Malaysiakini（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
(1) Arabic is not tied to a particular religion, 10 January 2012
by Kevin Chin
I am really appalled by the politicisation of our schools and all public institutions and the various applications of Islamisation in Malaysia. I am absolutely against compulsory religious indoctrination of children in our schools.
However, I would like to share this; I worked in Egypt for two years as an engineer.
Being a Christian, I attended mass in Egyptian churches on Sundays.
As mass was celebrated in English only in a very few churches and only at certain times, I had to attend mass in various other languages that were used in the Churches there; French, German and Arabic.
I was taken aback the first time I attended mass in Arabic, because the priest started by saying:"Bismillah Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim".
Remembering this was mass in a Catholic church, I asked my Egyptian friends what it meant. They informed me that it meant "In the name of the Almighty, God".
I also found out that the word "madrasah" meant religious school, Christian or Muslim.
The word "Allah" was used in Christian churches all the time. In fact there were many Christians in Arabia, speaking Arabic and praying in Arabic; Copts, Orthodox Greek, Armenian, Syrian, all Christians, speaking Arabic.
Learning Arabic is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact I found the Arabic people so genuine, honest and caring, I eagerly tried to learn as much Arabic as possible.
The only thing wrong with the picture in Malaysia is that the Malays are trying to hijack Arabic and make it a Muslim language, which it is not, it is just a language.
Paul Anka was an Arab and he is Christian and there are many Arab Christians.
I still am devastated by the things, Malays are forcing upon our children; however, if we fail to prevent this practice, I think we should inform our children that Arabic is not Islamic - they should visit the many beautiful churches in Egypt and attend mass in Arabic.
(2) Schools must not oppress religion and language, 10 January 2012
by Sek Chin Yong
The Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) is of the view that extra-curricular activities are a continuation of formal education.
Such activities allow students to explore the meaning of life, their interests and skills.
School authorities should encourage students to exercise their choice according to their interests and inclination. In no way should this freedom be deprived.
Recently, the school authorities of a secondary school in Malacca ordered the closure of the Buddhist Society because its Chinese students preferred to join the Buddhist Society and Chinese Language Society.
The unacceptable reason was that the school authorities hoped to encourage students to participate in other societies so as to reduce the students' tendency to join only a few societies.
The freedom of religion and language has all the while been protected by the federal constitution since Independence.
It is the foundation of mutual respect of Malaysians. Earlier on, the Buddhist community strived hard and got the Ministry of Education to issue an order, delegating school principals the power to approve the establishment of religious societies.
That was to reduce the unnecessary phenomenon created by "little Napoleons" in the approval process.
But, now we face a situation where too many students choose the same society, resulting in school authorities wanting to reduce or close some societies in the name of promoting pluralism.
A plural nation is built upon the basis of harmony and non-destruction of social order where the people can choose according to their needs.
A democratic society is constructed upon the foundation of the majority respect the rights of the minority.
The various ethnic groups and followers of different religions all have the freedom to choose their language and faiths.
YBAM sees this issue prudently and hopes that in dealing with such matters, government officials should be more sensitive and accommodative in their approach.
・Sek Chin Yong is secretary general of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM).
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