Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
(1) Church seeks to end five-month ‘Allah’ stalemate, 14 June 2010
by Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — In limbo for the past five months, the Catholic Church plans to write to the Court of Appeal to hasten a hearing for the “Allah” dispute, so it can exercise its hard-won right to print the word in its newspaper.
“It’s been five months since the judgment. People have been coming up to me and asking ‘What’s happening?’ We can’t have a stay indefinitely,” said Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor-priest of the Catholic newspaper told The Malaysian Insider recently.
The High Court here had ruled The Herald Weekly, which had been locked in a two-year tussle with the home ministry, had a constitutional right to publish the word “Allah” in a Christian context on Dec 31 last year.
But the home ministry is appealing the decision. The ministry also managed to get a court order in January barring the Catholic newspaper from exercising its right until the appellate court decides the issue.
The Church agreed not to challenge the stay order.
The Church did not contest the stay order to help calm tempers. — file pic“We consented to the stay order because we didn’t want trouble,” Lawrence explained, referring to unruly street demonstrations which broke out in the capital and other cities after the High Court judgment, raising fears of social, economic and political instability throughout the country.
More than 10 churches and other houses of worship nationwide were also attacked in the same month.
Five months have passed but a hearing date for the home ministry’s appeal has yet to be fixed.
The Catholic Church and its members numbering close to a million people are growing increasingly frustrated over the stalemate.
“If we use the word ‘Allah’, our case is finished. Once our licence is revoked, the case becomes academic. It’s a condition of our permit,” Lawrence said.
The home ministry holds the power to approve or reject any publishing permit, which is required by law to produce a newspaper and other print publications in the country.
The Church’s lawyer, S. Selvarajah, told The Malaysian Insider the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), which is acting for the home ministry, did not file a certificate of urgency together with their notice of appeal.
Selvarajah explained that if the certificate had been included, the appellate court would likely have sped up the case for hearing, as had been done in the Perak constitutional crisis last year.
“There is no time frame. They can drag their feet over this. It can take one or two years [before the case is brought up in the Court of Appeal],” the lawyer said.
Selvarajah said the Church’s options were limited. Writing to the Court of Appeal president to hasten hearing of the appeal was its best bet.
The Church also cannot file another suit on the same issue, based on the Rules of the High Court, the lawyer said.
Ideally, they want the home ministry to drop the appeal, but right now, they are just looking to use the “Allah” word.
(2)Inter-faith talks stillborn over name clash, 10 July 2010
by Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — As the Najib administration scrambles to revive inter-faith talks that began earlier this year, Malaysia’s multi-religious leaders are refusing to budge until the panel’s name is finalised.
The Cabinet’s Special Committee to Promote Inter-Religious Harmony and Understanding (SCPIRHU) slammed into a brick wall soon after its inaugural meet, after several Muslim groups and muftis baulked at the inclusion of the term “inter-religious”.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, and the Cabinet committee’s appointed co-ordinator, Datuk Ilani Isahak, have been working behind the scenes quietly persuading religious leaders to head back to the table.
No dates have been scheduled yet to continue the discussions but Ilani had disclosed earlier this week, in an interview with an English-language daily, her hope to restart talks this month.
The council of muftis had unanimously voted for a name change to the panel at a meeting on April 3, claiming the present name would cause confusion among Malaysian Muslims.
They proposed that the panel should be renamed the “Special Committee to Promote Inter-Racial Harmony and Understanding”.
The Muslim groups want the talks to come under Jamils’ purview. — They also wanted the panel — currently under the care of the National Unity and Integration Department (NUID) led by Koh — to be supervised by Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, the minister in charge of Islamic religious affairs.
The Hindu Sangam indicated to The Malaysian Insider it had no issue with a name change, but could not agree to the muftis’ suggestion.
“The Hindu Sangam is always ready for talks. We’re willing to talk to anyone from any religion,” said its president, Mohan Shan.
“But before that, they must finalise the name to call the committee. If they want to call it ‘jawatankuasa kaum’ (race committee) then we’re not the right people; we’re religious,” he stressed, drawing a distinct line between the two concepts.
“We don’t know what we’re going to talk [about] and how we’re going to talk about sensitive issues if even the name is a problem,” Mohan pointed out.
His deputy, Dr Bala Tharmalingam, hinted that the uneasiness over the present name may be confined to only the Muslim community. The non-Muslims were, he noted, were baffled.
“I don’t know-lah. They have their own way of thinking. I don’t know what is stopping them… Maybe the Muslim groups feel the supremacy of Islam will be threatened,” he mused.
“Even if they’re supreme, they should co-operate towards religious peace and harmony anyway,” he added, explaining that the whole purpose of the Cabinet panel was to find amicable solutions to the growing number of inter-faith disputes confronting the public.
“If the name is the problem, then change the name. Maybe ‘Religious co-operation towards peace and harmony’ or something like that,” Dr Bala offered.
The Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) president, Rev Thomas Phillip, has not had word from Ilani.
“Nothing so far. We’re just waiting for them to bring forward the terms of reference so we can have some kind of dialogue,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
The head of the Mar Thoma church was also unsure if the inter-faith talks would pick up again this month, as Ilani suggested.
“We don’t even know if there’s a change in name [of the panel]. They have to show us what they want and then we’ll have a meeting with our council,” he said.
The talks began after a spate of attacks on various houses of worships following the New Year’s Eve High Court ruling that Catholic weekly The Herald had the constitutional right to use the word “Allah” to describe the Christian God.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers have applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal. No date has been set for the appeal process yet.
(3) Embracing diversity our greatest challenge, says Hishammuddin, 19 July 2010
by Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the public have yet to embrace the country’s diversity and that it still remains Malaysia’s greatest challenge.
Hishammuddin said the government has always encouraged the development of different cultures and religions in the country.
“We are a peaceful multi-cultural and religious country, coping with diversity in a manner highly unusual and often criticized by outsiders. We have allowed and encouraged the different communities, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans, to develop and nurture their language, religion and cultural practices,” he said during the 13th FBI National Academy Associates Conference Asia Pacific Chapter.
The Umno vice president said that public must take the opportunity to turn Malaysia into a unique society.
“Malaysia greatest challenge of independence is our diversity. Fifty-three years later, it is still our greatest challenge. We still have not come to appreciate the value of national and cultural diversity as strength. We still have yet to think our multi-racialism beyond just compromise. We have yet to see it as an invitation to work together and create a unique society together. We still see it part of a social contract,” he said.
He pointed out that the public is still defensive and have yet to capitalize on the country’s diversity.
“We continue to be defensive of our diversity and continue to only see potential sensitivity and pitfalls. We are not proud of it nor do we teach our children to see it as benefit and make capital out of it. Today we are faced with so many new challenges and we have to decide how to move forward. This is why the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib’s 1 Malaysia is so important,” he said.
However, the country is still reeling from the affects of the church arson attacks after the High Court had allowed the use of the word “Allah” by the Catholic Church last year.
The Home Ministry has since received a stay against the judgment and the Church is still waiting for the date of the hearing.
The Home Minister also drew heavy criticism after he met with protestors that stomped and spat a severed cow-head, an animal sacred in Hinduism, in a demonstration against the new site of a Hindu temple outside the Selangor state secretariat last year.
The government also recently announced the establishment of a panel to monitor the media.
Hishammuddin defended the government’s move to establish a committee to stop the dissemination of false news.
“The freedom of expression is not an absolute right if it splits the country,” said the home minister.
The committee members include Hishamudddin, Information Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz.
Hishamuddin explained that government must balance the rights of the majority, the minority, the freedom of expression and national security.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) newspapers Suara Keadilan, Harakah and The Rocket have all run into problems renewing their publishing permits and have been issued with show-cause letters.
The opposition coalition has halted publishing until the problems are worked out with Home Ministry.
(End)
