1. Union of Catholic Asian News (http://www.ucanews.com)
Pope agrees diplomatic relations with KLMalaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations , 19 July 2011
ucanews.com reporter, Bangkok
Malaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations, it was announced yesterday.
Pope Benedict XVI had a 25-minute audience with prime minister Najib Razak, the second meeting between a pontiff and an incumbent Malaysian leader.
“In the cordial conversations the positive developments in bilateral relations were discussed, and an agreement was reached to establish diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See,” the Vatican said in statement released after the meeting.
Najib’s office also commented on the meeting. “The world is at a crossroads, the forces of irrationality and discord are threatening our long-cherish and hard-gained stability, and prosperity,” the statement said, adding that the Holy See recognised Malaysia’s commitment to promote moderation as a global doctrine.
Although the effort to establish diplomatic ties began almost 20 years ago, and then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad visited the Vatican and met Pope John Paul II in 2002, the momentum built following the installation last May of Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli as Vatican ambassador to Singapore and with responsibilities throughout Southeast Asia. He quickly arranged for an early meeting date.
The head of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Xavier Pakiam, was in the prime minister’s party at the pope’s Castel Gandolfo summer residence south of Rome.
Media in Kuala Lumpur have said Najib told the pope of his aim of a ‘global movement of moderates’.
The Vatican statement said: “ The political and social situation in the world and on the Asian continent was reviewed, with particular reference to the importance of intercultural and interreligious dialogue for the promotion of peace, justice and greater understanding between peoples.”
But there was no indication of whether recent treatment of Christians in Malaysia, who have been subject to a number of restrictions and attacks on places of worship, was discussed.
In late March the Malaysian government called off a plan to put serial numbers on bibles printed in the Malay language following a threatened protest by Christians throughout the country.
In return for releasing some 35,100 impounded bibles, the home ministry wanted to stamp each one with a serial number to control its circulation and a message saying it is for Christian use only.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia has called for “revoking all orders made under the Internal Security Act 1960, which have declared the Alkitab (Malay-language bible) as a threat to national security.”
The US recently expressed concern about Malaysians’ ability to “freely express their democratic aspirations” following more than 1,600 arrests at a demonstration advocating electoral reform in the centre of Kuala Lumpur on July 9.
Catholics comprise around 3.5 percent of Muslim-majority Malaysia’s population, the largest Christian grouping.
2. Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
Complaint to Pope on Najib's high-handed tactics, 19 July 2011
A group of 365 Malaysian Christians, including Catholics, have signed a letter addressed to Pope Benedict XVI, complaining about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's crackdown on the July 9 peaceful protest for electoral reforms.
They also expressed concern over the timing of Najib's visit to the Vatican, and pointed out the lack of religious freedom in Malaysia, citing the Lina Joy court case and the seizure of books on Christianity as examples.
The 365 signatories also expressed concern that Najib's visit to the Vatican at this time could be seen as securing popular support for the coming 13th general election, which must be held by mid-2013, and which could result in him clinging to power.
The letter, titled “Recent Political and Social Developments in Malaysia: Towards a more comprehensive understanding of realities in Malaysia”, and published in full by the NGO Aliran, is addressed to the Pontiff, with a copy also sent to Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, who is based in Singapore.
In the letter, the group said the crackdown on Bersih 2.0's call for electoral reform saw the coalition of more than 60 NGOs suffering a clampdown by the authorities in Malaysia, which has all along been ruled by the same coalition of political parties, now led by Najib.
It said the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBHST), of which the Catholic Church of Malaysia is a part, had affirmed Bersih 2.0's right to conduct its peaceful walk for what it considered 'just demands'.
The signatories also said that Bersih 2.0 had deferred to the Agong, who intervened to head off a potential confrontation.
However, the government continued to declare the movement an illegal organisation and rejected its proposal to hold the gathering in Stadium Merdeka.
After his visit to the Vatican yesterday, Najib said Malaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations to promote bonds of mutual friendhip and strengthen cooperation between both sides.
Najib and Pope Benedict XVI met at at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside the Italian capital Rome.
Concern over rights and religious freedom
The letter also sought to urge the Pope to critically understand the political and social realities in Malaysia, and not to hold a one-sided view.
They acknowledge the meeting would help promote Christian-Muslim dialogue, an initiative the Church undertook in 2005.
This was also something Najib has espoused upon, being a leader of moderate Muslim country, but the group noted that political leaders in Malaysia had manipulated ethno-religious sentiments all these years, and mobilised ethno-religious grounds in order to stay in power.
Describing the Najib-led BN government as “anything but moderate”, they described him as someone who “does not do what he preaches” and “does not walk the talk”.
They expressed concern in the government's repression of civil society groups fighting for clean and fair elections.
Explaining further on the street protests, the signatories claimed it was a result of frustrations from the inadequate electoral system that the MCCBHST took part in the peaceful Bersih 2.0 protest.
They are worried that foreign governments and leaders who host Najib could be influenced by his talk of moderation, whereas the government had used excessive force, time and time again, the most recent being the Bersih 2.0 crackdown earlier this month.
They also noted that Najib and other BN leaders had manipulated ethno-religious sentiments irresponsibly and attempted to demonise the leaders of Bersih 2.0 as anti-Islam.
The signatories also expressed their suspicious concern over Najib's political agenda in winning electoral support from Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, where they noted 43 percent of the population belonged to that faith.
The 365 also noted that with Sabah and Sarawak being considered the BN's “fixed deposits”, they were worried over Najib's political agenda in the matter.
The letter said while the Malaysian constitution protected the freedom of religion, there have been curbs to this right, which is a universal fundamental human rights.
As a result of all these, they hoped and prayed the pontiff would see Najib's true intentions when dealing with the Malaysian government.
3. The Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
Allah row drags on despite Najib-Pope meet, 20 July 2011
by Syed Mu’az Syed Putra
Two years after the High Court ruling, the “Allah” row appears no closer to resolution. — file picKUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s historic meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome two days ago was a major step towards better ties with the Catholic Church, but a top Islamic scholar’s remarks today that the “Allah” dispute was meant to provoke Muslim anger suggests the row is a long way from resolution.
A Muslim discourse at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) today showed the issue is unlikely to go away soon without intervention from the government, even after the Vatican and Putrajaya agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties following the prime minister’s meeting with the pope.
In his paper on “Kontroversi Nama Khas ‘Allah’ Dalam Konteks Pluralisme Agama” (Controversy over ‘Allah’ in the context of Religious Pluralism) Dr Mohd Sani Badron insists that the “mistranslation” of the word “God” as “Allah” in Malay bibles must be dropped because it wrongly depicts the two religions as being equals.
The economic and social studies director continued today to push the argument that, if not corrected, the mistranslation could cause further confusion.
“The translation of ‘God’ as ‘Allah’ is very wrong, it should be properly translated... we interpret not just the word but the meaning and if the meaning is inaccurate, it is wrong,” Mohd Sani told The Malaysian Insider.
“Meaning, the accurate term for ‘God’ [in Christianity] is ‘Tuhan’ and the word ‘Lord’ is also ‘Tuhan’, not ‘Allah’,” he added, after presenting his paper.
Local Catholic newspaper, The Herald, won the right to publish the word “Allah” to also refer to the Christian god in its Bahasa Malaysia edition at the High Court two years ago, but is unable to do so pending the home minister’s appeal.
The case has been languishing in the Court of Appeal since.
The Malay-language bibles detained at both Port Klang and Kuching Port two years ago and only recently released have put a clear division between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Some 200 Muslim academics from several government agencies as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) attended the earlier seminar hosted by Ikimar on “Al-Quran dan Cabaran Pluralisme Agama: Pengajaran Masa Lalu, Keperihalan Semasa dan Hala Tuju Masa Depan” (Al-Quran and the Challenge of Religious Pluralism: Lessons from the Past, the Present Issues and the Direction Ahead).
In his paper, Mohd Sani highlighted that the Christian interpretation of “Allah” in the Alkitab — as the Malay-language bible is called — carried a “plural form”.
This, he explained, had corrupted the exclusive name used to refer to Islam’s supreme being and gave several pointed examples to back his claim that the term “Allah” was used in a godly and non-godly sense.
According to Mohd Sani, its use was therefore “twisted” into conflicting meanings.
“As a result and influence from this situation, the government and society should carefully calculate its next step.
“Opening space to the misuse of the term ‘Allah’ is the greatest disrespect to the word and a violation of the Malay language [on] grounds that there are two spellings, that is ‘allah’ and ‘Allah’, is not a satisfactory excuse,” he said.
Mohd Sani insisted that the issue had persisted because it was a provocative issue planned to stir the anger of Muslims.
“The term ‘Allah’ is a term of respect for Muslims and the court action has spread the perception that Muslims are oppressive, certainly it will raise the anger of the Muslim community,” he said.
・Copyright © 2011 The Malaysian Insider.
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