1. Union of Catholic Asian News (http://www.ucanews.com)
Malaysia's 'word for God' debate rumbles on Christians' fight to use the word 'Allah' is back in court, 26 June 2013
by Michael Lenz, Kuala Lumpur
The Malaysian election is over and the controversy over use of the word Allah has bounced back from the political arena to the courts. Yet it is still unclear when the case will be heard.
Are Christians allowed to use “Allah” – the Arabic word for God – in Malay language publications as they have done ever since the first translation of the Bible into Malay some 400 years ago?
In 2008 the Malaysian Home Ministry said “No.” Muslims will get confused if they do, it said, and threatened not to renew the publication license for the Malay language edition of the Catholic weekly The Herald if they continued to use Allah.
The Herald launched a court challenge and won the lawsuit in December 2009 because of the government’s failure to prove its “confusion” claim.
“They did not present one single example of ‘confusion’,” Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew recalls.
The government appealed against the verdict instantly, yet a final date for the appeal has still to be set.
It may have been the verdict that prompted customs officials to seize thousands of Malay language Bibles imported from Indonesia.
During the recent election campaign the incumbent BN party stuck up posters that showed a Christian church with the words “Rumah Allah’’, or House of Allah.
It read: “Do we want to see our children and grandchildren pray in this Allah's house? If we allow the use of the word Allah in churches, we sell our religion, race and nation....Vote Barisan Nasional because they can protect your religion, race and nation.’’
The May 5 election was generally considered a disaster for the BN. Although it retained a majority of seats, it lost the popular vote.
Some 51 percent of voters liked the idea of an inclusive multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia espoused by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, of which the Islamic party, PAS, is a crucial member.
For the PR, Christians using the word Allah was not an issue. Many Malaysians are convinced gerrymandering and fraud saved the BN from losing power, which it has held ever since Malaysia became independent 56 years ago. The BN stood firm in rural areas, whereas the PR is the champion of the urban middle class.
The majority of village folk in Malaysia are pious Muslims and their main source of information is the government and the BN/UMNO controlled media. To shore up its rural voter base, UMNO played the religious card, using Allah as the rallying cry.
Why the Allah-Herald case was delayed three years and rushed back to the courts immediately after the election is no more clear than the date for the appeal hearing.
The lawyers for The Herald have not commented although Annou Xavier, a lawyer handling one of two Allah lawsuits filed by Protestant Christians, is less shy: “Prime Minister Najib Razak lost the election. Now, he wants to present himself this autumn at the UMNO party conference as the saviour of Allah and Islam.”
When the appeal does arrive, Fr Andrew believes the Church has a strong case supported by unassailable evidence. He grabs a Bible from the desk in his office in Kuala Lumpur. “The government ordered all Bibles marked with a ‘for Christian use only’-stamp. Here you can see the stamp, signed by the Ministry of Interior”, he says.
He also cites 'the 10 Point Solution,' a decree by Prime Minister Najib himself in April 2011, which Fr Andrew says gives "basic government approval of the use of the word Allah in Malay language Bibles.”
The government may find it difficult to argue against that decree, observers believe.
However, since it is a pending court case, nobody in the Catholic Church is prepared to comment.
Meanwhile, the opposition-backed Black 505 movement (referring to the date of the elections on May 5) have held mass protests all over Malaysia, claiming electoral fraud and demanding the resignation of the Election Commission.
The government has responded by arresting leaders of the opposition and the Black 505 and charging them with sedition.
In this climate of political uncertainty, nobody can confidently predict the last word on the Allah case.
2.Free Malaysia Today (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com)
(1) Christian name reason to reject top student?, 16 July 2013
by B Nantha Kumar
The father was sad and shocked to know that his daughter had failed to get into “not only UM but also other public universities as well.”
PETALING JAYA: A Sabahan whose daughter secured a 3.8 CGPA in her foundation year in University Malaya has taken the Education Ministry to task for rejecting her application to pursue a medical course.
According to the father, his daughter’s application was rejected because her name sounded “foreign and Christian”.
The father, who declined to be named for fear of retribution, said he was sad and shocked to know that his daughter had failed to get into “not only UM but also other public universities as well.”
Explaining further, the father said that he is a Sabah bumiputera native and is married to a Chinese from Peninsula Malaysia. The couple have two children. The family has since settled in Petaling Jaya.
Speaking to FMT, the father said: “My daughter’s done her foundation course in UM where her CGPA points is 3.8 which good enough for a medical course.
“But the Education Ministry officer in Putrajaya told us last week that she is not qualified. We were shocked to hear the Education Ministry officer saying that she failed to get a seat since her name sounded like an English name.
“This is really ridiculous. I’m a Christian thus, my daughter’s name reflected that…,” said the father.
He further claimed that the Education Ministry officer also told them that being a Christian-bumi could be another reason for her not being selected.
The ministry official had also indicated that the fact that his daughter was born in Petaling Jaya and not in Sabah was also a reason she was rejected from getting medical course.
“All the reasons given by the officer are really strange and cannot be acceptable.
“I’m here not to hammer the Education Ministry. But I hope someone can help my daughter to get her education rights,” he said.
FMT’s attempt to talk to the ministry official has been unsuccessful.
Political backlash
Responding to the issue, A Thiruvengadam, the president of Malaysian Indian Education Awareness and Welfare Association (PKP-KIM), slammed the ministry for the absurd reasons given in not selecting the top student to pursue the medical course.
“This is really a serious issue and the Education Ministry must be brought to justice.
“I have never heard that a student was rejected just because her name sounded foreign,” he added.
He wanted a proper explanation from the ministry and urged the government to look into the racist policy taking root in educational system.
Education is every child’s right regardless of race and religious background and excellent students must be acknowledged, he said, alluding to increasing reports of manipulations in the matriculation and other educational seat quotas.
Earlier this month a Chinese student from Perak who scored 10A+ in her SPM failed to secure a seat in matriculation.
No reason was given but it is commonly believed that she along with the above Sabahan student are victims of a political backlash following the May 5 general election where the Chinese community overwhelmingly supported Pakatan Rakyat.
The Chinese community has since been blamed and accused of being ungrateful to the Umno-led Barisan Nasional administration.
Last month a report stemming from Sabah also insinuated that Christian bumiputeras were being shortchanged in the matriculation programme.
The report called on the Education Ministry to disclose the exact numbers of Muslim and Christian bumiputeras from Sabah who were absorbed into the matriculation programme. There has been no response todate.
BN lost an unprecedented 13 seats in the Sabah state assembly to the opposition. Majority of the opposition seats were won by Chinese Sabahans and bumiputera Christian natives.
(2) Allah issue: Umno politicians rapped, 17 July 2013
by Queville To
The government and MPs have opined on issues related to Israel, Palestine, Myanmar and Egypt, as such Archbishop Joseph Marino’s voicing his view is normal, says a Sabah MP
KOTA KINABALU: Umno politicians were today urged not to over-react to the Vatican envoy Archbishop Marino’s statement over the use of the word Allah by Christians. Sabah state assemblyman, Edwin Bosi, said this is important so as not to hurt Malaysia’s image as a moderate nation in the international community. In defence of Archbishop Joseph Marino, he contended that it was natural for a Vatican diplomat to give his opinion on issues related to the local church. “It shouldn’t be construed as interfering into the domestic affairs of Malaysia as claimed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other ministers,” he said. He was responding to statements by the three Federal Cabinet ministers, Jamil Khir, Anifah Aman and Khairy Jamaluddin criticising Marino for his remarks in his first media interview. It was reported that Marino had praised the arguments by the Christian Federation of Malaysia over the right to use the word ‘Allah’ in its texts to refer to God. Archbishop has a global view Marino, the first Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia, said that although the ongoing court case was an internal matter for Malaysia, he was in support of the federation’s arguments for the term, saying they were “quite logical and acceptable”. Bosi who is the Kepayan assemblyman and DAP secretary said that Marino’s statement merely reflected the stand and opinion of a diplomat who has a global view and knowledge on issues related to the Christian churches. He reminded that the Malaysian government and MPs from both political divide have always voiced opinions on issues beyond our borders, such as those related to Israel and Palestine, Burma, Egypt as well as Asean countries. “Therefore, Umno Ministers need not over-react to Archbishop Joseph Marino’s statement as it can hurt Malaysia’s image as a moderate nation in the international community. “I urge Umno ministers and politicians to stop following in the footsteps of extremist NGOs like Perkasa and Jati,” said Edwin. He said statements made by the extremist NGOs were not only against the spirit of “national reconciliation”, but also hurt the feelings of many Christians in East Malaysia who have been using the word “Allah” in their worship. Khairy: Marino issue a lesson to all Yesterday afternoon Marino was summoned to Wisma Putra where he conveyed his apologies over his remarks. Anifah had on Monday issued a terse statement warning against foreign interference in local issues. Anifah said as a sovereign country, such interference would only stoke religious sentiments in the country and would not help in contributing towards ensuring racial and religious stability and harmony in the country. Meanwhile Khairy, who is the Umno Youth chief, has welcomed Marino’s apology, saying that it was a lesson for all. “The case is a lesson to all parties, both locally and abroad, so as not to issue statements which can disrupt the harmony and solidarity of the multi-religious and multi-racial community in Malaysia,” said Khairy, who is also Youth and Sports minister. He was speaking at the breaking of fast with Chief Secretary to the Government Dr Ali Hamsa and Youth and Sports Ministry staff here last night.
(3) Archbishop Marino says ‘sorry’, 17 July 2013
by FMT Staff
In a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur, Apostolic Nuncio Joseph Marino said he had “never intended to interfere in the internal affairs of Malaysia”.
KOTA KINABALU: The Vatican’s envoy to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino has apologized saying he had “never intended” to interfere in the internal affairs of the country.
Marino, the Apostolic Nuncio, said he had conveyed this to Foreign Minister Anifah Aman during their meeting in Wisma Putra.
Marino was summoned yesterday afternoon to Wisma Putra to explain his comments on the “Allah” issue which was widely reported by the media.
In a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur, Marino had asked Anifah to “convey his apologies” to the people if his comment on the Allah issue had caused any misunderstanding and inconvenience.
“I never intended to interfere in the internal affairs of Malaysia,” he said.
Anifah had on Monday issued a strongly worded statement over the alleged meddling into the “Allah” controversy which he deemed to be Malaysia’s internal affair.
Marino had last week had stirred controversy with his comments on the use of the word “Allah”.
In his interview with several news portal, he spoke of his willingness to partake in inter-faith dialogues in the country and described Islam as a beautiful religion.
He also indicated that the Christian Federation of Malaysia had presented a “logical and acceptable” argument to counter the argument by Muslims that “Allah” was exclusive to Islam.
He further went on to also state his support for the Catholic Church’s stand.
Kurup to meet PM
His support for the use of the “Allah” term by Christians however and the manner in which the Christian Federation of Malaysia presented their argument had earned irked the Malay right wing groups Perkasa and Jati.
Both groups have gone viral demanding that Marino apologize, failing which they wanted the Najib administration to purge him from the country.
Meanwhile earlier yesterday Christian federal minister Joseph Kurup reportedly said he will be meeting Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over the issue soon.
Kurup, a Sabahan and a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of national unity had met with Marino on Sunday over the matter.
Both Sabah and Sarawak comprise a significant Christian population and the whole “Allah” controversy has been a bone of contention.
Tuaran MP Madius Tangau said Marino should be given space to express his views.
“For us non-Muslim and Christian leaders, we will continue to tell and present to the government and leadership how the people feel, and that the opinion of all sides, including the Muslims and non-Muslims, must be respected,” he said.
Borneoinsider reported him as saying that as far as the usage of the word “Allah” was concerned, the people in Sabah and Sarawak were guided by the 10-point solution set out by Idris Jala 9Minister in the Prime Minister Department) before the Sarawak state elections, which allowed non-Muslims in East Malaysia to use the term.
3.The Star Online (http://www.thestar.com.my)
Vatican envoy apologises for comments on 'Allah' issue, 16 July 2013
KUALA LUMPUR: Vatican envoy to Malaysia Archbishop Joseph Marino has conveyed his apologies to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman for his comments on the “Allah” issue and any misunderstanding it has caused.
In a statement released today, Marino said that it was never his intention to interfere in the internal affairs of Malaysia.
"The comments were never intended as an attempt to intrude into the internal affairs of the country," the statement said, adding that Marino extended his apology for any misunderstanding over it.
It was learnt that Marino attended a closed-door meeting with Anifah at Wisma Putra here on Tuesday afternoon.
Here is the full text of the statement.
At noon today (16 July 2013), the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Joseph Marino, had the opportunity to speak directly with the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who had called him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the comments recently reported in the local media.
He was grateful to the Minister for the meeting during which he assured him the comments were never intended as an attempt to intrude into the internal affairs of the country. In that context, he asked him to convey apologies for any misunderstandings and inconveniences that it may have caused.
In fact the Apostolic Nuncio happily told the Honorable Minister, that as the former Holy See's Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh, a country whose majority population is Muslim, he firmly believes that inter-religious dialogue is the means to promote good relations among peoples of different faiths, who can discover the beauty of each others' belief. Consequently, he assured the Minister of the commitment of this Mission to promote closer relations among all religions.
(End)
