1. Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com）
(1) Priest Lodges Police Report , 22 January 2013
by Opalyn Mok
BUTTERWORTH, Jan 22 – A Christian priest has lodged a police report after he found a notice purportedly by an Anti-Bahasa Melayu Bible Action Group calling all Muslims to join in a ‘Bahasa Melayu Bible burning pesta’.
Reverend John Kennady, from St Mark's Church, was shocked to find the notice typed on a plain piece of paper with the title ‘Jom Bakaq! Pesta Bakaq Bible Bahasa Melayu’ (Let’s burn! Bahasa Melayu Bible burning fest) in his post box this morning.
He had immediately informed the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) before he lodged a report at the Butterworth police station at about 3pm today.
The notice, written in Bahasa Malaysia, invites all Muslims to join the ‘Anti-Bahasa Melayu Bible Action Group’ in a ‘pesta’ to burn the Malay version of the Bible ‘for the sake of the future generations’.
It further proclaimed that the group already has in its hands several Malay versions of the Bible and it urged all Muslims to join in the ‘pesta’ to burn the Bibles at a field in front of the Ahmad Badawi Hall in Bagan Luar here this Sunday morning.
It also stated that the reason they had chosen Sunday was because it is the day that Christians are in churches praying and it ended with a sentence proclaiming ‘Let’s Teach ‘Em A Lesson’.
In an immediate response, the CFM has condemned those behind this in an official statement.
CFM chairman Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing said the CFM vehemently abhors this Bible-burning action which was first proposed by Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali.
Ibrahim had made a call for Malay versions of the Bible that contains the words ‘Allah’ and Jawi scriptures to be burnt.
Yesterday, the controversial group issued a statement clarifying that Ibrahim Ali had meant the Malay-language Bibles with the words ‘Allah’ and Jawi writing should be burnt and not all Bibles.
“Now, it seems someone or a group has threatened to make Bible-burning a reality on Sunday, a day most sacred to Christians,” said Bishop Ng.
“All religious scriptures are sacred books and we should not threaten to burn them or to desecrate any such holy book in any manner,” he said.
He said Christians are peace-loving people who will continue to seek peace and harmony across all religious groups for the well-being of the country.
“We pray that good sense and moderation will prevail for all people in times such as this,” he said.
He also called on those who are spreading hatred for political gain to cease and desist from such a vile act which is unbecoming of all Malaysians who uphold the Rukunegara of which the first pillar is ‘Belief in God’.
When contacted, state religious affairs committee chairman Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said he was notified of this and the state government had immediately sought the assistance of the police.
“We have urged the police to thoroughly investigate this and to take action,” he said, adding that only a few of the notices were distributed in Butterworth.
“It is probably just a hoax,” he said.
Earlier today, DAP chairman Karpal Singh had filed a police report against Ibrahim Ali while pressing the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to initiate investigations into the Bible-burning statement by the Perkasa chief.
The “Allah” dispute has remained a hot-button topic ever since the watershed Election 2008 and it has escalated in the run-up to this year’s polls.
The issue erupted again when DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng call on Putrajaya in his Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language Bibles in East Malaysia.
Following his remarks, several state Rulers and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws banning the use of the word, despite a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.
(2) Pointless to prolong debate with Ibrahim Ali, says Soi Lek, 22 January 2013
by Clara Chooi, Assistant News Editor
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek refused today to condemn or support Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s latest threat to burn Malay-language Bibles, saying no good would come from prolonging a racially-charged debate on such a sensitive issue.
The MCA president, who has previously shown many times that there is no love lost between himself, his party and the Perkasa chief, told reporters at a press conference that there was no point even saying that Ibrahim should be charged with sedition for his remarks.
“We feel that the general principle is there, that there should be mutual respect. What if Muslims say they will burn our holy books and vice-versa? It is wrong, it is not good.
“But there is no need to prolong a debate already deemed sensitive. It will do no good and will only do harm,” the former minister said.
Dr Chua was asked if he felt that by failing to condemn Ibrahim’s threat, MCA would lose its non-Malay support, particularly those from the Christian community who were angered by the Malay rights leader’s words.
MCA’s partner in Barisan Nasional (BN) MIC, has also taken offence to Ibrahim’s remarks and recently urged the government to take stern action against the fiery leader.
“I hope all Malaysians will respect all religions. Whether it is Islam or Christianity... we have been practising this mutual respect since the day we achieved independence and the level of tolerance is exemplary,” Dr Chua said.
The outspoken Chinese community leader later berated a reporter for pressing for an answer on whether he felt Ibrahim should be hauled in for sedition.
Dr Chua, who had refused to answer “yes” or “no” to the reporter, had merely said that many other politicians in the country issue sensitive statements, apart from Ibrahim.
He named himself as an example, along with DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.
“So in the whole country, a lot of people need to be charged,” Dr Chua said.
When the reporter asked if this meant his answer was “no”, the politician accused the youth of putting words in his mouth to ignite a controversy.
“Are you putting me in a spot? Are you persecuting me by telling me I only have a choice of yes or no?
“Only simpletons have such simple minds to say that issues only have yes or no answers... there are always grey areas,” he charged.
Dr Chua also earlier chided DAP’s Lim for raising the “Allah” issue recently during his Christmas message, arguing that the opposition leader was merely attempting to score brownie points from voters.
The “Allah” dispute, which first erupted after the watershed 2008 Elections, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year’s polls.
Debate resurfaced last month after Lim, who is also the Penang Chief Minister, called on Putrajaya in his Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo Malaysia.
Hot on the heels of the DAP leader’s remarks, several state Rulers and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws banning use of the word, despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.
(3) Under fire, Perkasa says bible-burning threat meant to prevent violence, 24 January 2013
by Clara Chooi, Assistant News Editor
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 ― Despite facing heat for Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s bible-burning remark, Malay rights group Perkasa have insisted their president’s words were actually a “wake-up call” to prevent possible violence against distributors of bibles containing the word “Allah” and other Arabic scripts.
The group’s secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, said Ibrahim has no problem facing the consequences of his remarks, including being questioned by the police due to the reports lodged against him.
“To the Perkasa president, he is sure not worried about these reports... because the investigation will surely be based on truth and justice,” he said in a statement sent to The Malaysian Insider.
But Syed Hassan maintained that Ibrahim’s statement was more to prevent possible physical violence and other untoward incidents, should these Malay-language bibles get into the hands of Muslim students.
If this is seen by Muslims who view this as an attempt at apostasy, the Perkasa leader said violence could be used against the book’s distributor.
“I very much understand my president’s statement because it is as a ‘wake-up call’ to all parties to prevent these untoward incidents.
“This is what the president fears because then there would be a physical attack between those of different faiths... this is not good for the nation,” he said.
Syed Hassan also confirmed that Ibrahim has been contacted by the police over the reports lodged against the latter by several parties, including DAP chairman Karpal Singh.
Investigations will commence in another day or two, he added.
Karpal lodged the report on Tuesday in a bid to press Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to kickstart an investigation against Ibrahim, who came under fire after making the remarks in Penang over the weekend.
The fiery Malay rights leader had called on Muslims to burn Malay language bibles that contain the words “Allah” and other religious Arabic scripts should it come into their possession.
But when continuing his defence of Ibrahim’s remarks here, Syed Hassan said that Perkasa has never in the past attacked Christianity.
He said the group was merely protecting Islam and its position, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and this includes rejecting those who insult the religion and who try to spread their own faiths to Muslims.
“Before this, all other races lived in peace. But today, simply because there are parties using this for political expediency, they are willing to flare the sentiments of others,” he said.
Ibrahim’s remarks had immediately sparked furore among Christians and politicians across the political divide and invited calls on the government to cite Ibrahim for sedition.
Barisan Nasional (BN) component party MIC also took offence to Ibrahim’s remarks and urged the government to take stern action against the fiery leader.
Joining the chorus of disapproval, Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee said yesterday that although the Bar still maintains that the Sedition Act should be repealed, it must be impartially applied against Ibrahim given that authorities have charged opposition leaders under the same Act.
In a statement here, National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) chairman Reverend Dr Eu Hong Seng, described the threat an “unfortunate proposal” but reminded Malaysians to be moderate in their responses to the threat.
“This unfortunate proposal to burn Malay Bibles containing the word ‘Allah’ serves as a serious reminder to all Malaysians to be more measured in our responses, the next time we hear of some unreasonable people in the West wanting to burn other people’s Scriptures, because we too have our fair share of unreasonable people,” he said.
The “Allah” dispute, which first erupted after the watershed Election 2008, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year’s polls.
Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang Chief Minister, called on Putrajaya in his Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo Malaysia.
Hot on the heels of the DAP leader’s remarks, several state Rulers and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws banning use of the word, despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.
2. Kuala Lumpur Post（http://www.kualalumpurpost.net）
Church Shocked, Malay-Bible Burning Festivities At 10am ?, 23 January 2013
PETALING JAYA - A Christian movement has come across a flyer in Penang calling on Muslims to burn Malay language Bibles at a gathering at the Bagan Luar Municipality field in Butterworth this Sunday.
Bishop Ng Moon Hing, executive secretary of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), said a copy of the flyer was found in the mailbox of a Christian priest residing in Butterworth.
The flyer, printed by a group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Malay-Bible Action Force), urges Muslims to join in the “Malay Bible burning festivities” scheduled at 10am.
“Our children and grandchildren will end up being apostates if you want to wait for our impotent government to act,” reads the flyer.
“To Muslims who have copies of al-Kitab, bring them over to make our Bible burning session merrier.”
It says Sunday has been chosen for the burning because “that’s the day Christians go to church to pray to their gods.”
Ng described all religious scriptures as “valuable” and said no one should threaten to desecrate a holy book in any manner.
“CFM abhors this action, which was first proposed by Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali,” he said. “Now this group has decided to make it a reality on a sacred day for Christians.”
He said Christians were peace loving people who would always strive to bring harmony and peace to multi-religious Malaysia.
He alleged that extremist groups planning such “vile acts” were doing so only to score political brownie points.
“We pray that good sense will prevail during these trying times. May the Lord confound the plans made by these irresponsible people.”
Perkasa’s Ibrahim, in calling for the burning of Bibles last Saturday, alleged that Christians were provoking the Muslims by using Arabic religious terms in their scripture.
The call drew brickbats from both opposition and Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties. –
3. Free Malaysia Today（http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com）
Perkasa says it has no role in Sunday’s Bible burning，23 January 2013
by Anisah Shukry
It denies knowledge of Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu.
PETALING JAYA: Perkasa today distanced itself from this Sunday’s Bible burning in Butterworth, saying it had no knowledge of the group behind it.
“Perkasa knows nothing of the group that intends to burn Bibles this Jan 27. That is not Perkasa’s programme,” Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali told FMT.
The programme, planned by a group calling itself Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu, comes hot on the heels of Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali’s controversial call for Jawi-scripted Malay Bibles with the word “Allah” to be burned.
The previously unknown group refers to Sunday’s programme as a “festival”. Its flyer reads: “Our children and grandchildren will end up being apostates if you want to wait for our impotent government to act.
“To Muslims who have copies of al-Kitab, bring them over to make our Bible-burning session merrier.”
Commenting on this, Syed Hasan said: “Perkasa will leave this so-called Malay Bible-burning event to the police.”
Syed Hasan also said Perkasa was worried that physical clashes would erupt over news reports of the alleged distribution of Jawi-scripted Bibles containing the word “Allah” to Muslim pupils in Penang.
“For the record,” he added, “Perkasa’s online membership has surged dramatically in the past three days.”
He claimed he had received many phone calls over the alleged distribution of the controversial Bibles and said this was why his group was stern against those attempting to proselytize among Muslims.
But Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi told national news agency Bernama that all the Bibles were in the English language and did not contain the word “Allah”.
4. （http://rt.com）
‘Bible-burning fest’: Calls to set alight Malaysian Bibles for use of 'Allah' spark outrage，24 January 2013
Leaflets inviting people to a “Bible-burning festival” have stirred outrage in Malaysia. This coincided with a nationalist group leader urging to “seize and burn” Malay-language Bibles, prompting calls for his prosecution.
The flyers, issued by a previously unknown group, promised mass Bible-burning in the Malaysian state of Penang on Sunday. The incident has fueled the flames in an ongoing nationwide debate over the use of the word “Allah” for “God” in Jawi-scripted Christian holy texts.
“To Muslims who have copies of al-Kitab, bring them over to make our Bible-burning session merrier,” the text on the flyers said as published on Malaysiakini web portal. It added that the act should “teach them [Christians] a lesson.”
Such statements should be charged under various Malaysian Penal Code sections, including “incitement or abetment to commit criminal offence,” if not under the government’s Sedition Act, Malaysian Bar council president Lim Chee Wee said in a statement.
Wee has also backed the Malaysian opposition demands that charges should be brought against MP Ibrahim Ali, the founder of Malay supremacy group Perkasa, who is said to have made similar remarks recently.
Ibrahim Ali, who advocates for Malay Muslim majority dominance, is notoriously known for threatening Christians with a “holy war” and speaking against Malay-language Bibles containing the word “Allah.”
Opposition-ruled Penang state chief minister Lim Guan, also spoke out against the remarks, urging that authorities “impose stringent measures to prevent such abhorrent and vile acts that would endanger national harmony and heighten religious tensions,” referring to the calls for Bible-burning.
Perkasa has responded to the heightened criticism by claiming they have nothing to do with plans to burn Malay Bibles, with the groups secretary-general stating “That is not Perkasa’s program,” adding that they will “leave this event to the police.”
Religious tensions once again flared in Malaysia recently, after the sultan of Selangor state issued a decree banning the word “Allah” from being used by non-Muslims.
The word has appeared in Malaysia’s, as well as neighboring Indonesia’s Christian texts for centuries due to the language peculiarities. There is no other word for “God” in the Malay language.
The struggle comes on the eve of tight Malaysian elections, where the ruling coalition and the opposition candidates will be running in a close race according to the polls.
5. WorldWide Religious News （http://wwrn.org）
Call to burn Bibles heightens Malaysian election tensions，23 January 2013
by Siva Sithraputhran (Reuters, January 23, 2013)
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's Bar Council said on Wednesday an independent member of parliament should be prosecuted on grounds he called for the mass burning of Bibles as religious tensions flare ahead of a tight election which must be held within months.
Ibrahim Ali, the head of Perkasa, a group that champions rights of the ethnic Malay Muslim majority and has close links to the ruling coalition, was reported in media as advocating Muslims should seize and burn copies of Bibles which use the word "Allah" to refer to God.
That statement should result in charges under various laws, including those governing sedition, Lim Chee Wee, Bar Council President Lim Chee Wee, said in an e-mailed statement.
"This incident together with the contemptuous statement by another Perkasa leader against a judge and the judiciary suggest that Perkasa is allowed to behave with impunity," he said.
The latter refers to a January 7 article written by a senior Perkasa member attacking a high court judge presiding over a defamation case brought by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Neither Ibrahim Ali nor the home ministry were available for comment.
The events foreshadow an intense election struggle as the country prepares for an election which must be called by April.
Opinion polls show that the ruling Barisa National coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak, in power since independence from Britain in 1957, has all but lost the support of ethnic Chinese, who account for about 25 percent of the population.
The coalition will have to rely on more votes from Malays, who make up around 60 percent of Malaysians. Christians account for about 9 percent and a substantial number are Chinese.
The ruling coalition suffered its worst election result in 2008, losing its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time. The next election is predicted to be even closer, although the coalition is still widely expected to win.
Malaysia has not experienced a major race riot since May 1969, when violence erupted after largely ethnic Chinese based parties made unexpected gains in general elections.
The chief minister of opposition-ruled Penang state on Wednesday put police on alert after a note was found at a church promising a Bible-burning "festival" on Sunday.
The note, shown on the opposition-friendly online news portal Malaysiakini, signs off with "Let's teach 'em a lesson".
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged the home minister to "impose stringent measures to prevent such abhorrent and vile acts that would endanger national harmony and heighten religious tensions".
He also called for stern action against Perkasa's Ibrahim.
The tussle over the word "Allah" goes back to 2009 when the Catholic paper Herald successfully challenged in court a government ban preventing non-Muslims from using the word to refer to God.
The government wants to prevent "Allah" being used by Christians, saying it is subversive and aims to convert Muslims.
The sultan of Selangor state this month issued an decree banning the word from being used by non-Muslims.
・Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
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