Hishammuddin regrets “Allah” ban

KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that his predecessor should not have banned the word “Allah” from being used by the Catholic Church. The decision, he added, will continue to haunt his ministry “for a very long time.” “In this ministry, it is a zero-sum game.

We are [now] in an uncharted landscape which will haunt us for a very long time. “We should have let the sleeping dogs lie. It was triggered by those that believed that the word “Allah” should not be used in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said during the Fourth Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit here. Former home minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar had imposed the word ban on the Church’s newspaper, the HERALD, two years ago.

Syed Hamid had temporary allowed the conditional use of the word “Allah”, only to rescind the government gazette later. He had then cited fears that the use of word outside an Islamic context would cause confusion to Muslims. Today, Hishammudin stressed that the Church appreciated the circumstances surrounding the ban.

The Catholic Church has since won a court ruling upholding its constitutional right to print the word “Allah” in its newspaper on December 31, 2009 but a government application to stay the ruling has dragged the case out longer. The Court of Appeal has yet to indicate when it will move the case along. Several retired jurists said it cannot take very long, while one lawyer said it could take up to two years before the first hearing.

“We are looking at it and there is a court case and we are waiting for the outcome. There is [a] difference between acceptance and customs that have been used in the past in Sabah and Sarawak. The reaction from Muslims in the peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak will not be the same,” Hishammuddin said. Supporters of the Church have argued that Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have used the word “Allah” for generations and it has become part of their cultural norms.

Article source:http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/Hishammuddin-regrets-%E2%80%9CAllah%E2%80%9D-ban-6147-2-1.html

Rescind the “Allah” ban – MCA Publicity Bureau to Home Minister

Press Statement by MCA Central Committee member Sdr Loh Seng Kok (Deputy Chairman of MCA Publicity Bureau)


The remarks by Home Minister Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin bin Tun Hussein Onn as reported in The Malaysian Insider (1 August 2010) that he “regrets the ‘Allah’ ban” and that “We (Home Ministry) are in an uncharted landscape which will haunt us for a very long time… We should have let the sleeping dogs lie” do suggest that the Home Minister is fully aware that forbidding “Allah” has turned into a divisive national issue which can become an Archilles Heel against Barisan Nasional.

MCA therefore urges Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin to use all the authority vested in him as Home Minister to rescind the ban. By doing so, the Home Minister will be respected as a Barisan Nasional leader who looks after rights and interests of all Malaysians, including protecting the Constitutional rights of minorities. Moreover, by withdrawing the prohibition, the Home Minister will be able to abate the issue which has already been politicized unnecessarily.

Making illegal, restricting or modifying the usage of the terminology does not affect only Christians, but it should be viewed from a Malaysian perspective as Sikhs and Hindus too will be denied their Constitutional right as there are references of “Allah” in the Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikh and Veda, the Scriptures of the of the Sikh and Hindu communities respectively.

To only allow “Allah” in East Malaysia reeks of 1 country, 2 systems which negates the fact that about 100,000 native Sarawak and Sabah Christians are now based on the Peninsular. Moreover, Christian orang aslis on the Peninsular also refer to God as “Allah”.

Malaysia would also make it to the world news for all the wrong reasons if Indonesian Christians and Middle Eastern tourists like Palestinian, Arab or Lebanese Christians who also refer to God as “Allah” and are citizsens of countries with a huge Muslim majority were to have any of their religious publications confiscated upon arrival at our airports or seaports.

Considering that this Malaysian Insider article came under the “Most Read in last 24 hours” category and the responses that it generated disagree to the ban, this shows that this Constitutional matter which is subject to a few court cases attracts many netizens and will affect voting trends. Prohibiting “Allah” by non-Muslims has turned into a polarizing issue and must cease. MCA therefore, calls on the Home Ministry to retract the ban.

MCA therefore reiterates our position on “Allah”, i.e.

1) No confusion arises when one’s spiritual conviction is strong

2) Nobody can copyright “Allah” nor claim monopoly

3) Historical fact that “Allah” predates Islam

Meanwhile, MCA urges the Home Minister to allow the importations of the Al-Kitab and other religious materials as issued in a letter by the then Ministry of Internal Security in 2005, so long as the printed materials contain the words “Christian publication” and carry an image of the “cross (t).”

LOH SENG KOK
Member of MCA Central Committee,
Member of MCA Presidential Council,
Deputy Chairman of MCA Publicity Bureau

'Allah' issue: Repeal the ban, urges MCA

KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA is urging the Home Ministry to repeal the ban on the use of "Allah" by Christians to undo the damage done by the controversy, which some non-Malay Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders claim was the reason for the declining Chinese and Indian support.

Loh Seng Kok, the deputy chairman of MCA publicity bureau, said today Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein should repeal the ban since he is aware that it has turned into a divisive national issue, which can become an Archilles heel against the BN.

"MCA therefore urges the minister to use all the authority vested in him to rescind the ban," Loh said in a statement today.

"By doing so, he will be respected as a BN leader who looks after rights and interests of all Malaysians, including protecting the constitutional rights of minorities.

"Moreover, by withdrawing the prohibition, he will be able to defuse the controversy which has already been politicised unnecessarily," Loh said.

Hishammuddin said yesterday the ban on the use of "Allah", which he blamed on his predecessor Syed Hamid Albar, will haunt his ministry "for a very long time", adding that it should not have been prohibited.

Syed Hamid had imposed the ban on The Herald, the newspaper for the Catholic church, forbidding it to use "Allah" in its publication two years ago.

The ban was backed by hardline Islamic scholars who claimed the use of the word outside an Islamic context would cause confusion to Muslims. It subsequently spiralled out of control and became fodder for both sides of the political divide, leaving the nation split over the matter.

'Different levels of maturity'

However, Hishammuddin insisted that the Catholic Church now fully understands the rationale behind the ban, saying that it "understood fully that there are different levels of maturity and understanding in our constituents".

MCA, however, felt that the time has come for the ministry to rescind the ban, given the backdrop of a BN struggling to regain non-Malay support.

It also echoed the point raised by the opposition that the word "Allah" has been traditionally used by other religions.

"MCA therefore reiterates its position on the 'Allah' issue: no confusion will arise when one’s spiritual conviction is strong, and that nobody can copyright 'Allah' or claim monopoly or (dispute) the historical fact that 'Allah' predates Islam," said Loh.

“We also urge the home ministry to allow the importation of the Al-Kitab and other religious materials... so long as the printed materials contain the words 'Christian publication' and carry an image of the 'cross'," Loh said.

On Dec 31, 2009, the Catholic Church won a landmark court ruling upholding its constitutional right to print the word “Allah” in its newspaper but a government application to stay the ruling has prolonged the case.

The Court of Appeal has yet to indicate when it will get the case going.

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
Article source:http://freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/barisan-nasional/8680-allah-issue-repeal-the-ban-urges-mca

'AG, ignorance of the law is no excuse'

Can we call the AG nasty names and accuse him of hideous crimes and then plead ignorance and say "no offense intended"?'

Kit Siang: AG should be censured over Al-Islam decision

Justgreat: If malice was not intended, why were the two in the church at that time? If malice was not intended, they could always have left during communion and not partake in it, only to desecrate the holy communion wafer? If malice was not intended, what was intended then? So can we plead ignorance later if we murder someone?

What a stupid reason from someone who is supposed to be learned in law. It is more like sedition to me, failing to act against perpetrators of a crime against the Christians. Why have Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein been so quiet over this matters. As if torching churches are not enough, now some are resorting to acts of desecration in churches.

I hope that this shows Malaysians of other faiths that the Umno/BN government is not sincere in promoting religious or racial unity but undermining them. What will happen to the cases of the arsonists who torched the churches? Will be another 'No Further Action' case? I hope not for the people's sake.

Abd Samad: Now anyone can go into a place of worship and do whatever and later can say I don't know what I did, so there is no need charge me. What 1Malaysia.

Black Mamba: The country law give the archbishop every right to take legal action against the two journalists. Why wait? The Catholics are too magnanimous. An apology will suffice but are the wrongdoers remorseful?

Singa Pura Pura: Even experienced politicians are falling into the Umno trap. There is 'method' in their apparent injustice. "Springes to catch woodcocks," old Polonius would say. It is all designed to widen the rift between the Muslims and the non-Muslims. To make the Muslims feel threatened by the opposition's expected response to Umno's 'championing' of the Islamic cause.

The harder the DAP 'hentam', the more the Malays that drop into the Umno net. Only the Muslim vote can return Umno to its feudal throne. Umno knows that.

And that is why there is today this overwhelming but artificial atmosphere of fear, bewilderment and besiegement amongst Muslims and Malays, when in actual fact they would have much less to fear under Pakatan Rakyat than they would have under Umno. But who is to say.

Paul Warren: Get real. these guys are making decisions to show themselves to be the true defenders of the faith. Anything that might show the defenders to have fallen on account of an underhanded act should be defended and these fallen should be propped up.

To charge them for an act done in the course of defending the faith should be applauded not censured. Hey, even the worse of the crusaders were hailed as heroes when they got home... and those times have not changed really.

Y Omarmohdnoh: As a Muslim,I would like to see the two journalists charged in court. Why? They finally found that all the allegations (apostasy) were untrue. Instead of going back to their informants, knowingly they had been made bloody fools, they committed foolish acts and published photographs of their undoing.

So I hope the AG could view the issue from this angle and proceed wisely.

Arul Inthirarajah: Is this not the same attorney-general that allegedly attempted to fabricate evidence for the 'Sodomy 1' trial in 1998? We should not then be surprised by the lack of ethics or disrespect for the rule of law by this individual who should have been sacked.

Lin Wen Quan: "Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat" (Ignorance of the law is no excuse.) The Catholic Church has been offended by the journalists out to create mischief in a place of worship. Yes, it is futile to demonstrate because these imbeciles are being protect by Umno likewise the AG. Whatever despicable acts against other races or religions sanctioned by Umno will have a ready defence legal team in the AG's office.

Gibran: The AG is just another stooge of the ruling Umno. No way can the journalist plead ignorance because before the holy communion can be taken, the coordinator for the days service will announce that communion can only be taken by practicing Catholics.

Practicing Catholics are those who attend service regularly and who do their confessions regularly. The behaviour of the two said journalist was blasphemy. There appears to be a conspiracy between the AG and the journalists.

Geronimo: Maybe this should come as a shocker to Umno, AG, Utusan Malaysia and the two reporters. By partaking in the communion and having the host in your mouth, the two reporters are now considered 50 percent Catholics. All they need to do is finalise it with baptism. May God have mercy on their souls.

Pro-Truth & Justice: Can we call the AG nasty names and accuse him of hideous crimes and then plead ignorance and say "no offense intended"?

Article source:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/125812

Al-Islam apologises

KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — The Al-Islam magazine has openly apologised to the Roman Catholic Church and Christians for a May 2009 special report, which involved the desecration of a religious rite, saying they had “unintentionally hurt the feelings of Christians especially Catholics”.

The apology posted on the website of its publisher, Utusan Karya, came after Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said he would not prosecute the reporters as it was “not in interest of justice”, while the Roman Catholic Church said it would be satisfied with an apology.

The controversy began after the magazine published a report,“Tinjauan Al-Islam Dalam Gereja: Mencari Kesahihan Ramaja Melayu Murtad”, in its May 2009 edition that contained pictures of a spat-out communion wafer. Catholics believe that during the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the host is transubstantiated and becomes the body of Christ.

The monthly magazine explained in a three-paragraph statement that the report was to investigate allegations of apostasy and the actions of its journalists were never intended to deride the Christian faith, let alone desecrate their house of worship.

It stated that the two Al-Islam journalists who wrote the article also apologised for unintentionally hurting the feelings of Christians in the pursuit of their duty and hoped the incident would not recur. The magazine also said the apology will be published in its April 2010 edition, available by middle March.

It is understood that the publisher, which is a subsidiary of the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, had wanted to issue the apology earlier but it was held up by legal considerations.

AG’s acumen for asinine answers

— Martin Jalleh
MARCH 5 — Attorney General (AG) Abdul Gani Patail want us to believe that he is committed to ensuring that the rule of law is upheld in Bolehland. In his address to members of the Judiciary and the Bar entitled “Opening of the Legal Year 2010”, on 16 Jan., he declared:

“(I)t cannot be over emphasised that the concept of justice is grounded on the basic principles of equality, fairness, and rule of law. The AGC (AG’s Chambers) is committed to promoting the rule of law and ensuring justice be given to all people whatever their race, religion or class.

“AGC in carrying out its duties is well aware of the maxim ‘justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done’, and hence the explanations issued by AGC from time to time on cases handled by it so that the public would not have misconceptions of biasness.”

Such purported profound and passionate zeal for the rule of law by the AG turns into mere political BN propaganda when one applies it to his pathetic excuses for not pressing charges against the two reporters of the Al-Islam magazine who had committed a most sacrilegious act against the Catholic community.

Gani’s Gall

Under guise of being Catholics, they participated in a Mass (church service) at the Church of St Anthony in Puduraya to “investigate” what was going on in Catholic Churches and to verify reports that “Muslim teenagers were being converted to Christianity in Kuala Lumpur’s churches every Sunday”.

They even partook of the Holy Communion strictly meant only for Catholics, which adherents of the faith treat with utmost reverence. They spat out the remnants, photographed it and published the picture in an article entitled “Tinjaun Al Islam Dalam Gereja: Mencari Kesahihan Remaja Murtad” in the May 2009 issue of the magazine.

Their act shocked not only Christians but also Muslims in the country. Even Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin found their action “appalling” and “offensive”. He added that the “Islamic virtues of empathy, respect and tolerance were obviously absent in both the journalists and the magazine’s editorial team”.

Catholics K Sudhagaran Stanley and Joachim Xavier had lodged a police report in July last year against the two reporters. On Aug 27 the Catholic Lawyers Society handed a memorandum to the Home Ministry urging it to take action. There was no response. They must have hoped it would eventually be forgotten.

Finally on Feb 24 this year, about six months after the police report was made, and due to what the Dang Wangi police district headquarters called “overwhelming pressure from the general public”, the police revealed that charges against the two have been dropped.

They were investigated under Section 298A (1) of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.

Senior investigating officer ASP Ananthan Rajoo, in a letter to the complainants, stated that the police had received orders from the deputy public prosecutor (DPP), to whom the case was referred, to take no further action (NFA).

Gani’s Hype and Hypocrisy

The overwhelming public reaction not only from Catholics but from countless of other Malaysians and even Muslims is that the AG has failed to uphold the rule of law and that what he had pronounced, proclaimed and preached so piously about was mere pretence!

The AG is at fault for the public perception that there are two sets of laws in this country. Reputed lawyer/blogger Art Harun articulated well his disgust over the decision and called it what it really was: “The blatant double standard. The plain hypocrisy of it all. The stupidity.”

Alas, it would be very easy to imagine the speed with which the police and the AG would have sprung into action if two non-Muslim reporters were to enter a mosque disguised as Muslims, partook of the rituals and desecrated something which the congregation considered very sacred.

Surely Gani would apply the full force of the law without any doubt, delay or deliberation. The penalty would be severe. The all-too-familiar mob would be braying for their blood. Lock them up, lash them or even lynch them? Non-Muslims would be threatened with a looming May 13 or Feb 13!

The Malaysian Insider (TMI) captured well the contempt for the AG’s decision: “In the eyes of the Catholic Church, the desecration of the communion is an act even worse than the recent firebombing of places of worship.”

“Never before has the exhibition of double standards been so obvious ... The irony is this message of hypocrisy comes at a time when the Najib administration is asking for support from non-Muslims.”

In a press conference yesterday Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Murphy Pakiam asked the AG for the rationale behind his decision: “I appeal to the Attorney General to explain the decision not to take further action on the Al-Islam journalists’ case.”

Pakiam pointed out his fear that “the decision not to prosecute appears to legitimise the actions of the Al-Islam journalists”. He added he believed that the Catholic community will be “satisfied” if the journalists and publisher apologise.

Gani’s Gobbledegook

In a faxed response to the press, Gani had the gall to say: “The actions of the two reporters may have hurt the feelings of the people but I was satisfied that they did not intend to offend anyone. It was an act of sheer ignorance… the two journalists did not cause any disturbance when they went undercover…”

The Attorney General of Malaysia who turned psychologist and mind-reader has offered all future potential violators of religious harmony and unity the excuses needed to escape from and evade the rule of law. Just appear real stupid and do all the harm you want undercover so that it won’t disturb anybody, and leave the rest to me!

(Whatever their intentions, they had violated Section 298A (1) of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion.)

Gani went on probably hoping that the public would be as gullible as he expects of them: “Therefore, in view of the circumstances at that particular time and in the interest of justice, peace and harmony, I decided not to press any charges against them.”

Whose “interest”? Whose “justice”? Umno’s brand of justice? How would peace and harmony be disturbed if charges were pressed against the reporters? It appears there is really no rule of law in this country but the mob rules – even in the discerning and decision making process of the Attorney General!

Gani tried very hard to convince himself: “I have previously decided similarly in other cases where the circumstances were quite similar involving other religions, under those circumstances taking serious action would not be in the interest of justice at that particular time.”

TMI again “hit the nail on the AG’s head” when it commented: “Simply put, this man by his statement has shown himself to be incapable of protecting the interest of Christians and non-Muslims in the country.”

“One can only wonder what justice is for the AG, for his actions in the Al-Islam case show he is ‘not in the interest of justice’ in any time or situation.”

TMI also described Gani’s statement as “outrageous at the very least as he was offering protection to a group of people who have not had the decency to apologise for their actions” and that the AG was “condoning vigilantism”.

God is watching, Gani!

Khairy accepted and defended the AG’s decision, for “the decision may have been reached to ‘balance out’ the tensions caused by the issue revolving the use of the word ‘Allah’”. Six months ago, he had called the act “unacceptable”! The poor Umno Youth leader must be suffering from an unbalanced mind.

Only politicians feel they have to resort to playing the balancing act. The AG is not a politician and he should not play politics. All he should be concerned about is that the scales of justice are balanced and that there should be fairness to all.

The sheer ignorance “plea” concocted by the AG on behalf of the two reporters is really an insult to the intelligence of the public. This is reinforced by the fact that the magazine which they are working for, Al-Islam, is a monthly magazine published by Utusan Karya Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Utusan Group (which is owned by Umno) and which publishes the Utusan Malaysia (UM).

In recent years, the UM has been allowed to go on a spree of spinning falsehood, spouting lies, spewing seditious articles and spreading Umno’s unprecedented racist and religious propaganda with impunity – and immunity granted by the Umno Home Minister. It is very obvious where the reporters of Al-Islam got their audacity from in committing their sacrilegious act!

Khairy was wrong when he said last year that the two journalists failed to consider “the gravity of their own actions”. Gani was wrong when he said they were “sheer “ignorant”. The reporters were right when they knew full well what they were doing and that they could do what they liked, for there would be no consequences – and the AG has confirmed it!

In his maiden speech unveiling 1 Malaysia, People First Performance Now, the Prime Minister said: “We must reach out to the many who may have been disaffected and left confused by political games, deceit and showmanship”.

It is time you stop your games, Gani! God is watching, Gani!

It is wishful thinking (and I hope I will be proven wrong) to expect Al-Islam to apologise, after all, the people behind it come from a superior race, have a religion they believe is superior to all else and are protected by Executive Supremacy! May Allah (oops, I can’t use this word), may God have mercy on our beloved country!

Article source:
* Martin Jalleh reads The Malaysian Insider.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/55345-ags-acumen-for-asinine-answers--martin-jalleh-