By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
MANY EAST MALAYSIAN CHRISTIANS LIVING IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA PRAY TO ALLAH IN BAHASA MALAYSIA BECAUSE MALAY IS THEIR COMMON LANGUAGE
According to Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Cabinet Minister, Sabah Christian natives have been praying to Allah in Malays since 1881. Bahasa Malaysia is their common language and they speak in Malay in their daily lives and when they go to church. They pray to Allah all the time.
According to Bernard Dompok, many East Malaysians have gravitated to Peninsular Malaysia to look for work. Many have stayed in the Peninsula for over twenty years or more. They go to church and because their language is Malay, the Christian churches have been conducting masses and services for them in the national language.
Hence there is a demand for Herald, the Catholic weekly, to print church news not only in English but also in Malay, and they have to use the word Allah. The East Malaysian Christians call the Almighty ALLAH.
It is clear therefore that the Herald must use the word Allah to keep East Malaysia Christians happy.
It is also clear that the use of Allah is not meant to confuse Muslims or to proselytise (to convert) the muslims. It is to serve the need of East Malaysia Christians to pray to Allah.
Keep in mind that Peninsula Christians are also very fluent in Bahasa, as the national language has been taught in schools these Christian Malaysians want to pray to Allah too.
ARGUMENT BY THE HOME MINISTRY THAT THE USE OF THE TERM ALLAH BY CHRISTIANS MIGHT CAUSE CONFUSION AMONG THE MUSLIMS IS NOT TRUE. MALAY IS THE LANGUAGE OF EAST MALAYSIA CHRISTIANS AND THEY NEED TO PRAY IN MALAY AND CALL THE ALMIGHTY ‘ALLAH’
The Home Minister must accept the ruling by Justice Lau Bee Lan that Christians in Malaysia can use the word Allah in their prayers.
On hindsight, it was a mistake by the home minister to rule that Christians could not use Allah in their prayers. In 2007, if the Home Minister had done his home work and consulted Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, he would not have issued the fiat to ompose a ban on usage of Allah by Christians in Malaysia.
THE HOME MINISTER SHOULD WITHDRAW THE APPEAL TO STOP THE RULING THAT CHRISTIANS CAN USE THE TERM ALLAH.
Easy mah. Stop using Bahasa Malaysia loh….
///It is also clear that the use of Allah is not meant to confuse Muslims or to poselytise (to convert) the muslims. It is to serve the need of East Malaysia Christians to pray to Allah/// – Dr Chen Man Hin.
That is correct. One cannot seriously expect them – following Nazri’s half way house compromise of permitted usage of the word in East Malaysia and prohibited uage in West Malaysia – to face this dilemma : when they go back home to East Malaysia they call their God “Allah”, and when they come back for work in Peninsular, they think and call Him something else – Tuhan!
They will be more confused by Nazri’s compromise solution.
One has to weigh which bears the greater chance to be true relating on this issue of “confusion”: Muslims geeting confused or poselytised by East Malaysian Christians using the common word in reference to the Almighty OR East Malaysian Christians getting more confused that their God is Allah in East Malaysia but Tuhan in Peninsular, that the fact of South China Sea dividing two geograpical place can change the name of their God?
On balance of probabilities, the latter is likelier the case, and hence ought to be avoided.
Yet (though logic dictates it) the Govt is against it, based on another form of logic, the UMNO’s logic based on Ketuanan.
As what Philip Bowring says in “Malay Provocation” in preceding thread, its a brand of logic based on “an attempt to give religious backing to the message of Malay racial preference” that though “barely in accord with the universalist notions of global Islam” however “keeps the loyalty of many Malays otherwise resentful of growing income gaps.”
Philip Bowring also touches on 3 other adverse consequences, the first being “continuing large scale exodus of capital and of talented non-Malays” (proven), the second, the negative impact on economy once “a major recipient of foreign capital” now “a source of flight capital”, unsustainable when commodity prices go down etc (also evinced by govt showing lack of money by cutting back on Civil service allowances, increasing indirect taxes etc), and the third spectre not proven but looming – in Philip’s words “in the longer term danger, at least as perceived by some leading Malays, such as the former Finance Minister Tunku Razaleigh, is that a combination of religious intolerance and resentment of federal exploitation of their natural resources will generate secessionism in the Borneo states”.
The Federal Constitution has given the Malay state rulers and the Yang Dipertuan Agong the discretionary power to decide on all matters pertaining to the Islamic affairs, the Malay Custom and the Malay Traditions. The most tricky thing is that the BN Government has tried to extend further such discretionary power of the Malay rulers and make it legal and constitutional for the Islamic law to intervene into the conventional practice of a Catholic Church and a Christian Church.
Perhaps the court of appeal should consider drawing a clear-cut line of the discretionary power of the Malay rulers pertaining to the Islamic religious matter, the Malay Custom and the Malay Tradition. This is not an easy task because a lot of homework has to be done before the judges of the appeallate court can come out with a logically convincing and practically enforceable court ruling.
In view of BN’s conventional practice of denying justice for those the BN wanted to suppress or oppress by the tactic of delay and delay, it would not be suprised for us to find that the Herald case would be purportedly delayed for proper legal proceedings and hearing in the appeallate court for the next 10 years!
Before the word could unleash its confusion upon all those malays whom umno feared are really and truly stupid, umno’s arguments and logic are already and obviously confusing the world and I suspect beyond.
Now we all can see clearly that umno is reaping the fruits of the BTN courses. They can now create imaginary foes with out of this world logic at the drop of a pin. Aiyah no one wants your rambutan tree lah.
Nazi may rule dat East M’sia Christians cannot pray 2 Allah in BM, must pray 2 God in English
Bahasa jiwa bangsa
THIS issue is over. There is no point debating or not whether East Malaysian should be allowed to use the word. They HAVE to be allowed for ALL our sake. Events have moved past the import of this debate.
The issue is the violence that will deteriorate further when the NEXT so-called ‘sensitive’ issue arose. Its inevitably and it will be soon. There is not even a question if its avoiadable. Its not. The only thing that can be done is to minimise it. And the logical solution is to kick our UMNO/BN and take it on the chin the inevitable violence of UMNO/BN crazies.
Being human, the Malays should be free to decide which religion to follow. This will solve all kinds of problems. For many of them, it is better not to have any religion at all, especially those who do bad things.
East Malaysians partly have themselves to blame over the ban on the use of the word “Allxh” by non-Muslims. Why did they vote in a federal government which has little religious tolerance in the first place? Why did they blindly vote in someone who would restrict their religious practice? Hadn’t they got choice (of other political parties) prior to dropping their ballot papers into the poll box?
Somehow, East Malaysians are responsible for their action. Having learned a lesson, they must vote wisely in the 13th General Election.
You East Malaysians Christians, if you insisted on using “Allah” then please go home! Leave West Malaysia in peace. You know the phrase, “When in Rome do as the Romans do”.
Please leave and use that word back home and the World will be in peace and harmony.
We only avoid the concept of trinity to the nature of Oneness of Allah in Islam. That really is the basis of the fight.
If you really want to use the word Allah, i suggest you start saying Allahuakbar( Allah Almighty ) and later start pronouncing syahada( Asyhaduallailahaillallah,wa asyhadu anna muhammadurrasulullah ) : Meaning I confess that there is no god except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. aka. convert to Islam. Would you?