The first because I believe Politics and Religion form an explosive mix. PAS is a political party anchored on Islam, and to me that is starting on the wrong foot, or footing.
As for the second, the MCA being the second largest component party in the 23-member or 14-member Barisan Nasional, has no balls to stand up to BIG brother UMNO. Hence its present pathetic state of affairs when the internal wrangling for the past half-a-year has been treated with disdain by UMNO -- a directive by its Deputy President no less -- that MCA must accept UMNO's proposal to end the tri-faction feud. Ah, Muhyiddin Yassin is NO Dr Mahathir! Is it good or bad? YOU my dear esteemed readers, decide. I maintain my quiet smile:); or is is a smirk?:):(
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Two news reports from tilianker.blogspot.com, quit a vocal President's man, but at least he argues his case ***quite well. And as I said many times before, "quite" can mean THREE things ... your guess?/gas??/gases???
PAS says ‘Allah’ can be used by Christians and others
Published: Tuesday January 5, 2010 MYT 12:21:00 PM
PAS says ‘Allah’ can be used by Christians and others
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/5/nation/20100105122539&sec=nation
By LESTER KONG
PETALING JAYA: PAS says that the use of “Allah” is permitted among people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism.
Its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang made the statement that also supported the High Court’s decision that allowed the Christian weekly newsletter The Herald to use the word.
PAS also urged the public not to misuse the word “Allah” for cheap politicking to gain mass support.
“The wrongful and irresponsible use of the word should be avoided so that it did not create an issue that jeopardises the racial and religious harmony of this country,” Abdul Hadi said in a statement read by the party information chief Idris Ahmad on Monday.
The statement was issued after a party political bureau meeting on the same day.
Abdul Hadi said the principle of freedom of religion was championed by Islam because human beings could not be forced to profess any religion except through their own free will.
“In the Malaysian context, the situation must be considered for the sake of public interest to preserve the harmony among the various races and religions,” Abdul Hadi said.
He added that the party was ready to clear the air on the issue to anyone in order to preserve the harmony based the fairness that was enshrined under article 11 of the Federal Constitution.
High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan made the controversial decision and immediately invoked protests from some 13 Muslim non-governmental organisations against the decision.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has filed an appeal and for a stay of execution of the decision reached on Dec 31.
Posted by Ti Lian Ker at 5:01 PM 0 comments Links to this post
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MCA regards court decision as a matter of law
Tuesday January 5, 2010
MCA regards court decision as a matter of law
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/5/nation/5412737&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court ruling in allowing Herald to use the word “Allah” in its publication is a matter of law and should be maintained that way, says MCA.
Party spokesman and political education bureau chairman Gan Ping Sieu expressed concern over the demonstrations and police reports filed pertaining to the issue.
“The police reports lodged also suggest questioning and asserting pressure on the independence of the judiciary, should anyone disagree with any judgement made.
“This is a great cause for alarm as to whether worshippers of other faiths may profess their religion freely in accordance with the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Lauding the High Court for its bold and rational judgement, Gan said that MCA called upon all groups to respect the way of life of bumiputra Christians and Sikh Malaysians, and not remove their constitutional rights.
“Does it make sense to take punitive action against the hundreds and thousands of Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians and Sikhs, who for centuries have referred to God as ‘Allah’ in their personal prayers?” he asked.
Gan said it was a historical fact that the term “Allah” predates Islam, with Arab Christians in countries like Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Yemen referring to God as “Allah”.
“The High Court ruling is a matter of law in upholding the rights of Malaysians as provided by our Federal Constitution, and hence should be maintained as that - law,” he said, adding that it should not be stirred into a religious debate nor politicised as a racial or religious issue.
Posted by Ti Lian Ker at 4:59 PM 0 comments Links to this post
DESIDERATA:
What I am concerned about is that "vocal" parties whose acts are like wolves in sheep-clothings encouraged by their crocodile wolverine chiefs might just exploit the emotional content of this issue to create trouble for their own self-interests.
"QUO VADIS, Malaysia?" as myGOoDfriend KimQuek would say...
I add: May God save us from our 'leaders'!
I:
S:
A: men
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And let's climax with a sensible voice, always, Sdr Dr Lim TG from
The Centre for Policy Initiatives: please surf to cpiasia.net for the ORIGINAL, it tastes better!:) -- Desi
Use of the term ‘Allah’: Who is threatening whom?
Press statement by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
The Dec 31 High Court ruling reversing a Home Ministry ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ for the Catholic weekly newsletter Herald in its Bahasa Malaysia section appears to have given the religious hardliners the perfect New Year present to continue their crude campaign aimed at fanning Islamic religious sentiments in the country.
Malaysians – those not religiously affiliated to Catholicism or Islam – are wondering if the extremist reaction by Utusan Malaysia and its fellow travellers serves any purpose, especially since the Prime Minister has assured that the government is aware of the sensitivities of Muslims, and called for calm and for the matter to be resolved through the court process.
Below is an example of what Utusan has been feeding the Malay public.
From Utusan Malaysia, Jan 3, 2010
Starting from the banner splashed across its front page and items filling up pages two, four and five, the paper ran headlines and opinions ranging from ‘Court does not respect sensitivities of Muslims’; to inexplicably calling for the civil case to be heard in Syariah Court; to appealing for Muslim unity; suggesting for the Religious Department to act as intervener in the court process; and beseeching intervention by the Council of Rulers.
The tally of 16 news articles does not include other lengthy op-eds in the middle pages about the mission to defend Islam, including one by Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah.
The flagship Utusan editorial by Awang Selamat invoked Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria’s claim that “all these happen due to the weaknesses and disunity of Muslims”.
Playing Cassandra, Awang Selamat proclaimed that the Malay “discord and foolhardiness in politics, has pushed Islam to the corner”, and added “It is embarrassing that Islamic parties cannot unite in ensuring the survival of Islam”. He laid the blame at the door of “certain liberal-thinking leaders in PAS like Khalid Samad, who is a great supporter of the use of the term ‘Allah’ by other religions”.
In what is probably the single most fear mongering statement made by a newspaperman, Awang Selamat made the absolutely ridiculous claim that “status quo Islam di Malaysia boleh berubah bila-bila masa kerana angkara pemimpin Islam sendiri” (the status quo of Islam in Malaysia can change at any time because of Muslim leaders themselves).
‘Utusan Malaysia’ itching for a fight
My other distinct impression is that Utusan and the racial and religious hardliners aligned to it – and that appears to include Dr Mahathir Mohamad – are spoiling for a fight.
They should not and will not get a fight. What they are getting instead is reasoned and calm arguments on why this issue should not be blown out of proportion.
According to Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew, Christian natives in Borneo have been using ‘Allah’ for 400 years and clearly long before Sabah and Sarawak agreed to merge with the peninsula. Hence, it is quite simply a matter of language and terminology which has nothing to do whatsoever with the ridiculous suspicions and concerns of backdoor conversions and worse that are now being bandied about (for a fuller discussion, see Existential angst pertaining to ‘Allah’ use, by Dr Lim Teck Ghee and Helen Ang in www.cpiasia.net) .
Sane and sensible Malaysians following the ugly and pugnacious words coming from the extremist side must be wondering how in God’s name could Muslims perceive that there is a threat to Islam in Malaysia, given Malay and Muslim dominance in almost all sectors of the body polity.
According to the Catholic Hierarchy organization, there are about 784,000 Catholics in our country of 24.74 million or 3.17% of the total population. Can anyone believe that such a tiny minority of the country’s population could threaten the position of Islam in Malaysia or undermine the Islamic faith?
Dr Mahathir, from whom one would expect a higher sense of public responsibility, has been reported to have said that he is concerned that the term Allah may be used in such a way that could inflame the anger of Muslims, or in his own words, “they may use it on banners or write something that might not reflect Islam”. This is a statement that stoops so low that it is almost beyond belief that it could have come from a former Prime Minister.
Surely the ex-Prime Minister is aware that not only are there 13.37 million Muslims in the country or 52% of the population of 25.72 million if the latest CIA World Fact Book is to be believed, the primacy of the position of Islam is fully guaranteed both through Islam’s status as the religion of the Federation enshrined in the constitution, and the position of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and Malay state rulers as heads of the religion.
If he is not, then other Muslims in the country should tell Utusan, Dr Mahathir and others of similar ilk how confident and secure they feel about their religion in the face of this ‘historic’ and ‘unprecedented’ threat from non-Muslims.
The real threat to Islam is in the feverish minds of the extremists rushing to prove their ‘purer’ Islamic credentials. If they can purge themselves of these imagined furies, we will all be able to sleep more peacefully in Malaysia.
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