Malaysiakini.com （http://www.malaysiakini.com）
(1) Religion mustn't be criteria for scholarships, 22 February 2008
by Malaysian Dhimmi
I refer to the Malaysia report Muslim groups unveil election demands.
Not long ago a someone wrote a letter Islamic state still a deal breaker for opposition. He was spot on. This is precisely what will happen to Malaysia in 20 to 30 years time. What they are demanding for, in fact, is that different rules apply to people of different religions, thus segregating the country into preferred citizens and non-preferred citizens.
This list of demands will tear this country apart. But this doesn't bother them at all. One of their demands is to give scholarships to non-Malay Muslims students too and not just Malay Muslims. This is clearly a way to discriminate people based not on race, but on religion. This means that if you want to get a scholarship, then be a Muslim.
This is nothing less than dhimi-tude. Many Muslims point out that living as a dhimmi is quite a good life as history shows. But just one thing - we’ve already found something superior to dhimmi-tude and Islamic administration and that is the secular democracy and equal rights model which does not discriminate based on race or religion. Why would we want anything less when we have tasted equality and freedom?
When anyone questions or reject the demands of these groups, it will be taken as an insult to Islam, and discussion about it will be halted. It will always come to ‘Don't question it, this is Islam’ which has the further connotation of ‘or else...’
And as usual, the representatives of the group say ‘This shouldn't be seen as a threat to the government or non-Muslims’. Seriously, I don't know what logic these people go by, but it is a threat in my book.
(2) MPSJ draft plan unfair against churches, temples, 22 February 2008
by Henry Tan
I referred to the report Shop-house churches must get permits. This article was printed from Welcome to Sun2Surf(http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=20794).
Shop-house churches must get permits
By: Maria J.Dass (Mon, 18 Feb 2008)
PETALING JAYA (Feb 18, 2008): Churches in Subang Jaya which have been operating out of shop and factory lots have not been asked to close down, said incumbent Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng.
“We have not asked them to close down, but to submit their application for permits,” said Lee, adding that such churches have to get a permit to operate from business premises.
He said many of the churches which are not on religious land have not applied for these annual permits costing RM1,000.
Lee was responding to a statement by incumbent Seputeh MP Teresa Kok that churches in MPSJ need to show concern about the municipality’s draft local plan.
According to her, only one church (First Baptist in SS17) is deemed to be legally on religious land in Subang Jaya, and that all others are officially illegal.
Kok said most of the churches were unaware of the draft local plan and it was now too late to submit their objection as the objection period was over.
She had however filed an objection on the issue, and called for more religious land to be allotted for non-Muslim places of worship.
Lee, when contacted, said the opposition was twisting the issue as the council had not asked the churches to close down but asked them to apply for permits.
Asked if this was the same requirement imposed on mosques, suraus and temples, Lee said: "If they are on their own land then there is no need for them to apply for the permits for their religious houses, but in the cases of the churches, they need to apply for the permits because they are operating from out of the shoplots in business centres and factory lots in industrial areas."
As a Christian and a church leader, I am disappointed with the Subang Jaya state assemblyperson Lee Hwa Beng. He has neglected his job in helping the non-Muslims.
This MPSJ draft local plan was definitely unfair to churches and temples in Subang Jaya. Why were the churches and temples not alerted to submit their objections? If they need to pay for permits, why were they not informed until DAP’s Teresa Kok brought it out? Churches and temples should be exempted from paying for permits. They are not running a business and getting profits. RM1,000 per year is a lot of money. What about a church or a temple which is occupying more than one lot of a building? Does it have to pay according to the number of lots?
Officially if you don't have a permit, it is illegal. No church in Subang Jaya is legal except the First Baptist Church in SS17. In the past, I knew of municipal councils purposely making it difficult for churches. For example, if you rent premises for your church, you have no right to apply for a permit. The landlords have to apply on your behalf. At the end of the day, no landlord would want to go through all the hassle.
Applying for permits would have lots of disadvantages. That would mean that the operations of churches are being controlled by MPSJ. At any time, they will have the right not to reject your renewal. Even if you own the property, they would say that the buildings are meant for commercial use only and not for religious purposes. When permits are not renewed, it is equivalent to churches and temples being closed down.
Under the constitution, all citizens are given the right for freedom of worship. Which church or temple wants to use shops and houses or factories for our places of worship if the government allow us to build on land in proper areas? Why is land just given for suraus only? Hwa Beng has never pushed the constituency’s developer Sime UEP to comply with housing laws and allocate certain proportions of land for non-Muslims' places of worship.
Therefore the MPSJ draft local plan is definitely eroding the rights of non-Muslims. That is why churches and temples should have been alerted from the beginning to allow them the opportunity to hold dialogues with MPSJ to voice out our objections. But now it is too late. Teresa Kok has done the right thing.
(3) Have Christians learned the costly lesson?, 22 February 2008
by Josh Hong
Goh Keat-Peng, a Christian leader and keen watcher of Malaysian politics, crossed the Rubicon when he entered party politics by becoming a founding member of Parti Keadilan in 1999. This created a bit of a stir within the Christian communities in Malaysia, with some criticising Goh for joining an opposition party as a prominent Christian.
Ten years on, the shouts for Reformasi have kind of died down, while the political climate in the country has vastly changed. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose sacking of his deputy Anwar Ibrahim triggered the crisis, is even struggling to make his feeble voices heard – just like the rest of us.
Paradoxically, it was against this background of the seemingly moderate and progressive "Islam Hadhari", promulgated by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, that a series of controversies took place, all of which involved Islam and other faiths. On the eve of the 12th General Election, the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), long perceived to be transcending politics, suddenly came out with a statement calling for Christians to "vote wisely."
If you ask for my frank opinion, I would say the wording of the original press statement is rather too cautious and level-headed, with no offence to any party. That is sensible. Still, it contains nothing new, and reeks of xenophobia even as it refers to a survey by the Star that "illegal immigrants" are among the issues central to voters’ concerns. The innocent and helpless face of infant Jesus seeking refuge in Egypt sprang to mind as I was reading it.
After years of the carrot and stick approach by the authorities, Malaysia’s religious communities have, generally speaking, developed severe political phobia for politics. In view of this, credit must still be given to the CFM for having taken the lead and set itself as an example for other religious groups to follow.
The statement is issued with a view to reminding Christians of their responsibility as citizens; it also spells out some guidelines which Christians should consider when they exercise their right to vote, and the criteria include "integrity, honesty and efficiency" of political parties, as well as candidates’ past performance and stand on "constitutional rights, civil liberties and freedom of religion". Although the statement falls short of unequivocal support for the opposition, the discontent with the Barisan Nasional government over the Islamicization of the country is too conspicuous to be ignored.
Christian politicians
His mission on earth may have been short, Jesus made justice the core of his sermons nonetheless. Malaysia has held no less than 11 general elections since the 1950s, yet it does not take a genius to tell in all honesty how many of them can be said to be squeaky clean.
If the CFM hopes to make some real impact on the reader, it should have touched on several serious concerns also, such as the gerrymandered electoral map and the absence of free press and independent media in Malaysia. This could help the intended public come to grip with realities.
Of course, there are always Christian politicians who do not just sit idly by when the rights of non-Muslims are encroached upon. Apart from some opposition parliamentarians, Loh Seng Kok, the MCA Member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya, once voiced the concern that the new edition of history textbooks used in national schools made light of non-Malays’ contribution to nation-building. Loh, in one of the parliamentary sessions, also requested that the directive of the Islamic Development Board (Jakim) for the private sector to conduct Muslim prayers during meetings be retracted.
Unavoidably, Loh’s conscientious acts hit a raw nerve when some Umno extremists gathered outside his service centre and yelled at him, warning him to mind his own business. But Loh lives in a country where absurdities and bizarreness abound. Instead of seeing the mobs punished for their unruliness, we now know that Loh has been dropped from the MCA candidates’ list.
But the most unbearable humiliation for Loh is perhaps the vandalising of his campaign billboards by unknown parties. I do feel sorry for Loh, and pray that he will soon receive healing on his wounded spirit from the righteous God that he and I both believe.
Damaging dispute
Having said that, I just wonder if Malaysia could have spared the damaging dispute over Lina Joy and Moorthy’s dead body had the Christian communities chosen to speak out without fear and favour on injustices over the years, and to show concern to all the weak minorities – "legal" or "illegal" alike, by virtue of the strength that springs from their faith.
Whatever has happened in regard to religion clearly indicates that non-Muslims in Malaysia can no longer pin our hope on some "powerful politicians" in government to safeguard our rights when the country’s democratic institution is seriously flawed.
After all, these politicians, Christian or not, are beholden to a racist and hegemonic party and can ill afford to sacrifice their political career, the latest example being Lee Hwa Beng who, like many BN leaders, is quick to blame the press for "misquoting" him.
It would be disingenuous for me to say there has been no breakthrough between the days when Goh Keat-Peng joined Keadilan and the moment the CFM statement was issued. Still, if Christians are still not grounded in the biblical teaching for us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, we may not really learn from the costly mistakes over the past so many decades and are bound to repeat them.
(End)
