Day: January 4, 2014

One wonders whether the Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and the Barisan Nasional/UMNO leaders read or pay any attention to the carefully-crafted speeches of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, especially those preaching responsibility, moderation, inter-racial harmony and national unity.

I wish to call on the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to give some thought to the New Year message of the Prime Minister which is less than four-days old.

In the conclusion of his 2014 New Year Message, Najib said:

“If we are to be responsible in government, it sometimes means taking difficult decisions which are unpopular. Leadership is about looking to the long-term: about doing what is right, not what is popular..”

Muhyiddin should heed Najib’s New Year Message to be “responsible in government” and “doing what is right, not what is popular”. Continue reading “Muhyiddin should heed Najib’s New Year Message to be “responsible in government” and “doing what is right, not what is popular””

The Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar should explain why the police aided and abetted in the illegal and unconstitutional Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) when it is the first duty of the police to protect the constitution and uphold the law.

Instead of tarnishing the police image and professionalism with “fairy tale” conspiracies like a plot to “topple the government” on New Year’s Eve in Dataran Merdeka, which has been proved to be a total pack of lies, Khalid would be doing something productive to restore public confidence in the independence, efficiency and professionalism of the police force if he could explain and convince Malaysians that the police had not aided and abetted Jais in an illegal and unconstitutional act.

There is no doubt that without police back-up, Jais’ illegal and unconstitutional raid of BSM and the seizure of over three hundred copies of Malay and Iban Bibles would not have taken place.

Didn’t the police have the proper constitutional knowledge and legal advice that it is unlawful and unconstitutional to trample on the rights of all Malaysians in the exercise of their fundamental constitutional rights with regard to freedom of religion?

Is the police ignorant and unaware that the Jais raid of the MBS and seizure of the Malay and Iban Bibles would be gross violation of the 10-Point Solution to end the Bible controversy? Continue reading “IGP Khalid should explain why the police aided and abetted in the illegal/unconstitutional Jais raid on BSM when it is the first duty of the police to protect the constitution and uphold the law”

The Police is to be commended for its swift action in assuring safety to the editor of the Catholic weekly the Herald Father Lawrence Andrew following intimidation from Muslim groups intending to stage a protest outside a church in Klang.

What must be deplored by all right-thinking Malaysians is irresponsible support given by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches tomorrow.

Is Muhyiddin advocating and countenancing a “free for all” for protest demonstrations in Malaysia outside all places of worship, including protest demonstrations outside mosques in the country?

This is utterly unthinkable and downright irresponsible.

Instead of helping to cool off the temperature in the country, Muhyiddin is doing his incendiary best to further inflame the situation caused by a most inept and insensitive handling of a delicate issue, which had never been an issue in the first half-century of the country’s nationhood.

Muhyiddin should apologise for and retract his support for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches, which is most unbecoming of a Deputy Prime Minister of multi-religious Malaysia.
Continue reading “Muhyiddin should apologise for and retract his support for Selangor UMNO’s plan to protest outside Catholic churches, which is most unbecoming of a DPM of multi-religious Malaysia”

Anisah Shukry | January 3, 2014
Free Malaysia Today

Malaysia’s leaders and Islamic scholars are just using Islam to serve their own interests, says former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia would be better off separating religion from politics, rather than using matters of the faith as a tool to crackdown on political dissent, said former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.

Weighing in on Harussani Zakaria’s statement that those who protested at the New Year’s Eve anti-hike rally were bughah (traitors), Mohd Asri said he was disgusted at the blatant misuse of religion by “so-called scholars”.

“Religion has been used as a political weapon to the point that an announcement was made permitting the bloodshed of the weak. I’m not asking for separation of religion from politics, because that is not a habit of Islam.

“But at the same time, if religion is merely used as a weapon to serve political interests, it is better for the two to be separated,” the Islamic scholar wrote on his blog drmaza.com yesterday.

Harussani, who is the mufti of Perak, reportedly said yesterday that it was haram (forbidden) for Muslims to participate in the mass protest against the rising cost of living.

“…all the protestors should be arrested for being traitors to the government and accordingly in Islam, bloodshed is permitted on the bughah,” Harussani was quoted by Malay daily Berita Harian. Continue reading “Politics and religion a tinderbox of tension”

by Sheridan Mahavera
The Malaysian Insider
January 04, 2014

What’s up with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais)? This seems to be the catch-all phrase when describing its raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia office on Thursday where some 300 Bahasa Malaysia and Iban Bibles were seized.

And the more some leaders and pundits struggle to come up with answers through the fog of silence that shrouds Jais, the more it looks like “politics” instead of “law” emerges as an explanation.

This latest incident also highlights (again) the persistent contradictions and problems in the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) handling of the “Allah” issue.

Also, it reflects a deep gap in the understanding of Islam, not just among Muslims, but also the authorities who are supposed to be in charge with regulating its practice. Continue reading “Muslim-Christian ties deteriorate while extremists celebrate”