intergenerational justice;

PLEDGE
 our uncompromising dedication to efficient, effective, humane, clean and ethical governance based on the principles of Competency, Accountability, and Transparency (CAT);

TRIBUTES

RECOGNISE
 the contributions and sacrifices of DAP leaders and members during the dark, long, lonely political stagnation for the most parts of the party’s existence that kept the flame of democracy alive;

EXPRESS
 our deepest condolence to the family of DAP political aide Sdr. Teoh Beng Hock who died in the custody of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on 16th July 2009 and for which no words could describe our sorrow and anger over the first, and hopefully the last, political death in DAP’s history,

even while the Federal Government continues to deny the cause of his death;

DECLARE
 support for, and solidarity with, the people of Perak and the DAP Perak leadership and members, together with our comrades in the Pakatan Rakyat, who have persevered in the face of the challenges brought about by the despicable, undemocratic and illegal power grab initiated by elements in

the Federal Government, CONDEMN those who engineered and facilitated the coup d’état, and

SUPPORT
 party leaders and members who are victimised by the Federal Government through its abuse of institutions such as the civil service, police, MACC and judiciary, having been arrested, investigated, charged and persecuted or facing such risks under various draconian laws such as the Sedition Act, Internal

Security Act (ISA), Police Act etc;
EXPRESS
 support and solidarity to these comrades, including National Chairman, Secretary-General, National Organising Secretary, National Publicity Secretary, Members of Parliament and State Assemblies and various national, state and branch leaders and members, for their

unwavering stand and quest for justice, democracy and fairness for all Malaysians, in line with the struggle of the DAP;

COMMITMENTS

RESTATE
 our commitment to the consolidation of Pakatan Rakyat to provide a viable alternative to Barisan Nasional and form the next Federal Government based on Pakatan Rakyat’s Common Policy Framework “Muafakat Rakyat”;

DECLARE
 our support for the DAP Central Executive Committee to make the party a natural choice for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion and creed;

REAFFIRM
 our support for the State Governments of which DAP is a part to carry out the reforms and transformations that Malaysians long for;

MALAYSIAN FIRST

STRESS
 that true national unity can only be achieved if the nation practices the spirit of Malaysian First, which professes common universal values and provides for equal opportunity for all, and, in this context, strongly CONDEMN the cynical manipulation of the “Allah” issue by UMNO and the unfortunate religious violence hitherto unimaginable;

URGE
 all Pakatan Rakyat parties to pursue steadfastly a new muafakat amongst Malaysians to herald a second nation-building process and to distance ourselves from UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s myopic racial formulations, and, in this context,
CONDEMN
 the institutionalised racism propagated by Biro Tata Negara and
REITERATE
 our position that the Bureau must be abolished;

EXPRESS
 concern that Malaysian citizens in Sabah and Sarawak have been marginalized and left behind in most aspects and
VOW
 to bridge the gap between the two sides of the South China Sea and improve the wellbeing of all;

INSTITUTIONAL RENEWAL

RECALL
 that DAP has been at the forefront of making the Malaysian Parliament a First World Parliament, and
RESTATE
 our campaign for best practices in the Parliament and State Assemblies to ensure that governments are Competent, Accountable and Transparent;

RECALL
 that one of DAP’s key platforms is the democratisation of local governance in which local election is an integral part of the platform and
URGE
 the Federal Government to hold such elections before, or concurrent with, the next general election;

DECLARE
 our unwavering commitment to the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary as being essential to any functioning society and
RESTATE
 our call for sweeping judicial reforms to stop the rot of the Judiciary since the crisis of 1988;

NOTE
 that clean, free and fair election is the most elementary requirement of a democracy and
DECLARE
 our support for the demands stated by the
BERSIH
 Coalition for Clean and Fair Election, including the calls for a new and clean electoral roll, automatic voter registration and the lowering of the voting age to 18 years old;

CALL
 for reform to correct lopsided Federal-State relations, especially in terms of financial resources and to ensure that State Governments can exercise adequately the mandates given to them by voters;

NOTE
 that public security is the bedrock of trust in any society, and a society cannot function without trust, both in each other and in public institutions, remaining
COGNIZANT OF
 the escalating crime rate threatening anyone anywhere;
REITERATE
 our call for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconducts Commission (IPCMC) and the implementation of the 125 recommendations of the Royal Commission Report of 2005, and
REITERATE
 our call for the resignation of Tan Sri Musa Hassan as Inspector-General of Police for failing to institute reform during his tenure which also coincided with the rampant rise of crimes;

DEPLORE
 the malaise of corruption which is now cancerous – proven by Malaysia’s continuous fall in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index – and, in this context,
REITERATE
 the call that a Royal Commission be established to investigate claims that the Government lost RM100 billion in various schemes and manipulations during the tenure of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad;

CALL
 for a non-partisan civil service and armed forces reform to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the respective services, as well as the remuneration packages for the personnel, with the aim to lift their morale, integrity and performance;

CALL ON
 the Ministry of Defense to make public a Defense White Paper to explain its strategic visions and broad policies to facilitate rational public and parliamentary scrutiny over its procurement choices, programmes, and expenditure; and, in this context, URGE the Federal Government to establish an independent inquiry into the case of the missing fighter jet engines;

EXPRESS
 shock at the deplorable and inhumane treatment of the indigenous communities in the country, including the lack of proper socio-economic assistance to the Orang Asli communities in the Peninsula and the alleged rape of Penan girls and women in Sarawak, and
CALL
 for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Welfare and Development of the Indigenous Communities in Malaysia to present a comprehensive report with recommendations on safeguarding the well-being and ways of life of the indigenous communities while ensuring that they are given the opportunity to participate in the development and progress of the country in general;

HIGH AND HUMANE GROWTH

EMPHASISE
 our intentions contained in DAP’s Alternative Budget 2010 to democratise Malaysia’s economy through fiscal decentralisation, restructuring and reallocation of resources, and empowerment and enablement of Malaysians, so that the potential of Malaysians can be unleashed for high growth;

NOTE
 that the Malaysian economy is now caught in a low-skill, low-productivity and low-wage toxic mix with 60 percent of Malaysian families living with a monthly household income of less than RM3,000 while UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s cronies continue to fill their personal coffers to overflowing at the expense of

the public; and, in this context, REITERATE our stance that if Pakatan Rakyat takes control of the Federal Government, travel on the North South Highway will be made free within seven years;

COMMIT
 steadfastly to practice open tender in public spending, cut wasteful expenditure, make Petronas finances accessible to the public via parliamentary scrutiny, and thus reduce the need to tax Malaysians more, and, in this context,
STATE
 our opposition to the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will inevitably burden Malaysians more and which can be avoided at this stage if wasteful spending is cut;

RECOGNISE
 the importance of small and medium-size industries and businesses in providing employment to Malaysians as well as driving innovation in our economy and
COMMIT
 to institute a friendlier business environment for such businesses and industries;

SUPPORT
 the implementation of a minimum wage system as it is one of the effective policy measures that Malaysia can use to break free from the low-wage vicious cycle, and also
REITERATE
 the importance of an “education revolution” to move our labour force to a high-skill, high-productivity mould;

RECALL
 that DAP, of all political parties in Malaysia, has the highest number of female elected representatives and
COMMIT
 to a 30 percent women participation target while also
PROMOTING
 the increase of the national female labour participation rate from the current 46 percent to 60 percent within 10 years, with the improvement in the provision of various services that help women in the workforce such as childcare and aged care so that women become the drivers of human capital growth in the next phase of our economy;

RECALL
 that DAP, of all political parties in Malaysia, has the highest number of elected reps from among those below 40 years old, and
NOTE
 that 75 percent of Malaysia’s population are below 40 years old and most of them are categorised as youth; and also
COMMIT
 to improving the conditions for the young and young families in terms of jobs, education opportunities, and housing so to unleash their full potentials, and thus enable the nation to grow with greater intensity;

GREEN AGENDA

NOTE
 that climate change and issues relating to the environment have become important in recent years, EXPRESS our disappointment at the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference 2009 and URGE the Malaysian Government to show leadership and exemplary behavior in ensuring a sustainable world economy;

RECOGNISE
 that the Penang State Government and subsequently the Selangor State Government are at the forefront of the “No Plastic Campaign;”

RECOGNISE
 that energy efficiency is the key to the Green Agenda, thus
OPPOSE
 the construction of the RM10 billion 650km-long Bakun Dam Undersea Cable to supply electricity from Sarawak, given that the Electricity Reserve Capacity for Peninsula Malaysia is at 52 percent, which is ridiculously high by any standard, and instead
PROPOSE
 that the reserve margin of Bakun be channeled to Sabah to resolve energy issues there without having to build coal-fired plants, and, in this context,
CALL
 for a total revamp of the Independent Power Producers sector;

PROPOSE
 a comprehensive national review that looks into the long-term environmental and social costs of the subsidies given to Proton and other national car producers, approved permits for imported cars, as well as that of the road-construction lobby, and the high road fatalities and accidents; as well as the need to improve the public transport system to boost the use of the system, hence enhancing overall energy efficiency;

COMMIT
 to active protection, conservation and rehabilitation of forest, water-catchment areas, wet lands reclamation according to sound and environmentally friendly guidelines, and
CONDEMN
 the greed-motivated actions of the encroachment of forest reserves, illegal game hunting and wildlife trade, and
REAFFIRM
 our commitment to put the environment, ecology and human life first before anything else;

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

REJECT
, in line with the positions of the Socialist International, the “casino capitalism” characteristic of the international financial market and
URGE
 the Malaysian Government to call for structural reforms to avoid and avert the next possible crisis;

REGRET
 the failure of ASEAN leadership on the part of the Malaysian Government in resolving the long standing crisis in Myanmar and
URGE
 the Malaysian Government to ensure that the Human Rights Mechanism promised in the ASEAN Charter will have a forth positive impact;

OPPOSE
 all forms of terrorism and injustices and
EXPRESS
 solidarity with victims displaced by conflicts all over the world, including the people of Palestine;

COMMIT
 that if DAP and its partners form the next government, Malaysia will rise as an important regional power that advocates principled positions based on the values of justice, international solidarity and peace;

PARTY ORGANISATION

REQUIRE
 DAP leaders, elected representatives and appointed officials in the various state authorities that Pakatan Rakyat governs to constantly be cognizant of the party’s ideology, platforms, visions and missions, as well as programmes in their quest to bring substantive change to the country through the mandate given to them, and to be reminded to meet the high expectations of the voters;

RECOGNISE
 the importance of strengthening the party’s organisation at the parliamentary level in preparation for the next general election;

COMMIT
 that the party supports fully the efforts of the Sawarak and Perak State Committees in preparation for the next state elections;

DIRECT
 leaders and members at all levels of the party to gear up in preparation for the next general election which will decide the fate of our beloved nation over the next decade and the next generation.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 18 January 2010, 1:14 pm and is filed under
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AG Gani Patail should initiate contempt proceedings against Nazri while MCA, Gerakan, MIC, Sabah/ Sarawak BN and other Umno Ministers should repudiate Nazri’s stand in Cabinet tomorrow that it is too late for inter-religious dialogue to resolve the “Allah” controversy

I was completely astounded and outraged by de factor Law Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’ statement yesterday that it is too late for dialogue to resolve the “Allah” controversy, which had sparked a spate of arson and vandalism against churches, surau and a Sikh temple since the beginning of the year.

Nazri reiterated that it was not the fault of the government but that of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Kuala Lumpur, Reverend Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam who had brought the matter to court.

If anybody is to be blamed for the Herald litigation, it is the government which had allowed the Home Ministry to violate two decades of religious equilibrium on the issue with its ban in 2007 on the use of the word “Allah” in the Catholic weekly, forcing on the Roman Catholic church the final remedy and recourse of the courts.

But it is what Nazri said about the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan and her judgment which completely floored rational and reasonable Malaysians, as no Law Minister or a de facto one had done more than Nazri to attack the independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism of a judge when his first task should be
 to start the very difficult and arduous process to restore national and international confidence in the Malaysian judiciary after suffering more than two decades of usurpation, emasculation and rape by the Executive.

Nazri launched a most improper, unwarranted and unprecedented attack on Lau, not only saying that her Dec. 31 decision was wrong, but also maligning and besmirching her judicial  competence and role by declaring that she is not a Muslim and had improperly ruled over a matter that concerned the “akidah” (faith) of the Muslim community.

This is the first time that I know of  a judge being attacked on the ground of her religious credentials  rather than her judicial competence and temper – and coming from the de facto Law Minister, it  must be regarded most seriously as a totally  unacceptable attack on the independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism of the judiciary.

Nazri said: “You must study the psyche of the Malays. The Chinese can be Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, no problem, but the Malays, the race itself is defined in the Constitution.

“Who is a Malay? In the Constitution, a Malay is one: a Muslim; two: speaks Malay and three: practises Malay culture. In the Constitution, there can’t be a Malay who is not a Muslim. Anything at all, any suspicion will confuse the ordinary Malays. They become so protective because Malay and Islam cannot be separate.”

What is Nazri trying to say? Is he laying down a new law that in multi-religious and multi-racial Malaysia where the Constitution recognizes Islam as the official religion but guarantees freedom of religion for all other faiths, non-Muslim and non-Malay judges must be excluded from adjudicating certain cases like the Herald “Allah” case allegedly because it concerns (i) the “akidah” of the Muslim community; and (ii)the Malay psyche?

Fifty-two years after Merdeka and 46 years after the formation of Malaysia, is the country going backwards with  a further dichotomy of the judicial system where there is new division of cases which is to be adjudicated solely by judges who fulfill the two conditions of being Muslim and Malay  because they fall into the category of (i) akidah of the Muslim community; and (ii) the Malay psyche?

Will the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court – should be the appeal on the Herald’s “Allah” case reach that level –  be constituted solely with Muslim and Malay judges to take into account Nazri’s extraordinary objections?

These are dangerous perversion and subversion of the Constitution.

Nazri has clearly committed grave contempt of court on more than one ground. Is the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail prepared to act in the public and national interest to institute immediate committal proceedings to cite Nazri for contempt?

The time has also come for MCA, Gerakan, MIC, Sabah/Sarawak and the other Umno Ministers to declare their stand on Nazri’s constitutional perversion.

MCA, Gerakan, MIC, Sabah/Sarawak Barisan Nasional and other Umno Ministers should endorse Nazri or get the Cabinet tomorrow to repudiate Nazri’s stand that it is too late for inter-religious dialogue to resolve the “Allah” controversy.

Let them at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow either endorse or repudiate Nazri’s position that:

Reject inter-religious dialogue as the route to resolve the “Allah” controversy on the ground that it is “now too late”;

Dismiss Datuk Lau Bee Lan’s Dec. 31 decision and judgment on the ground that she is not a Muslim, had improperly decided over a matter that concerned the “akidah” of the Muslim community as well as disregarded the Malay psyche.

Implication that there must be a new dichotomy in the judiciary with a new category of cases concerning (i) the Muslim “akidah” and (ii) the Malay psyche which must be adjudicated solely by Muslim and Malay judges.

On the principle of collective Ministerial responsibility, no Minister can now keep quiet on this issue with its many far-reaching socio-economic and nation-building repercussions.

What is the use of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and other Ministers talking about inter-religious dialogue and council if the Herald controversy is to be completely excluded from any proposed religious dialogue on the ground that “it is too late”, when it should the first priority item of the agenda of any inter-religious dialogue or council to demonstrate that the government is serious and sincere to want to make them work and succeed?

In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Najib’s 1Malaysia is now hanging in the balance, facing its most critical test – whether it could withstand the severe test of the  “Allah” controversy and salvage its credibility in the first 12 months of the Najib premiership.

If the first year of the Najib premiership is to see Malaysia riven by even more new divisions at any time in the nation’s history, whether a land divided by the use of the word “Allah”,  allowed to be used by Christians in East Malaysia but not in West Malaysia or a judiciary where there is a new category of cases concerning (i) the akidah of Muslims and (ii) the Malay psyche which could only be adjudicated by Muslim and Malay judges, then it is time for Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan to be given a decent burial before the completion of Najib’s first anniversary as the country’s sixth Prime Minister in April this year.

Are there any Cabinet Ministers who are prepared to resign and quit the Cabinet and Najib government on a matter of principle if the Cabinet refusesd to repudiate and dissociate itself from Nazri’s stand?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 19 January 2010, 11:45 am and is filed under
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Silent majority of Muslims Malaysians must speak up against the ban on use of Allah by Christians to save Malaysia

By
Dr Chen Man Hin
, DAP life advisor

THE SILENT MAJORITY OF MALAYSIAN MUSLIMS MUST SPEAK UP AGAINST THE RULING TO BAN CHRISTIANS FROM INVOKING THE NAME OF ALLAH

The government ban on the use of ALLAH by Christians does not have the support of the majority of Malaysian Muslims. as a matter of fact, my impression is that the Muslim ummah in Malaysia are by and large solid citizens loyal both to the country and to their religion Islam, and do not buy the argument that the use of Allah by Christians would confuse the ummah.

PAS and PKR leaders like Anwar Ibrahim and Hadi Awang have openly stated that the use of Allah by christians is correct and allowed by Islam.

Anwar has said “With regard to the use of the word ALLAH, it cannot be disputed that Arabic speaking Muslims, Christians and Jews have collectively prayed to God as Allah throughout the last fourteen centuries.”

Muslim scholars like Dr Yusuj al-Qaradawi and Sheikh Dr Wahban Az-Zuhaili concurred that Allah is a ‘terminology shared with the adherents of the Abrahamic faith –  Jews, Christians and Muslims. That the usage of the word Allah has never been the monopoly of the Islamic creed”

In the Middle East, a noted author Anthony Shadid wrote in the NY Times that ‘the word Allah infuses virtually every salutation, greeting and condolence, spoken upon departure and arrival, and at birth and death, a centuries-long refinement of mutual social exchanges that ensures no moment is awkward. INSHALLAH, GOD WILLING, everyone says about everything in the future tense, from an appointment the next day to the sun rising in the east’

SO FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF HISTORY, CULTURE AND ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE, THE USAGE OF ALLAH IS A NON-ISSUE. THE MUSLIM WORLD CONSIDER IT AS A NON-ISSUE. WORLD OPINION CONCURS, AND THEY ASK ‘WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?’

It is Umno that is kicking up the fuss for their own political motives. They claim that allowing Christians the usage of Allah would confuse the Malay Muslims. The majority of Muslims in the country do not buy the Umno argument, for the simple reason that Jews, Christians and Muslims have called the Almighty as Allah for centuries, and the Muslims have not been confused, but have gathered strength and influence over the centuries. In the same way both Muslims and Christians in Malaysia will pray to Allah and ask for peace, harmony and prosperity.

If Umno persists in imposing the ban on christians, Malaysia will be the laughing stock in the Muslim world as well as to the world in general. The world will not look kindly on a country that denies religious freedom to its citizens. Foreign investors will stay away for fear there will be disturbances, and this will affect the economy, which will affect the daily lives of the people.

THE UMMAH IN MALAYSIA SHOULD REJECT THE RIDICULOUS BAN ON THE USAGE OF ALLAH BY CHRISTIANS. THE SILENT MAJORITY OF RIGHT THINKING MUSLIMS MUST SPEAK UP FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND MOVE INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF A MODERN GLOBAL WORLD WHERE THE PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT RACES AND RELIGIONS LIVE IN PEACE, HARMONY AND PROGRESS.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 19 January 2010, 11:36 am and is filed under
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There can be no successful new economic model for Malaysia without a credible and meaningful new governance model

Over the weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the government would announce the new economic model for the country within a month.

When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became the sixth Prime Minister in April last year, he announced that the government would introduce a new economic model for the country to ensure that Malaysia makes a quantum leap to escape the middle-income trap to become a high-income country through greater emphasis on innovation, creativity and competitiveness.

In May last year, the Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the new economic model would be announced in the second half of the year.

Why has this timeline for the new economic model been postponed until this year when according to Husni’s own admission, the country has already lost a decade in economic stagnation?

Malaysia has not only lost one decade in economic stagnation but four decades in failing to fully realize the economic potential of the rich natural and human resources of the country, resulting in Malaysia losing out not only to other countries including Singapore, Taiwan and  South Korea but at risk of being overtaken by an increasing list of other countries like Vietnam, Thailand and even Indonesia.

There can however be no successful new economic model to enable Malaysia to make the quantum leap to escape from the middle-income trap to become a high-income country unless there is also a new model of good governance for Malaysia.

What is the credibility of all the government talk about a new economic model, which must entail a total innovation of the Malaysian economy and the  nation-building process  when Malaysia is facing a losing battle in international competitiveness as illustrated three recent adverse global rankings, viz:

falling three places from 21st to 24th ranking in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2009-2010;

drop of two places in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times from 21st to 23rd placing; and most disastrous of all,

nine-placing plunge in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2009 from 47th to 56th ranking.

The spate of bad news on the front of governance in the past three weeks since the start of the new year does not inspire confidence that despite all the propaganda and publicity about 1Malaysia, KPI and NKRAs, the government is prepared to remake itself with a new model of governance, without which there can be no successful new economic model.

Just to give one instance. True, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) has got a new Chief Commissioner and moved out its Selangor MACC headquarters at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam following reports that it had been haunted after the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock.

But nobody is convinced that MACC is prepared to turn over a new leaf to single-mindedly declare war against corruption regardless of Barisan Nasional “ikan yu” or “ikan bilis” and stop its disgraceful role in its first year of operation as catspaw of Umno/Barisan Nasional political agenda to destroy Pakatan Rakyat-controlled state governments.

MACC played a sinister and ignoble role in the illegal, undemocratic and unconstitutional overthrow of the lawful and legitimate Pakatan Rakyat government of Perak and had tried to undermine the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor, the most infamous episode being the MACC’s  shameful “cars and cow” allegation against the Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

After the national and international outrage directed at the MACC following the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC Headquarters at Shah Alam on July 16 last year, the MACC stepped on the brakes to soft-pedal and suspend its operation to target the PR elected representatives and their special assistants.

Can we have an unequivocal assurance from the new MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamad that the MACC will never again play the role of the Umno/BN catspaw to serve the Umno/BN political agenda to topple the PR Selangor state government and will co-operate instead with Pakatan Rakyat to create a culture of zero tolerance for corruption in public life?

This is just one instance whether the Najib premiership is prepared to usher in a new model for good governance – whether in fighting corruption, restore confidence in the judiciary, roll back the tide of endemic crime, an inclusive and tolerant nation-building policy – without which there can be no meaningful or successful new economic model.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 19 January 2010, 1:00 pm and is filed under
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A commentary on Nazri’s offer of a way out

By
N.H. Chan

Malaysian Insider

Jan 20 2010

This is what the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said (The Star, Saturday, Jan 16, 2010). Nazri, who was voicing his personal opinion over the “Allah” issue, noted that Sabahans and Sarawakians could still conduct Mass and give sermons in Bahasa Malaysia but should not use the word “Allah” while in the peninsula.

“It is all right to hold Mass in Bahasa Malaysia but do not use the word ‘Allah’. They must use Tuhan as in the national language,” he said in an interview.

Although he agreed that the word “Allah” had been long used in Christianity way before Islam existed, Nazri said: “That’s why I say it is all right in Sabah and Sarawak but culturally, you cannot apply it in a place where Allah has always been Islam’s God.”

But where is it said anywhere – certainly it is not in the Koran – that Christians cannot apply Allah in a place where Allah has always been Islam’s God.

The Jews and the Christians have always considered that Islam’s God is the same God of Abraham and of Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus Christ was acknowledged by Prophet Mohamed as one of the prophets of God.

Also, one may ask, is there any place on earth where Allah has not been Islam’s God? Even China is a place where Allah has always been Islam’s God.

There are more Muslims in China than Malaysia could ever hope to have even though most of the Chinese people there are not believers of Islam or, for that matter, of any of the main world religions. In fact, Chinese Muslims existed in China centuries before there were any Malay Muslims in Malaya as the peninsula was then called.

Like the majority of the population of China, the Malays of peninsular Malaya then were heathens in the eye of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

All the English dictionaries give the meaning of “Allah” – which is an English word by importation – as “the Muslim name for God”.

But then the Honourable Minister suggested that if you must hold Mass in Bahasa Malaysia do not use the word “Allah”. “They must use Tuhan as in the national language”, said the Minister.

But the synonym for Tuhan is Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia dictionary.

Now, why do Christians prefer to use the word “Allah” when they translate the Bible into Bahasa Malaysia? The reasoning is this: Islam’s name for God is Allah, who is the same God as Abraham’s God. Abraham’s God is also the God of the Hebrew people, namely the Jews. And the God of the Christians is the same God of Abraham, the Muslims and the Jews.

Only the approach or method of worshipping the same God is different depending on whether you are a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew.

So if you use a word like Tuhan it does not apply to the God of the Muslims who is Allah and not Tuhan. But the God of the Muslims is the same God as the God of Abraham. The God of Abraham is the same God of the Jews and of the Christians.

So that the name Allah is more appropriate for the Christians who worship the same God.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 20 January 2010, 11:26 pm and is filed under
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Malay Provocation

New York Times

January 20, 2010

By
PHILIP BOWRING

HONG KONG — One ought to be able to laugh at the absurdity of it. But the message is one of ignorance, religious and racial prejudice and political opportunism.

Last week, the Malaysian government declared that Christians in one part of the country could use “Allah” as the word for God when speaking Malay, but that those in most of the country could not. This is the same government that is currently running a public relations campaign called One Malaysia emphasizing the common identity of the nation’s racial and religious mix.

In reality, a government dominated by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) is using spurious religious/linguistic arguments to shore up its support among a majority Malay electorate, which has been fed for years with preferences and privileges. Meanwhile, non-Malay money and talent exits the country.

The government had earlier tried to stop the use of the word Allah by all Christians. This was successfully challenged in the High Court. But instead of letting the matter rest, the government declined to back down, setting the scene for the fire bombing of churches. While these could not be laid directly at the door of UMNO, hotheads in the party may well have taken their cue from what non-Muslims see as a deliberate attempt to stir up ethnic/religious issues for political gain. Last year it was Hindus who were the target of Malay provocation.

UMNO political calculation demands that the organization sticks to its demands about the use of the word Allah in peninsular Malaysia, where all Malays are deemed Muslims and where Christians are ethnic Chinese or Indian, but not in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak where there are large communities of Malay-speaking Christians. The UMNO-led coalition needs the support of the multi-ethnic parties in those states.

The word Allah has always been used without Muslim objection by Christians in the Arab world, as well as those in Malay-speaking Indonesia, where there are 10 times as many Muslims as in Malaysia. The word is itself derived from pre-Islamic Semitic language roots. Even Malaysia’s strictly Islamist opposition party, Parti Islam (PAS), agrees that all Abrahamic faiths are entitled to use the word Allah.

But such facts are of little relevance to UMNO politicians determined to drum up any issue that can be used to show their commitment to defending Malay and Muslim privileges and thus retain the support of a Malay majority against the appeal both of PAS and the multi-ethnic Keadilan party of the former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

UMNO cannot claim to be a party of the pious. Half a century in power has turned it into a vast patronage machine that enriches the Malay elite, providing support for luxurious lifestyles. Its insistence that all Malays are Muslims (and cannot convert) is an attempt to give religious backing to the message of Malay racial preference. That is barely in accord with the universalist notions of global Islam but keeps the loyalty of many Malays otherwise resentful of growing income gaps.

However, the racial and religious divides among the opposition still make an UMNO-led government seem a better choice than the alternatives — most likely ones in which the fundamentalism of PAS would replace the opportunism of UMNO. So despite the deterioration of communal relations in peninsular Malaysia, no major changes are in sight.

This carries two main dangers. The first is the continuing large scale exodus of capital and of talented non-Malays. Five years of generally good prices for its main commodity exports, oil, gas and palm oil, have delivered huge trade surpluses and a current account surplus of more than 10 percent of gross domestic product. But economic growth has been slow due to very weak private investment, only partly offset by large government deficit spending. Once a major recipient of foreign capital, Malaysia is now a source of flight capital. This is only sustainable while commodity prices remain at double levels of five years ago and three times those in 2002.

A longer term danger, at least as perceived by some leading Malays, such as the former Finance Minister Tunku Razaleigh, is that a combination of religious intolerance and resentment of federal exploitation of their natural resources will generate secessionism in the Borneo states. They joined Malaysia in 1963 without much enthusiasm but as the best option open to them as the British withdrew from empire. They do not want their traditions of racial and religious diversity to be poisoned by peninsular prejudices. Their separate treatment on the Allah issue will have some immediate benefits for Kuala Lumpur, but can only underscore just how different they are.

In short, the episode is sad commentary on a nation whose mix of races, its fine infrastructure and wealth of resources has held such promise. If only there really were One Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 20 January 2010, 11:02 pm and is filed under
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Tsu Koon exposing the hollowness of 1Malaysia …

It is most regrettable that the KPI Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon is leading the Barisan Nasional government backoff from an inter-religious council to resolve inter-religious differences and promote inter-religious amity, goodwill and understanding, starting with the “Allah” controversy.

This is the real meaning of Koh saying that at this time, “teh tarik” sessions for inter-religious dialogues are more appropriate than official and formal ones.

In the first two decades of nationhood, there were more meaningful inter-religious interaction than now as there was a formal Inter-Religious Organisation which was set up by Tunku Abdul Rahman when he was the first Prime Minister which  was headed by a Cabinet Minister.

For over three decades, the Inter-Religious Organisation went defunct and a formal inter-religious council should be urgently revived to resolve inter-religious differences and promote inter-religious amity, goodwill and understanding in plural Malaysia.

I find Koh’s shooting down the proposal for an inter-religious council most troubling, as Malaysia is already more than three decades too late in reviving an inter-religious council.

Why is Koh spearheading the rejection of the proposal to establish an Inter-religious council, which will be a blot in his own KPI record as Cabinet Minister?

Koh is exposing the hollowness of  Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan when as the Minister in charge of KPI and the 1Malaysia slogan, he dare not even support the establishment of a formal inter-religious council.

Surely, Najib’s 1Malaysia cannot be very meaningful in creating the environment and conditions to establish a Malaysia which is the overarching object of love and loyalty of all Malaysians, transcending race, religion and region when it could not countenance the establishment of an inter-religious council, which had been done by Tunku Abdul Rahman as Bapa Malaysia in the early years of Merdeka

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 20 January 2010, 3:27 pm and is filed under
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Africanisation of Malaysian Healthcare

Letter by
Elmina Joseph

I refer to Chris Anthony’s letter “Ensure quality at 1Malaysia clinics” in Malaysiakini and couldn’t agree more.

It appears both the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) Chairman, S. M. Idris and the current DG of Health are clearly consumed by politics rather then ethics. Idris in particular chooses conveniently to sing where the wind blows without an iota of decency nor morality. Whatever happened to his lofty ideals of doctors being properly qualified and trained before they are even allowed to touch patients? Not forgetting the fact that he was one of the prime movers that doctors in this country be leashed by the offensive Private Health Care Facilities Act that govern all clinics.

Perhaps his memory has failed him. Or perhaps he now sees himself championing the cause of the poor even though they only get to see Medical Assistants instead of doctors. Miraculously according to him Medical Assistants who used to help in private and estate clinics are “experienced and qualified” to see patients independently. A far cry from his usual “unqualified, unregistered practitioners”. He backs up his claims now quoting various examples such as nurse practitioners he conveniently has picked from other countries where it appears to be the practice.

Before Idris gives his stamp of approval for Medical Assistants to diagnose, investigate and treat patients independently, he should perhaps wake up to the fact that Nurse Practitioners in the US have nothing less then an MSc degree. Similarly Nurse Anesthetists in the US who are frequently compared with our GA (General Anesthetic) giving MAs in Sarawak are highly qualified Msc graduates after they have gained a Basic degree in nursing and years of experience. This applies to almost every other field including Nephrology, Cardiology, Perfusion, Rehab, etc. All these health professionals possess nothing short of a Diploma, a Basic degree and eventually an Msc degree. One writer even quoted perfusionists in this country numbering close to 30 who run heart lung machines for open heart surgery based only on their MA Diplomas. Not a single of them has a Diploma nor a degree in Perfusion.

It would be interesting to analyze the mortality and morbidity results as a result of mishaps arising from MAs backing up as technicians who are unqualified in their specialty fields. The MMA appears to have already published one such article. The same applies to our anesthetic MAs in Sarawak. In the field of trauma, EMTs (Emergency Room Technicians) are adept at resuscitating patients be it in trauma and cardiac arrest after stringent training standards and qualifications both in pre and post-hospital care. This is clearly not the case with our MAs, though it is no fault of theirs. Both Idris and Merican’s contention that they are qualified to do so are politically expedient. Unsuspecting patients could be misdiagnosed, overdosed or just plainly given the wrong medication for life threatening conditions. The government no doubt will have to bear ultimate responsibility – again with tax-payers money as evidenced in the numerous deaths that occurred at our “Skim Latihan Khidmat Negara”

We are not in an African situation where there are genuinely no doctors or a Zimbabwe situation where Mugabe actually bankrupted the Healthcare system leaving thousands to die of cholera and dysentery. This country has more then 25 medical schools, far more then Britain itself which has population more then twice ours. The primary problem in this country has always been maldistribution of medical practitioners and the Health Ministry’s, especially with this DG’s, continual confrontation of all private doctors who comprise more then half the doctors in this country is the essential cause for this state of affairs.

The CAP president must ponder why then should the cream of this country’s students plod through their PMRs, SPMs, strive through A levels, trudge through 5 years of Medical School, two years of housemanship, three years of compulsory service and on some occasions another 5 years of specialist training. The answer is obvious. It is to attain a level of competency so that Malaysians are better served in safe hands. But now these 1Malaysia clinics blow all that away don’t there?

By establishing a very political branding, 1Malaysia Clinic has brought to the healthcare door the bane of gutless politics. Mismanagement and poor accountability have been the keystones for the decline in healthcare provision in Malaysia. Leaking hospitals, non-functioning IT hospitals, hospitals without operating theaters and indeed in Sabah, not even a General Hospital!

Right from this DG’s recent bungling in the H1N1 debacle where he made all of Malaysia run to Sungai Buloh Hospital instead of first being properly screened by primary care/surveillance doctors as in most countries and in the process piling up a death toll  70 if not more Malaysians till the current dengue scourge, he now seems to have advised his ignorant political partners that it is OK although illegal to provide Medical Assistants and Staff Nurses to provide “simple” medical care to poor unsuspecting urbanites. Why is it not OK to just let doctors in numerous GP clinics in urban areas see them and subsidize their bills? Even a poor Bangla Deshi factory worker gets to see a doctor courtesy of his factory. Could it be because of the DG’s intolerable abhorrence for General Practitioners? What happened to his lofty rules where every GP should adhere to all those dim-witted regulations that he and his bungling team sod down the throats of Malaysian General Practitioners.

The current DG is an acute embarrassment to Malaysian Healthcare and has now made this country a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. Before he goes  off to become Vice-Chancellor or some similar position in a  medical school he helped approve , this DG must remember that there will be a price to pay for ultimately misleading this country and its leaders.

With the setting up of 1Malaysia Clinics, is the Ministry of Health implying that only Medical Assistants are good enough for our urban poor and not doctors? Is it because the urban population is poor and that Medical Assistants should suffice. Or have Medical Assistants now become now equivalent to doctors in general. If that be the case we don’t need 25 medical schools do we?

Both Idris and Merican’s pathetic attempts to rationalize a poorly thought out avenue for the provision of healthcare to our urban poor in a country that clearly has the financial resources to better its healthcare is not only bound to backfire but will in the end have patients themselves ultimately paying a heavy toll, sometimes with their own lives. When the sands of the political divide eventually settle, the players responsible for this debacle, Liow, Merican and Idris will eventually have to answer to the Malaysian public.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 21 January 2010, 9:23 am and is filed under
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Call on all Malaysians to condemn the two arson attacks on two suraus in Muar

Two suraus in Muar were targets of arson in the early hours of this morning –Surau Silaturrahim at Kg Sabak Awor (Jalan Ibrahim) and the Parit Beting Surau, both in the Bentayan state assembly constituency in Johore.

Gwee Tong Hiang, who visited both suraus, reported that the Parit Beting surau suffered more extensive damage.

All Malaysians regardless of race, religion, political affiliation or region must condemn these two surau arson attacks in Muar in the strongest possible terms and to demand a halt to the spiral of madness since January 8.

In the past two weeks, nine churches, one mosque, three suraus, one Sikh temple and one convent school have been damaged by fire, paint or stones in the wake of the Dec. 31 Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment that allowed the Catholic weekly Herald to use the term “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia section.

Many Malaysians are dismayed by the conduct of the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, as he is blamed not only for allowing the situation to get out of hand in his initial announcement that the government would not stop protest and demonstrations on sensitive religious issues against the Dec. 31 KL High Court judgment, he has also failed to deliver his assurance that “the situation is under control” which had been repeatedly marred by the spate of arson and vandalism of places of worship in various states.

Malaysians are also dismayed that at this important period, Hishamuddin, together with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, had been out of the country.

With the latest spate of arson against the two suraus in Muar,  the time has come for more proactive response so that the country does not continue to suffer adverse international publicity detrimental to the national effort to attract foreign investors, tourists and students.

Najib, who is currently on an official visit to India, should give the “green light” for the convening of all-party all-religion conferences to take united action from national to state and local levels to rally the unity of all Malaysians regardless of race, religion and politics to protect all places of worship and restore national and international confidence in the inter-religious understanding, tolerance, harmony and peace in Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 21 January 2010, 3:18 pm and is filed under
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Catholic use of Allah is prompted by demand of East Malaysian Christians living in Peninsular Malaysia

By
Dr Chen Man Hin
, DAP life advisor

MANY EAST MALAYSIAN CHRISTIANS LIVING IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA PRAY TO ALLAH IN BAHASA MALAYSIA BECAUSE MALAY IS THEIR COMMON LANGUAGE

According to Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Cabinet Minister, Sabah Christian natives have been praying to Allah in Malays since 1881. Bahasa Malaysia is their common language and they speak in Malay in their daily lives and when they go to church. They pray to Allah all the time.

According to Bernard Dompok, many East Malaysians have gravitated to Peninsular Malaysia to look for work. Many have stayed in the Peninsula for over twenty years or more. They go to church and because their language is Malay, the Christian churches have been conducting masses and services for them in the national language.

Hence there is a demand for Herald, the Catholic weekly, to print church news not only in English but also in Malay, and they have to use the word Allah. The East Malaysian Christians call the Almighty ALLAH.

It is clear therefore that the Herald must use the word Allah to keep East Malaysia Christians happy.

It is also clear that the use of Allah is not meant to confuse Muslims or to proselytise (to convert) the muslims. It is to serve the need of East Malaysia Christians to pray to Allah.

Keep in mind that Peninsula Christians are also very fluent in Bahasa, as the national language has been taught in schools these Christian Malaysians want to pray to Allah too.

ARGUMENT BY THE HOME MINISTRY THAT THE USE OF THE TERM ALLAH BY CHRISTIANS MIGHT CAUSE CONFUSION AMONG THE MUSLIMS IS NOT TRUE. MALAY IS THE LANGUAGE OF EAST MALAYSIA CHRISTIANS AND THEY NEED TO PRAY IN MALAY AND CALL THE ALMIGHTY ‘ALLAH’

The Home Minister must accept the ruling by Justice Lau Bee Lan that Christians in Malaysia can use the word Allah in their prayers.

On hindsight, it was a mistake by the home minister to rule that Christians could not use Allah in their prayers. In 2007, if the Home Minister had done his home work and consulted Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, he would not have issued the fiat to ompose a ban on usage of Allah by Christians in Malaysia.

THE HOME MINISTER SHOULD WITHDRAW THE APPEAL TO STOP THE RULING THAT CHRISTIANS CAN USE THE TERM ALLAH.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 21 January 2010, 9:14 am and is filed under
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If an Inter-Religious Council cannot be formed now to resolve the Allah controversy, then there is no way such a council could be revived under the Barisan Nasional

The failure of the Cabinet yesterday to address the issue of reviving an Inter-Religious Council set up during  the premiership of Bapa Malaysia and the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman in the early decades of nationhood to resolve inter-racial problems and conflicts starting with the “Allah” controversy is a serious and irremediable setback for the 1Malaysia slogan and policy of the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Not a single Minister, whether from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, UMNO or the Sabah and Sarawak Barisan Nasional parties was brave, principled or far-sighted enough to table the subject for formal discussion and decision at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

In October, Najib was so euphoric about his 1Malaysia slogan that he took it to the world stage to recommend its extension to a “1World” vision!

It was the height of presumption for Malaysia to ask the world to extend the 1Malaysia slogan to a 1World vision when Malaysia and the Barisan Nasional component parties under Najib had never been so disunited in the nation’s 52-year history  – even the Makkal Sakthi spawned by Najib to replace MIC caught the disease and quickly split into two factions shortly after its official launch by the Prime Minister.

The 1Malaysia slogan has been shredded into tatters with the country and people torn into unprecedented divisions – with the “Allah” controversy for instance creating the dichotomy between (i) Malaysians who can use the term “Allah” from those who cannot;  (ii) Christians who can use “Allah” in East Malaysia  but not in West Malaysia; and (iii) the sheer lack of political will to restore an inter-religious council which was initiated by Tunku Abdul Rahman in the early decades of nationhood to resolve inter-racial differences and conflicts and promote inter-racial understanding, goodwill and harmony.

Because of the lack of political will to set up an inter-racial council, we have the sad spectacle of the Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and the MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat plumbing for the second-best option of advocating either inter-religious “the tarik” sessions or inter-religious talks which lack proper representation and legitimacy, with the formal mandate and authority whether as  a statutory body or other official status to act in an official capacity.

Can Tsu Koon, Tee Keat and all the other Ministers explain why they dare not even broach the subject of establishing an inter-religious council in the Cabinet?

If an Inter-Religious Council cannot be formed now to resolve the Allah controversy, then there is no way such a council could be revived under the Barisan Nasional although it was first established by Tunku in the first decades of nationhood – marking a serious and irreparable damage to Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 21 January 2010, 2:19 pm and is filed under
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Mahathir and Avatar

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad would have created an “international incident” between Malaysia and the United States if he is still Prime Minister with his post-Avatar view that the 911 attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 was staged as an excuse” to mount attacks on the Muslim world”.

It is a reflection of Mahathir’s continuing “heft” in the Malaysian government although he had stepped down as Prime Minister more than five years ago and the corollary weakness of the Najib premiership that Mahathir could still cause enormous embarrassment to the country with such a conspiracy theory of the 911 terrorist attacks.

Why was Mahathir inspired to embrace the conspiracy theory that the 911 attacks in the United States was staged to  fan a world-wide war of Islamophobila just because of the technical wizardry of James Camerons’ “Avatar”, when there had been many  other Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters with landmark visual-effects (VFX) scenes even during his years as Prime Minister?

This reminds me of two episodes.

In his biography of the fifth Malaysian Prime Minister which is still awaiting clearance by the Home Ministry to get into the Malaysian bookshops, “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times”, former Asian Wall Street Journal correspondent Barry Wain wrote of the Mahathir characteristic in his “ability to work both sides of the street”, on the one hand his display of “a public antipathy on general principles at the Americans while his jungle was crawling with US troops quietly training for jungle warfare” from a secret military understanding with the US administration.

The other was the procurement of a special meeting between Mahathir and the incumbent US President Bush in the White House in February 2002 when the Malaysian Prime Minister visited the United States– at the cost of a RM4.6  million lobby effort involving the then Malaysian Ambassador to the United States.

Mahathir should weigh his words even in retirement and avoid undermining national interests with some of his idiosyncratic views.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 21 January 2010, 12:07 pm and is filed under
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A landmark shura council

The Nutmeg Verses – By Himanshu Bhatt
 | The Sun Daily

Updated: 10:07AM Thu, 21 Jan 2010

CENTURIES back, tribes in Arabia were said to have each consulted a gathering of elders and community leaders for guidance in making decisions for the people. The use of such a council, called the “shura”, was meant to act as a congenial forum for decisions to be made in an air of mutual respect and responsibility. The shura formed one of the key characteristics of governance in the region during the early Islamic period, and even before the religion rose to prominence.

There was an interesting development in Penang last week when the Pakatan Rakyat state administration formed the first ever shura gathering for any government in the country.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng launched the Penang Shura Council which brought together some 30 persons from Islamic agencies and NGOs, as well as syariah lawyers, before it convened its inaugural meeting at his office last Friday.

The occasion turned out to be a rather warm-hearted affair. Chaired by PKR’s state executive councillor Abdul Malek Abul Kassim, the council is meant to serve as an advisory platform for the state on various Islamic issues and to make recommendations when necessary.

The formation of a shura council in the only state in peninsular Malaysia with a non-Muslim majority population is a significant step for Lim and the ties that now bind secular DAP, Muslim PAS and multi-ethnic PKR.

For some time now, and to a large degree, Lim has managed to endear himself to the Muslim populace, as evinced by the ovations he received from Pakatan supporters during the by-election campaigns in Penanti and Permatang Pasir last year, and even before that, at the landmark Permatang Pauh parliamentary contest that ushered Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim back to Parliament in 2008.

And in the process, he has worked to break new ground by becoming closely bonded with Muslim groups and the masses. In fact, I have observed that there has been a concerted effort by Lim’s administration to undertake activities to present the state government as being highly  supportive of Muslim affairs in Penang.

As it is, folks in villages and the Malay heartland still remember him getting jailed a decade back while trying to defend a Malay-Muslim girl in an alleged statutory rape case. Then, just days after he assumed power in March 2008, Lim raised eyebrows by attending the Maal Hijrah state-level festival, becoming  the first non-Muslim government leader to attend the religious event.

In fact, Lim had during a visit by PAS president Hadi Awang in April 2008, proposed the formation of a Penang Religious Goodwill Council, a suggestion that was favourably received, only to be hit by critics from the other side of the political divide. And in his administration, he has consistently been referring to medieval Islamic leader and scholar Khalifah Umar Abdul Aziz as a model and inspiration; drawing praise from Muslims, including ulamaks.

Lim also initiated the conferring of monetary awards by the state for all Huffaz (people who have memorised the Quran by heart) in the state. He has stood on stage with the governor of Penang at the ceremonies where the Huffaz were given their awards.

And in the economic sphere, Lim has been a driving force, together with Malik, in establishing a halal hub in Penang; with land already allocated for the purpose, and investments now coming in.

There was, however, one particular issue that drew silent attention during the shura’s first meeting – the appointment of the new president of the Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP), Elias Zakaria, as a member. The Pakatan Rakyat had wanted PAS state commissioner Salleh Man to  assume the MAIPP’s head post after the term of the previous president, Shahbudin Yahaya of Umno, expired late last year. However, the Pakatan leadership had to acquiesce as the King stood by the royal decision to appoint Elias.

Elias was absent during the inaugural shura meeting, but there were other prominent personalities present to weigh in their support, including the state mufti, Datuk Hassan Ahmad, and Penang syariah court chief judge Yusof Musa.

Due mainly to political differences, the Pakatan state authorities had had a rather acerbic relationship with Shahbudin when he headed the MAIPP. In one of their most bitter confrontations, Shahbudin, the Umno assemblyman for Permatang Berangan, had objected to Lim employing the Arabic phrase “Amal maaruf nahi mungkar” (enjoining good, forbidding evil), a line derived from the Quran, arguing that it was not meant for a non-Muslim.

It is remarkable to note that even as Lim and Shahbudin clashed on the matter, the Muslim representatives in PR came out in support of Lim, praising him for taking heed of a noble Islamic tenet.

Now with the formation of the landmark shura council, Malek has insisted there would be a strong forum for the state to work more cohesively with MAIPP and the State Islamic Religious Department. It is, after all in that spirit of consultation and dialogue that the early civilisations of Arabia had evolved the concept of the shura. Above all, it will be most interesting to observe how the initiative for the shura develops, to further cement ties that have found new ground between Muslims and non-Muslims in PR and the civil societies in Penang.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 22 January 2010, 11:17 am and is filed under
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Away with support letters, cries DAP leader

by
Rahmah Ghazali | Malaysiakini

DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang urged government ministries to get cracking for a total ban on government support letters for those tendering for its projects.

In response to Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat’s statement on the a move by the ministry on Wednesday, Lim had said it was a step in the right direction.

The Ipoh Timor MP said ministries should, instead, replace the questionable support letters with the open tender system.

“The prime minister, PM’s department and other ministries should impose a total ban on support letters and practise open tenders, so questions over the letters would vanish.

“If there are open tenders, then there would be accountability and transparency. They would be open to public scrutiny and all will depend on the merits and demerits of the proposals,” said Lim when contacted.

Anti-graft warriors sleeping on the job?

On Wednesday, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) had justified support letters, saying no corrupt practices were involved.

However, the English daily New Straits Times reported that it was against the law to issue a support letter to an individual or company in which the issuer or his family or partners had a vested interest.

Despite that Ong said the ministry will impose the ban in order to instill a culture of good governance and as a result of the exchange of ideas at the National Key Result Ares (NKRA) laboratories.

Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Derek Fernandez told Malaysiakini that the support letters could impact negatively on the image of a particular administration.

According to him, it would still be acceptable if the intent in issuing the letter for endorsement was “in a nature for character reference or legal or administrative purposes.

“However, if the letter is intended to put pressure on the ultimate decision maker directly or indirectly, then that would be improper,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 22 January 2010, 11:25 am and is filed under
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Did they remember to take off their shoes?

by
Goh Keat Peng

In the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, a spiritually poignant moment occurred when Moses

“came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.’  When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’  And he said, ‘Here am I.’ Then he said, ‘Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ ” (Exodus 3.1-5)

As a Christian, as I prepare to enter the church and face the altar for worship and prayer, a conscious switch in mind, body and soul takes place and I become aware that I am entering the realm of the sacred.

Likewise, for the Muslim as he enters the mosque or surau; and for a Sikh as he enters the gurdwara.

For each of us respectively, the preparation for worship and prayer may take different forms but there is a physical, mental, and/or spiritual ablution involved, a taking off of our shoes, before or as we enter a place of worship. An attitude of awe and reverence is involved.

And in the same attitude in which we had entered the place of prayer and worship, we leave it to face our responsibilities in work, home and society alongside others irrespective of religious, political or cultural differences.

What about those who went to the various places of prayer and worship with fire bombs, stones, plastic bottles and cans of paint in hand? What preparations did they undertake? What ablutions did they make? How long did they stay at the place of prayer and worship?

Did they remember to take off their shoes?

With what attitude had they come? And after throwing the fire bombs, stones, plastic bottles and paint at the places of prayer and worship, how did they resume their responsibilities in their workplace, home and society? Who did they resume to work with and engage with in society?

We go to the grocers and the malls to shop. We report to our office for honest work. We go home to care for and enjoy our family. We are in Malaysia to relate to other Malaysians.

We go to church, gurdwara or mosque to pray and worship.

We teach our children and our children’s children that when they go to church, gurdwara or mosque, it is for the purpose of prayer and worship, carrying with them nothing but respect and reverence for God and their fellow human beings.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 22 January 2010, 11:10 am and is filed under
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Three generations of Malaysians regardless of race or religion have been singing the state anthems of seven states invoking the name of Allah to bless and protect the Sultan and people. Were they wrong?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “1Malaysia” slogan is facing its most critical test less than a year of its coinage in the “Allah” controversy, which has catapulted Malaysia into three weeks of adverse international attention raising the question whether we qualify to be a model modern nation-state of racial and religious diversity.

Three generations of Malaysians regardless of race or religion  have been singing the state anthems of seven states, Johore, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu invoking the name of  Allah to bless and protect the Sultan and people. Were they wrong?

The six-line Perak state anthem invoked Allah’s name four times, viz:

Dilanjutkan Allah usianya Sultan

Adil dan murah memerintah watan

Ditaati rakyat kiri dan kanan

Iman yang soleh Allah kurniakan

Allah berkati Perak Darul Ridzuan

Allah selamatkan Negeri dan Sultan

Allah, grant the Sultan a long life

Just and gracious, ruling the homeland

Obeyed by the people left and right

Allah endow the righteous faith

Sanctify Perak Darul Ridzuan, O Allah

Salvage the State and Sultan, O Allah

Allah’s name is invoked thrice in the Terengganu state anthem, viz:

Allah daulatkan Tuanku Sultan,

Terengganu Darul Iman,

Allah peliharakan Tuanku Sultan,

Sejahtera sepanjang zaman,

Allah rahmatkan Tuanku Sultan,

Memerintah rakyat aman.

God may his majesty remain sovereign,

Terengganu the abode of faith,

God bless his majesty,

Blissful throughout his reign,

God bestow mercy upon his majesty,

Govern the people in peace.

The Johore anthem starts with
“Allah peliharakan Sultan”
 and ends with:

Allah berkati Johor

Allah selamatkan Sultan

The Pahang anthem starts with

Ya Allah Yang Masa Kuasa,

Lanjutkan Usia Duli Yang Maha Mulia,

 and ends with

 Ya Allah Selamatkan Duli Tuanku Raja Kami

The name of Allah is invoked in Selangor state anthem’s “
Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku
”,  Kelantan state anthem’s “
Segala Kebesaran Allah cucurkan
” and Kedah state anthem’s “
Allah selamat Sultan Makhota
”.

Have three generations of Malaysians, particularly non-Muslims in the seven states of Johore, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu done wrong and been offending the sensitivities of their Muslim contemporaries in using the name of Allah to bless and protect and the Sultan and people when singing the respective  state anthems?

Were the Muslims particularly in these seven states in the past 52 years offended that non-Muslim Malaysians were also using the word “Allah” in these state anthems?

The answer can only a powerful “No’. If so, why should the “Allah” controversy reach its present level as to seriously tarnish Malaysia’s international reputation, undoing all efforts to attract foreign investors, tourists and students  with the spate of arson and vandalism of places of worship, totalling 14 cases of attacks on churches, mosque and surau, a gurdwara and a school in several states since Jan. 8.

The Prime Minister and Cabinet must end its paralysis to be able to represent all Malaysians to resolve the “Allah” controversy. Its Achilles’ heel is that has defaulted from its mediator role to resolve the “Allah” controversy because it has become a major protagonist itself.

This is why the Prime Minister and Cabinet should revert to their role as representing all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion.

As a first step, the Cabinet should withdraw the Home Ministry’s appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment of judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan so that it could play the role of mediator to resolve the “Allah” controversy through an inter-religious dialogue to restore the religious equilibrium and harmony that was so imprudently disrupted by the then Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in 2007 in banning the Catholic weekly Herald from using the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia publication.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 22 January 2010, 3:24 pm and is filed under
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Greater unity under a Middle Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Lim Kit Siang said the Middle Malaysia concept mooted by DAP stresses national transformation in bracing future economic challenges while more effectively uniting all Malaysians.

He said we must not interpret the new economic model purely from economic perspectives, but must first put in place a new model of governance.

“Although prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has proposed a new economic model, the many issues that have taken place lately such as the disappearance of military aircraft engine and the ‘Allah’ issue have shown that the Barisan Nasional government does not have a new model of governance to give rise to a new economic model”

He said during an interview with Sin Chew Daily that Middle Malaysia means the majority of Malaysians.

“If Middle Malaysia could get the support of majority of people, it would create a favourable prerequisite for the country to face future economic challenges.”

He said the continued deterioration of Malaysia’s global competitiveness shows that investors’ confidence in the country’s system was sliding. At the same time, the country’s ranking in Transparency International’s corruption perception index also went down last year.

“Countries like China have made significant improvements in both the ranking and score in the corruption perception index,” he said, adding that cases like a senior judge sentenced to life imprisonment in China would never happen in Malaysia.

“People’s Champion” only serves to consolidate the support of Malay grassroots

He said the People’s Champion campaign initiated by UMNO was meant to consolidate the support of Malay grassroots, not tailored towards the needs of all Malaysians.

He said that was just UMNO’s political gimmick for the Malays which was going against the 1Malaysia principles.

“Does the People’s Champion campaign launched by UMNO conform to the 1Malaysia spirit? Why was this campaign carried out only by UMNO and not the entire Barisan Nasional?”

He felt the campaign had been launched by UMNO with the next general elections in mind.

“UMNO’s biggest objective has been to consolidate its support and status among the Malays so that it can continue to rule after the next general elections.”

He felt that Najib was conscious of the implications of the RAHMAN predictions that after he took over as the country’s sixth prime minister, the RAHMAN predictions would be materialised, and that he could be the last prime minister from UMNO.

He said all new prime ministers would come up with some kind of new slogans, such as Dr Mahathir’s “clean, efficient and reliable government” in 1981 had helped him secure a landslide victory in the first general election after taking over the office.

Tun Abdullah, meanwhile, also came up with an impressive manifesto that saw him scoring the best ever results for BN in the general elections.

1Malaysia fails to manifest itself

“The 1Malaysia concept mooted by PM Najib may not get the desired results. Malaysians are not against the 1Malaysia concept, but the concept fails to manifest itself in many issues.”

He also said Pakatan Rakyat would not disintegrate even if PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim were convicted in the sodomy case. Instead, he said the Pakatan leaders would boldly face the problems and make sure that the opposition pact would continue to forge ahead towards its target of running the federal administration.

He said that was why DAP had come up with the “Middle Malaysia” concept and stressed the importance of a “Middle Malaysia.”

“After the 2008 general elections, parties in the opposition pact came to the realisation that the establishment of Pakatan Rakyat had a pivotal role on the political development in this country. Anwar’s role was indeed very special prior to the 2008 elections. He brought PKR, DAP and PAS together. Without him, there wouldn’t have been Pakatan Rakyat.”

He said Pakatan had been established for almost two years now, and he believed the component parties realised the importance of the pact.

He said no one would like to see what UMNO like to see most, that is Anwar would be convicted and jailed, and completely taken out of politics.

However, even if something were to happen to Anwar, he believed Pakatan would not crumble because of that.

He said it was not time now to talk about the successor, as the more important thing was to consolidate the direction of Pakatan towards a “Middle Malaysia” so that it could win the confidence of more people and eventually take over the place of BN in the future.

Ku Li to lead Pakatan?

When asked whether DAP would replace both MCA and Gerakan to become the dominant party for Chinese Malaysians, Lim Kit Siang said, “I agree that MCA and Gerakan are going downhill now, especially in view of their failure to express their stand in the ‘Allah’ issue. However, DAP does not aspire to replace MCA or Gerakan in their gradually diminishing roles. Instead, we want to promote ‘Middle Malaysia’ to get the recognition from the new government, and this should lead the country towards a brighter tomorrow and greater openness.”

On rumours that if something were to happen to Anwar, Pakatan would likely pick Tengku Razaleigh as his successor, Lim Kit Siang said he knew many people were talking about this thing, but he didn’t want to speculate on this and there was no need for him to rebuke such presumptive questions either.

“Some people were saying this, and I heard it. But there is no reason that we must get someone from UMNO to lead Pakatan Rakyat.” (
Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 January 2010, 9:40 am and is filed under
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Awang Selamat’s vial of poison, lies and sedition and the  rise of Middle Malaysia

Mingguan Malaysia’s
Awang Selamat is ironically furnishing the best evidence of the rise of Middle Malaysia.

His Sunday vial of poison, lies and sedition,

“Melayu sokong DAP?”
in
Mingguan Malaysia’s
leader page today – for instance the falsehoods that DAP is anti-Malay and wants to  abolish the Malay monarchy by establishing a republic – would have sparked unrest and turmoil  in Malaysia  pre-March 8, 2008 when mainstream media (msm) were virtually the sole source of information in the country.

But  today, there would be those who would read Awang’s latest spiel of poison, lies and sedition with a yawn because it lacks credibility, although its capacity to create mischief cannot be under-estimated as not all Malaysians can yet escape the thrall of the Umno/Barisan Nasional  monopoly of msm.

In previous years, DAP leaders would be very alarmed by such poisonous and seditious fare in the Utusan newspapers.

There is still cause for alarm but also room for confidence that with the rise  of a Middle Malaysia it is no more a one-sided affair where
Mingguan Malaysia
lies are taken as gospel truth. More Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans, have a greater capacity to discern truth from falsehoods like those spouted by Awang Selamat in
Mingguan Malaysia
today.

The best way to debunk Awang’s poison, lies and sedition is to subject it to the exposure of reason and truth, but this  does not mean that those in authority, particularly the Police and the Attorney-General should not take the necessary action against Awang Selamat and
Mingguan Malaysia
to protect the integrity and the best interests of plural Malaysia.

Awang’s
venom
is reproduced below:

Mingguan Malaysia

Rencana

Bisik-Bisik Mingguan

Awang Selamat

Melayu sokong DAP?

Benarkah makin ramai Melayu menyokong DAP? Itulah yang digembar-gemburkan oleh para pemimpin DAP dalam ceramah, perhimpunan mahupun menerusi media kebelakangan ini.

Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) lalu yang menyaksikan parti itu menang banyak kerusi, dijadikan modal pukal bahawa semua kaum termasuk Melayu memihak kepada DAP.

Bukanlah Awang mahu terjebak dengan sindrom penafian tetapi apa yang diuar-uarkan oleh parti tersebut tidak lebih sekadar muslihat.

Berdasarkan maklum balas yang akhbar Utusan Malaysia dan Mingguan Malaysia terima selain pemerhatian menerusi banyak blog, apa yang didakwa oleh DAP tidak benar malah makin ramai orang Melayu menolak parti berkenaan.

Awang turut menerima limpahan emel yang marahkan DAP sejak beberapa bulan lalu berikutan banyak isu termasuk penghinaan terhadap raja Melayu dan usaha membawa pemimpin PKM, Chin Peng pulang.

Anehnya para pemimpin DAP menggambarkan parti itu menerima sokongan secara langsung yang meluas daripada masyarakat Melayu sedangkan hakikatnya cukup berlainan.

Kejayaan DAP mendapat banyak undi Melayu pada PRU ke-12 adalah atas sokongan para penyokong Pas selain sebahagian lagi penyokong PKR. Jika tidak kerana faktor Pas, DAP tidak akan mendapat sokongan Melayu yang signifikan.

Sesungguhnya masyarakat Melayu masih menghindari DAP apatah lagi dalam senario pasca PRU ke-12. DAP menjadi lebih rasis dan semakin agresif dalam gerak tindak mereka untuk menulis semula Perlembagaan negara. Yang tersirat, hala tuju parti itu adalah bagi menubuhkan negara republik – tanpa raja, tanpa mengambil kira sejarah bahawa Melayu sebagai kaum teras dan tanpa Islam sebagai agama rasmi.

Jadi apa muslihat DAP? ia tidak lain bagi mengelirukan orang Melayu dengan memanipulasi sokongan secara tidak langsung yang diterima daripada penyokong Pas dan PKR atas tiket pakatan pembangkang.

DAP terpaksa menjaja gambaran palsu itu untuk terus memastikan sokongan Melayu bertahan jika tidak pun meningkat.

Dengan banyak perkembangan politik yang tidak memihak kepada pembangkang, parti itu bimbang Pas dan DAP gagal menarik sokongan pengundi Melayu pada PRU ke-13 nanti. Perpecahan dalam Pas dan banyak kepincangan PKR termasuk kemerosotan sokongan terhadap Anwar Ibrahim yang menjadi taruhan DAP, adalah petanda jelas.

Perkembangan dalam Pas turut berubah. Parti itu tidak lagi bulat menyokong Anwar, berbeza dengan senario PRU ke-12. Begitu juga sentimen terhadap DAP di kalangan ahli akar umbi Pas, yang kini lebih diwarnai negatif.

Jadi tidak hairan mengapa DAP makin agresif melaksanakan usahanya menarik sendiri sokongan Melayu termasuk melalui program outreach dan penubuhan cawangan khas Melayu terutama di Perak dan Selangor.

Selain itu, sudah lama diketahui DAP melantik seorang dua Melayu menduduki jawatan kanan tetapi mereka tiada pengaruh dan jadi pak turut. Semua orang tahu DAP mendabik dada sebagai parti semua kaum sedangkan realitinya ia dikuasai oleh orang Cina dan memperjuangkan kepentingan kaum itu.

Strategi terbaru ini menampakkan parti itu sendiri tidak percaya dengan kemampuan Pas dan PKR untuk memenangi hati bukan Melayu pada PRU ke-13 nanti. DAP turut khuatir Pas akan beralih arah dengan mengambil pendirian yang lebih mesra UMNO atas nama perpaduan umat Islam. Segala-galanya boleh berlaku. Sekarang ini pun ramai orang Islam sedar, kedudukan Islam semakin kritikal disebabkan perpecahan dan percaturan politik yang silap. Dengan kata lain, DAP tidak boleh mengharapkan Pas dan PKR selama-lamanya.

Selain itu, tujuan DAP menambah ahli Melayu juga kerana menyedari UMNO terus mendapat sokongan kuat orang Melayu di bawah kepimpinan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Maka tidak hairan DAP semakin terdesak untuk menjenamakan semula parti itu termasuk menerusi gagasan terbaru Middle Malaysia. Ia kononnya bersifat merangkumi berbanding konfrontasi dan menjadi milik setiap rakyat terutama generasi muda.

Ramai yang memberi reaksi terutama dalam blog. Ada yang menyatakan Middle Malaysia mempunyai agenda rasis. Menurut satu tulisan: “Sekiranya diterjemahkan Middle Malaysia ke dalam bahasa Mandarin, ia membawa maksud tersirat ‘Malaysia untuk kaum Cina’. Ini boleh ditafsirkan kaum Cina mahu menjadi ‘tauke Malaysia’ kerana Chung adalah sinonim dengan ‘Penguasa Cina’ di Malaysia.”

Awang tidak pasti sejauh mana kebenarannya. Namun tanpa hujah seperti itu pun, Awang memang tidak mempercayai DAP. Jika DAP benar-benar menjadi parti untuk semua kaum, Awang tidak akan mempersoalkannya tetapi itu semua hanya pembohongan dan tipu daya. Banyak tindak tanduk parti itu membahayakan asas kenegaraan kita, ia umpama musuh dalam selimut.

Tindak-tanduk DAP menyerang secara konsisten agensi awam di bawah kepimpinan Melayu seperti Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM), institusi perundangan Islam dan banyak lagi, menyerlahkan lagi belang parti itu.

Sikap keterlaluan DAP memanipulasi isu yang membakar sentimen bukan Melayu juga tidak boleh diterima. Lihat sahaja isu kematian Teoh Beng Hock, penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh pihak gereja Katholik dan kejadian gereja dibakar, amat tidak bertanggungjawab.

Pada Awang, DAP adalah parti paling ekstrem, yang berselindung di sebalik nama demokratik tetapi agendanya ultra Cina. Selagi parti itu tidak komited untuk menjunjung dan mempertahankan Perlembagaan negara, selagi itu Awang tidak akan terpengaruh biarpun pemimpinnya memetik ayat al-Quran dan hadis. Biarlah Melayu yang tidak sedar diri dan yang punya agenda peribadi dipergunakan oleh DAP. Awang bukan jenis itu.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 24 January 2010, 5:39 pm and is filed under
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