Jan 16, 2010
It's just plain wrong, Mr Nazri!
I was laughing and at the same time vomited while reading this piece of news. It's so funny although this issue involving ones faith is hardly a funny matter. But I don't know how Mr Nazri got appointed to be the Minister in the first place, his is so ignorant and constantly putting his feet into his own mouth so to speak.
Okay now our fellow East Malaysian Christians are "allowed' to use the word Allah. But, but I thought the High Court has already ruled on this matter that the Home Ministry's ban is not legal? So, High Court Judgment is not recognised here and it must be allowed by a Minister before the ruling is allowed to be implemented? I am really confused.
The Star also reported:
Mr Nazri also said, "Similarly, they must respect the sensitivities of those in the peninsula, who are uncomfortable with the use of the word by non-Muslims, and not use the word here...".
“But when they are in semenanjung (peninsular Malaysia), then they must respect our custom here, which means that you cannot use the word ‘Allah’, because people here cannot accept it,” he said, referring to the growing number of people from Sabah and Sarawak who have moved to the peninsula.
Wow, wait a minute, are you saying that the authority is going to catch whoever is using the word when they are here? I think he is talking cock. Pardon me for using the c word. But I am just amazed by Nazri's intelligent if he ever has one. How on earth the Government is going to implement this ruling. Follow every East Malaysian Christians? Using mind detector? Please somebody, invent one! Malaysian Government will award you with a contract that worth billion of USD and on top of that a Tun title.
The following is even more bizarre...
“We must respect each other. When I go to east Malaysia, I have to respect their customs. So when they come here, they also have to listen. That is only fair,” he said, adding that copies of the Bible containing the word “Allah” needed to be changed when used in the peninsula.
I am eager to see how this can be done. Do you expect the EM Christians to have two types of Bible? Or that they have to bring with them a few thousand sticker with Tuhan written on it to be pasted on Allah while here? There must be hell lot of work to do, East Malaysians!
This is even more puzzling...
The same, he said, should apply to the peninsula orang asli. “They have to use Bibles in English or their mother tongue.
So when comes to ones own faith, National Language does not apply? It just does not make sense. I am not going to comment some more. I think the UMNO led BN Government has created a mess of their own. Peace loving Malaysians have not in any way caused or contributed to this mess.
We are told to support the Government's 1 Malaysia project, but clearly the BN ruling party does not believe in it at all. The way I see it, the Govenment is only believe in divide and rule. Because this will benefit UMNO the most.
Jan 12, 2010
Voice of Reason
Anwar decries church attacks
Jan 12, 10 12:43pm, MalaysiaKini
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has expressed outrage over the arson attacks on churches in several states since last Friday, also blaming the federal government for having added to the situation.
MCPX
In a statement, he criticised the attack on the All Saints Church in Taiping - the country’s oldest - as an attack on the nation’s heritage.
Citing verses from the Quran, he said Muslims must follow the Islamic tradition of “remarkable commitment to understanding and coexistence with the (others of the Abrahamic faiths)”.
“The Caliph Umar…was careful to ensure that Muslims respected the sanctity of Christian places of worship. Why then our own police force’s hesitation to offer an assurance of safety and security for Malaysian churches?” he asked.
Anwar also reminded Malaysians that the God worshipped by Muslims and Christians is indeed the same, citing the 29th chapter of the Quran which reads: And dispute not the People of the Book, but say, ‘We believe in the Revelation which has come down to us and that which has come down to you…our God (Allah) and your God (Allah) is One, and it is to him we bow’.
He blamed the Umno-led BN government, whose “incessant racist propaganda over the Allah issue” has aggravated the matter.
Anwar also hit out at the “government-controlled mainstream media, especially, Utusan Malaysia” for issuing “inflammatory rhetoric”.
“Such wanton acts of provocation are indeed criminal and demonstrate the duplicity of the 1Malaysia campaign,” he said.
He lauded the swift condemnation of the attacks by Muslim leaders and organisations, as well as the call for calm, forgiveness and resistance of retaliation by Christian leaders.
“We must now advance the spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood which is inherent in our religions and enshrined in our constitution…Our fellow (Malaysians) must feel safe and secure in this country knowing that their freedom to worship is protected,” he said.
‘Dialogue long overdue’
The way to end the conflict is not by burning churches, he said, but through an interfaith dialogue which is long overdue in Malaysia.
“As a nation we struggle to uphold the spirit of unity that our founding fathers envisioned at independence…In such times the spirit of engagement and dialogue must transcend those voices that would seek to sow discord and enmity across out land.”
The government yesterday announced that it will hold dialogues among religious leaders to reach a common understanding, in an attempt to defuse the tension.
To date eight churches have been targets of attempted arson nationwide, with the most recent attack being on the Sidang Injil Borneo church in Seremban yesterday.
The attacks are a response to the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling last month, which lifted the ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Malay edition of the Catholic weekly magazine Herald.
The Home Ministry has since obtained a stay of execution based on consent from the publisher, pending an appeal.
The magazine, which is printed in four languages, has been using the word 'Allah' as a translation for 'God' in its Malay-language section, but the government argued 'Allah' should be used only by Muslims.
The term 'Allah' is widely used among Christian indigenous peoples in Sabah and Sarawak, many of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.
Jan 12, 10 12:43pm, MalaysiaKini
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has expressed outrage over the arson attacks on churches in several states since last Friday, also blaming the federal government for having added to the situation.
MCPX
In a statement, he criticised the attack on the All Saints Church in Taiping - the country’s oldest - as an attack on the nation’s heritage.
Citing verses from the Quran, he said Muslims must follow the Islamic tradition of “remarkable commitment to understanding and coexistence with the (others of the Abrahamic faiths)”.
“The Caliph Umar…was careful to ensure that Muslims respected the sanctity of Christian places of worship. Why then our own police force’s hesitation to offer an assurance of safety and security for Malaysian churches?” he asked.
Anwar also reminded Malaysians that the God worshipped by Muslims and Christians is indeed the same, citing the 29th chapter of the Quran which reads: And dispute not the People of the Book, but say, ‘We believe in the Revelation which has come down to us and that which has come down to you…our God (Allah) and your God (Allah) is One, and it is to him we bow’.
He blamed the Umno-led BN government, whose “incessant racist propaganda over the Allah issue” has aggravated the matter.
Anwar also hit out at the “government-controlled mainstream media, especially, Utusan Malaysia” for issuing “inflammatory rhetoric”.
“Such wanton acts of provocation are indeed criminal and demonstrate the duplicity of the 1Malaysia campaign,” he said.
He lauded the swift condemnation of the attacks by Muslim leaders and organisations, as well as the call for calm, forgiveness and resistance of retaliation by Christian leaders.
“We must now advance the spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood which is inherent in our religions and enshrined in our constitution…Our fellow (Malaysians) must feel safe and secure in this country knowing that their freedom to worship is protected,” he said.
‘Dialogue long overdue’
The way to end the conflict is not by burning churches, he said, but through an interfaith dialogue which is long overdue in Malaysia.
“As a nation we struggle to uphold the spirit of unity that our founding fathers envisioned at independence…In such times the spirit of engagement and dialogue must transcend those voices that would seek to sow discord and enmity across out land.”
The government yesterday announced that it will hold dialogues among religious leaders to reach a common understanding, in an attempt to defuse the tension.
To date eight churches have been targets of attempted arson nationwide, with the most recent attack being on the Sidang Injil Borneo church in Seremban yesterday.
The attacks are a response to the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling last month, which lifted the ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Malay edition of the Catholic weekly magazine Herald.
The Home Ministry has since obtained a stay of execution based on consent from the publisher, pending an appeal.
The magazine, which is printed in four languages, has been using the word 'Allah' as a translation for 'God' in its Malay-language section, but the government argued 'Allah' should be used only by Muslims.
The term 'Allah' is widely used among Christian indigenous peoples in Sabah and Sarawak, many of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.
Jan 9, 2010
Our PM is Powerless...
The statement that as long as these people demonstrating within the Mosque, the government can not do anything to them is weak. When Reformasi movement staged demonstration at the National Mosque, the FRU clearly were inside the Mosque to catch the protester - Tian Chua can tell you a lot about this. And when people demonstrated against ISA, they were called biadap, but our PM is powerless to act when UMNO sanctioned group demonstrated. What is the logic to that statement?
In fact if Najib is wise this would be the right time to display his 1 Malaysia credential and leadership by inviting Church leaders to discuss the controversy. This is clearly a failure of leadership and BN government is very irresponsible and unable to govern from the center but has to gain votes through the fringe group of extremist. Very tragic indeed.
YB Tengku Razaleigh has a good take on UMNO and the Allah issue and below I quoted to sum up the thing I want to say.
"Umno’s position in the present controversy over the use of the term “Allah” by non-Muslims is an example. In a milestone moment, PAS, the Islamic party, is holding onto the more plural and moderate position while Umno is digging itself into an intolerant hardline position that has no parallel that I know of in the Muslim world. Umno is fanning communal sentiment, and the government it leads is taking up policy lines based on “sensitivities” rather than principle. The issue appears to be more about racial sentiment than religious, let alone constitutional principles.
In a complex multiracial society a party and a government whose primary response to a public issue is sunk in the elastic goo of “sensitivities” rather than founded on principle, drawn from sentiment rather than from the Constitution, is already short of leadership and moral fibre. Public life is about behaving and choosing on principle rather than sentiment. Islam, in particular, demands that our actions be guided by an absolute commitment to justice for all rather than by looking inward at vague “sensitivities” of particular groups, however politically significant. It is about doing what is right rather than protecting arbitrary feelings. If feelings diverge from what is right and just, then it’s time to show some leadership."
Jan 2, 2010
Jan 1, 2010
"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." by Edmund Burke
I was reading Asian Beacon and came across with this beautiful quote by Edmund Burke on the topic about Transforming Society written by Joanna Lee. Edmund Burke's quote: " All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."
In the forum about Transforming Society organised by Graduates' Christian Fellowship on 10 May 2008, Rev Sivin Kit quoted a few biblical models for faith and politics and challenged participants to consider other model of governance, transparency, constructive criticism and social justice instead of just relying on Roman 13, which exhorts Christians to submit to the authorities established by God.
Christians were very often told to submit to the Government but were unaware that Government is only a vehicle to govern a country. It's the country that we should submit or loyal to because whatever party that has the majority can form a government but country belongs to all the citizen - the real stake holders.
It's this believe that we should submit to the Government, that Christians were oblivious to the mismanagement and injustices that are happening within the Government. Thus allowing evil to prevail and it has becoming worst over the years. If we still believe we are unable to bring change,then we are wrong as we have the power to influence even in a small and little way like through face book, circle of friends and writing to on-line media is the best way.
Blogging is one of the ways that is effective to influence public opinion into action. Other than this, refusing to bribe the traffic policemen is one good way of saying no to corrupt cops.
Edmund Burke's quote is still very current and relevant to us. Any countries could slip into Zimbabwe-like nation very easily and all it takes is for a few good men to do nothing when witnessing mismanagement, injustices and corruption. Looking at how Malaysia is faring politically, economically and socially, it does not take a genius to figure out that indeed we have not a few but a lot of our good men are not doing anything when seeing injustices and corruption.
In the forum about Transforming Society organised by Graduates' Christian Fellowship on 10 May 2008, Rev Sivin Kit quoted a few biblical models for faith and politics and challenged participants to consider other model of governance, transparency, constructive criticism and social justice instead of just relying on Roman 13, which exhorts Christians to submit to the authorities established by God.
Christians were very often told to submit to the Government but were unaware that Government is only a vehicle to govern a country. It's the country that we should submit or loyal to because whatever party that has the majority can form a government but country belongs to all the citizen - the real stake holders.
It's this believe that we should submit to the Government, that Christians were oblivious to the mismanagement and injustices that are happening within the Government. Thus allowing evil to prevail and it has becoming worst over the years. If we still believe we are unable to bring change,then we are wrong as we have the power to influence even in a small and little way like through face book, circle of friends and writing to on-line media is the best way.
Blogging is one of the ways that is effective to influence public opinion into action. Other than this, refusing to bribe the traffic policemen is one good way of saying no to corrupt cops.
Edmund Burke's quote is still very current and relevant to us. Any countries could slip into Zimbabwe-like nation very easily and all it takes is for a few good men to do nothing when witnessing mismanagement, injustices and corruption. Looking at how Malaysia is faring politically, economically and socially, it does not take a genius to figure out that indeed we have not a few but a lot of our good men are not doing anything when seeing injustices and corruption.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
