1. The Malaysian Insider（http://www.themalaysianinsider.com）
Dr M: No malice in Ibrahim Ali’s bible-burning threat, 6 February 2013
by Clara Chooi, Assistant News Editor
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad came to Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s defence today, claiming the Malay rights leader had not meant it as an insult when he suggested burning Malay language bibles for using the word “Allah”.
Dr Mahathir (picture), who is the patron of Ibrahim’s Malay rights group Perkasa, told a press conference here that the Pasir Mas MP had merely been referring to a common practice of burning publications that have been identified as illegal.
“Usually, if there is a publication that has been banned, the action taken is to burn these books.
“So his (Ibrahim) view is that if this Bible is illegal in terms of policy, he chose to opt for the common method of burning them,” he said after launching the coffee table book “Antartica: Malaysia’s Journey to the Ice” at Universiti Malaya here.
“So I don’t think that he (Ibrahim) had any intention to insult the kitab injil... it was not his intention.”
Last week, The Malaysian Insider reported Dr Mahathir as saying that while Ibrahim supports Umno, the fiery leader does not speak for the party.
“It is unfortunate that Ibrahim Ali should suggest burning the newly-printed bibles. That may be the way we rid ourselves of unwanted publications. It cannot be done for the Bible any more than it can be done for the Quran,” Dr Mahathir had written in his chedet.cc blog posting.
“But what Ibrahim said does not reflect the views of Umno. Unfortunately, some politicians would like to make it so in order to gain political mileage,” the former prime minister added.
Dr Mahathir, who still wields much clout within Umno, was quick to stress that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s lynchpin party believed “Allah” to be exclusive to Islam but “it had never advocated burning the Malay-language bibles which uses this word”.
The country’s longest-serving prime minister of 22 years had also given a reminder that the “Allah” controversy had been settled years ago “through the acceptance that the Christians of Sabah and Sarawak could continue to use the word Allah in their Malay-language bible and teachings but these should not be used in the rest of the country”.
The 87-year-old had been instrumental in heading off a potential faith crisis from erupting over the word when the “Allah” dispute first arose in the early 1980s — shortly after he took office as prime minister.
Muslim and Christian leaders here have been at loggerheads over use of “Allah” despite a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled Muslims did not have an exclusive right to the Arabic word.
Muslims are Malaysia’s biggest religious group at 60 per cent, while the minority Christians, who form just under 10 per cent of the 28 million total population, have been at the forefront of issues confronting the non-Muslim community, which are provided for under the country’s constitution.
The debate resurfaced last December after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Sabah and Sarawak, where the “Allah” word had been in use for centuries.
A Sabah church group has also alleged that the religious freedom of Christian Bumiputeras was under attack, pointing out that most adherents of the faith in Malaysia came from east Malaysia and used the Malay language.
A Buddhist group has urged the National Unity and Integration Department, which is under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department, to resolve the drawn-out dispute over the usage of “Allah”.
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department also upset church leaders with its sermon last Friday in which it warned Muslims nationwide of “enemies of Islam” that would try to confuse them into believing that all religions share the same god.
Retired Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman has urged the authorities to speed up action against Ibrahim over his Bible-burning threat, saying any further delay in acting against the veteran politician could be held against the establishment ahead of Election 2013.
2. Malaysiakini（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
DAP's Ariffin denies 'spreading Christianity', 7 February 2013
by Susan Loone
DAP national vice-chairperson Ariffin Omar is up in arms over allegations originating from his former employer that he was involved in spreading Christianity with the aim of setting up a church in a university.
Ariffin, who held a press conference in Penang today to clear his name, claimed that this “serious slander” came from Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM).
Ariffin said that it was alleged in a memorandum that he received that a high-ranking individual within the university had made the claims during a meeting held some time at the end of October or early November last year.
“Among others, it was alleged that the UPNM has been infiltrated by the CIA and that the CIA is funding the research activities of some staff members,” he added.
Ariffin insisted that he was a Muslim and has not left his religion, denying that he had ever been involved in spreading Christianity anywhere, let alone the UPNM.
“These allegations made against me are nothing but lies aimed at discrediting me as well as other staff members of the university,” he said.
Ariffin said he had resigned from UPNM in January of his own free will when he was selected as the party’s vice-chief at the DAP’s 16th national congress internal polls in December.
He noted that the allegations are “malicious and aimed at tarnishing my image”, urging the authorities to launch a probe into the matter.
“I want to clear my name as well as the name of innocent staff members maligned by the vicious slander.”
Ariffin said he had received a copy of the memorandum in his email and mailbox last week.
Ariffin was accompanied by state PAS election director Rosidi Hussain and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's political secretary Zairil Khir Johari during the press conference.
Malaysiakini is currently contacting the university for its response towards the allegations.
'Secret meeting'
In the alleged memorandum distributed by Ariffin to the press, an individual alleged that a “secret meeting” was held between a high-ranking university official and several Malay heads of department between the end of October and early November last year.
During the meeting which was not minuted, the individual claimed that the university official alleged that there was an active Christian conspiracy to spread the religion among the university students and staff.
Other than the university official, those involved in the clandestine effort are several lecturers, including himself, whom Ariffin claims are “vocal and would often speak up against the shortcomings of the university”.
“The memo says that the university has been infiltrated by the CIA which is allegedly financing one of the academic researches,” Ariffin said, adding the individual is a well-known whistleblower within the university.
“The memo added that there was an effort to eliminate several lecturers with military background who are considered 7B (bodoh, bangang, bahlul, bengap, bongok, bengong and babi betul), which is why these staff members were not invited to the meeting,” said the father of three grown-up children.
Ariffin, 63, said he would be lodging a police report soon and urged the university authorities to probe the matter as the allegations are serious, which can undermine the credibility and dignity of those implicated, and instigate racial tension.
Meanwhile, Rosidi said that PAS fully supported Ariffin's action to clear his name, adding that "malicious slander in Islam is considered worst than murder".
"The political environment has become very unhealthy. This immatured political situation becomes worst during the election period," said Rosidi.
（End）
