The Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
(1) DAP dares Lau on ‘Allah’ issue, 8 May 2010
by Adib Zalkapli
SIBU, May 8 — DAP today sought to bring the controversial “Allah” ruling into the Sibu campaign, telling Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Robert Lau Hui Yew that he has no legitimacy to represent the Christian-majority Sibu if he refuses speak up on the issue.
“If Robert Lau intends to be a Member of Parliament that speaks up for a Christian-majority constituency, Sibu, then he has the moral duty to declare his stand on this thorny issue, so that the voters in Sibu can decide whether they can count on him to speak up on this issue,” said DAP organising secretary, Teresa Kok, in a statement.
“Lau cannot continue to sidestep this issue by merely saying religion is a personal thing,” she added.
Yesterday, Lau said the “Allah” row should not be made into an election issue so as to avoid mixing religion with politics.
The issue started in 2007 after the Home Ministry, invoking a 1986 Cabinet directive banning non-Muslims from using certain Arabic words, refused to renew the publication permit of the Catholic newspaper, The Herald. The Catholic Church later challenged the government’s decision, and on Dec 31 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that The Herald had a constitutional right to use the word “Allah” for its Malay section.
In January, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had assured the Christian community in Sabah and Sarawak that the ban on the non-Muslim use of word “Allah” would not affect them.
“The Umno-led BN government has been making Christian [worship] difficult by banning the import of religious materials and bibles from Indonesia in the past decades, on the grounds that the Indonesian Bible and Christian materials used the word ‘Allah’ to address God,” said Kok.
“As a Christian candidate, Robert Lau should make his stand on the ‘Allah’ issue, he should tell us whether he supports the BN government’s actions, and whether he will be another robotic BN representative in the Parliament, if elected, and will [be] just another rubber-stamp in every decision of the BN government,” challenged Kok, who is also a Selangor executive councillor.
About 53 per cent of the 55,000 voters in the Sibu constituency are Christians. The Chinese form about 66.6 per cent of the voters, the largely-Christian Ibans 16.3 per cent, and the Malay/Melanau approximately 16.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, Sarawak DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen said Lau was not fit to be a federal lawmaker if he refuses to discuss national issues such as the “Allah” row.
The scope of responsibilities of an elected Member of Parliament does not only include raising important constituency issues, but he or she has to be concerned with the nation’s political and economic development in order to defend the welfare and constitutional rights of the people,” said Chong, who is also DAP’s Sibu by-election director.
“It’s obvious that SUPP’s role in Parliament is solely to be a ‘yes-man’. Under the control of BN, SUPP leaders will never have the courage to question the government and its policies,” he added.
Lau is facing DAP state chairman and Bukit Assek assemblyman, Wong Ho Leng, and independent, Narawi Haron in the by-election.
Campaigning began today, while polling has been set for May 16.
(2) Ho Leng promises to solve ‘Allah’ row, 9 May 2010
by Adib Zalkapli
SIBU, May 9 — DAP candidate Wong Ho Leng today made solving the “Allah” issue as his major campaign message in the Sibu by-election.
“If elected, I will call upon the prime minister and home minister to immediately cease the legal dispute with the Christian churches over these matters to protect the freedom of religion in Malaysia for non-Muslims,” said Wong.
The Sarawak DAP chairman reiterated his party’s stand for Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Robert Lau to make his stand about the ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah”.
“Lau cannot take an ambiguous stance on the Allah issue anymore, otherwise the people of Sibu, especially the non-Muslims will not trust Lau to speak up for them in Parliament,” the Bukit Assek assemblyman told a press conference here.
About 53 per cent of the 55,000 voters in the Sibu constituency are Christians.
The Chinese form about 66.6 per cent of the voters, the Christian Ibans 16.3 per cent, and the Malay/Melanau approximately 16.2 per cent.
“I urge Lau to stop running away from key issues which concerns the people of Sibu as well as all Malaysians,” said Wong.
DAP candidate, Wong Ho Leng holds a press conference this morning where he was joined by Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng. “It is completely ridiculous that Lau blames Pakatan leaders for bringing ‘national issues’ into the by-election. It shows that Lau does not understand at all the role of a member of parliament,” he added.
Lau had said that the “Allah” row should not be brought into the campaign to avoid mixing politics and religion.
“Robert has squirmed from answering a simple question of whether the prohibition of the use of ‘Allah’ is a serious infringement on the rights of the people of Sarawak and Malaysian to the constitutionally guaranteed principle of freedom of religion for non-Muslims,” said Wong.
The issue started in 2007 after the Home Ministry invoked a 1986 Cabinet directive banning non-Muslims from using certain Arabic words when it refused to renew the publication permit of the Catholic tabloid Herald.
The Catholic Church later challenged the government’s decision, and on Dec 31 last year the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Herald has the right to use the word “Allah” for its Malay section.
In January, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz assured the Christian community in Sabah and Sarawak that the ban on “Allah” would not affect them.
Christians in West Malaysia also continue to face problems with the distribution of religious materials in the national language.
DAP has mobilised its church-going leaders to convince Sibu Christians to back the party with at least two high profile meetings with the community involving DAP national leaders.
The by-election was called following the death of five-term MP and Deputy Transport Minister Robert Lau Hoi Chew early last month.
Campaigning began yesterday and polling has been set on May 16.
(3) BN brings Islamic state issue to Sibu, 10 May 2010
by Adib Zalkapli
SIBU, May 10 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) campaign sought today to play down the “Allah” row and instead questioned rival DAP’s association with PAS.
Sibu SUPP publicity chief Daniel Ngieng said the Sarawak DAP has not clarified why it was willing to work with PAS in the state Pakatan Rakyat (PR) despite ideological differences.
“In 1999, the Sarawak DAP did not want to work with PAS because of ideological differences,” said Ngieng at a briefing on the Sibu by-election campaign.
“But now they have come together in the Pakatan Rakyat,” he added.
In the 1999 general election, the DAP together with PAS and PKR formed the Barisan Alternatif coalition, which collapsed after two years due to PAS’ objective of forming an Islamic state.
The unprecedented co-operation between DAP and PAS then resulted in the defeat of DAP’s strongmen Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh in Penang due to non-Muslim voters’ fear of the Islamic party.
Ngieng said the Sarawak DAP had then refused to be part of the coalition because of the ideological divide.
“So I want to challenge DAP Sarawak to be clear on their stand on PAS’ ideology,” he said. “Or have they reversed their stand?”
The Sarawak PR was formed late last month, comprising the three federal opposition parties and the state’s SNAP.
On DAP’s challenge for SUPP to state its stand on the “Allah” row, Ngieng said the matter was not relevant in the East Malaysian state.
“It is not an issue here. Our natives’ Bibles still contain the word ‘Allah’. That is why I said do not bring Semenanjung politics here,” he said.
Malay-speaking Christians here continue to use the word “Allah” to refer to God in the national language, even though the practice has been prohibited by the BN federal government.
The DAP candidate in the Sibu by-election Wong Ho Leng has also promised to put an end to the “Allah” issue if he is elected.
Ngieng, however, questioned this by saying: “He had said a lot of things, but can we trust him?”
Wong, who is also the state DAP chairman, is facing SUPP’s Robert Lau Hui Yew and independent Narawi Haron in the May 16 by-election.
In Election 2008, the late Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew won the seat with a 3,549-vote majority, beating Wong and Lim Chin Chuang of PKR in a three-cornered fight.
Sibu has 54,695 voters, comprising 52,158 ordinary voters and 2,537 postal voters made up of 1,910 military and 627 police personnel.
According to the electoral roll, updated as of April 9, Chinese voters make up almost 67 per cent of the total number of voters, followed by Malay/Melanau (10.5 per cent) and Sarawak Bumiputeras (22 per cent).
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