Posted on

UMNO leaders in Federal Government should not play with fire and mortgage credibility and success of 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model

UMNO leaders in the Federal Government, from the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to Cabinet and sub-Cabinet levels should not play with fire and mortgage the credibility and success of the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model yet to be announced by Najib.

They should be mindful that Malaysians and the world are watching whether they could separate their responsibilities as Federal Government officials from those of Umno leaders, which would have a great bearing on the credibility, trustworthiness and success of of Najib’s 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model which is to be the basis for the Tenth Malaysia Plan to be presented to Parliament in June.

For instance, national and international credibility in the system of governance which plays a very important role in a country’s international competitiveness, would suffer grievously if Malaysians and the international community believe that the Najib premiership is unable to rise above narrow political party considerations to give top priority to national interests as to continue to compromise the independence, professionalism and integrity of national law enforcement agencies.
Continue reading “UMNO leaders in Federal Government should not play with fire and mortgage credibility and success of 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap and Malaysia 2.0 new economic model”

Posted on

Towards A Developed Malaysia – Part 1

By M. Bakri Musa

[Presented at the Third Annual Alif Ba Ta Forum, “1Malaysia Towards Vision 2020,” Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, December 5, 2009, organized by Kelab UMNO NY-NJ. The presentation can be viewed at www.youtube.com (search under “Bakri Musa RIT”) or through this link]

Part One of Six: Definition of A Developed State

Thank you, President Shahrir Tamrin of Kelab UMNO-NY/NJ for inviting me again. I still savor the many pleasant memories of last year’s event. To President Arif Aiman of the Malaysian Students Association, RIT, your warm welcome and generous introduction more than made up for the chill of a New York autumn! To Nur Fauzana and her committee, I congratulate you for your grit in holding this forum in December when American campuses are typically gripped with term paper deadlines and final examinations.

To fellow panelist Dr. Azly Rahman, it is good to see you again! I was in Greece recently and imagined you conducting a Socratic-like seminar on the meaning of truth, wisdom, and knowledge, under those imposing columns! To Ambassador Jarjis, it is a pleasure meeting you and your wife again. That was an impressive picture of you with President Obama, a portrait of a Malay hulubalang (knight), fearsome yet elegant, with his tanjak (keris) discreetly tucked underneath the samping. You effectively demonstrated that a genuine hulubalang need not brandish his keris to convey his message!
Continue reading “Towards A Developed Malaysia – Part 1”

Posted on

No McCarthyism but disband BTN which had produced a generation of Nasir Safars with racist brain-washing making it the biggest enemy of Najib’s 1Malaysia campaign

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday tried to mitigate the Nasir Safar outrage claiming that it could have been “a slip of the tongue” (New Straits Times).

If so, it is a very big slip or Nasir has got a big tongue when he could in one gulp make so many offensive, insensitive and anti-1Malaysia utterances as:

  • Labelling Indians and Chinese in Malaysia as “pendatang”;

  • “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially the women came to sell their bodies (jual tubuh)”;

  • Claimed that Umno was solely responsible in drafting the constitution sidelining the contribution of MCA and MIC;

  • Threat to revoke the citizenship of those vocal about the subject cap for SPM examination.

Clearly, it cannot be a madness of a moment, but madness for many moments!

Although the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been very quick and prompt in damage-control, getting Nasir to resign within 12 hours of the outrage on Tuesday and declaring that the Nasir episode should be “a lesson to all” to be racially sensitive, Najib must admit that the greatest casualty is his 1Malaysia campaign.
Continue reading “No McCarthyism but disband BTN which had produced a generation of Nasir Safars with racist brain-washing making it the biggest enemy of Najib’s 1Malaysia campaign”

Posted on

Don’t use ISA against Nasir Safar – more important to flush out all the closet Nasir Safars holding influential positions in government

Recently, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein warned that there are forces bent on derailing the government’s 1Malaysia concept.

Hishammuddin was referring to the recent spate of arson and vandalism at places of worship but he failed to realize that the enemies of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept are to found closer home – in the very sanctum of the Najib premiership!

MIC leaders, from its President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, are baying for Nasir’s blood and even demanding that Nasir should be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

This is the last thing that should be done, for it will only make Nasir a martyr. Furthermore, the ISA detention-without-trial law is so iniquitous, unjust and undemocratic a legislation that I will not want to wish it on my worst opponents as its only proper destination is the scrapyard.

The strongest and most severe action must be taken against Nasir for his offensive, seditious and anti-1Malaysia outburst, labelling Indians and Chinese as “pendatang”, alleging that “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially the women came to sell their bodies (jual tubuh)” and threatening to revoke the citizenship of Indians vocal about the subject cap for SPM examination.
Continue reading “Don’t use ISA against Nasir Safar – more important to flush out all the closet Nasir Safars holding influential positions in government”

Posted on

Nasir Safar outrage latest reason why parliamentary select committee on 1Malaysia GTP is vital and indispensable

The Nasir Safar outrage is the latest reason why a parliamentary select committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap is vital and indispensable if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan is not to become a bogus one, degenerating into a farce and a joke.

In a three-paragraph statement just before 8 pm last night, the Prime Minister’s Office said:

“The remarks allegedly made by Datuk Nasir Safar, Special Officer to the Prime Minister, in Melaka today does not in any way reflect the views of the Prime Minister.

“Datuk Nasir never intended to make any derogatory remarks. He spoke at length on the contributions made by all races in developing the country. Nevertheless, Nasir apologises for any offence caused.

“In light of this, Datuk Nasir will tender his resignation.”

This is a most unsatisfactory statement. Why is the Prime Minister’s Office so protective and defensive about Nasir’s anti-national and anti-1Malaysia speech although Nasir will be resigning from his present post as Special Officer to the Prime Minister.
Continue reading “Nasir Safar outrage latest reason why parliamentary select committee on 1Malaysia GTP is vital and indispensable”

Posted on

Cabinet must condemn and take action against Jakim’s insubordination and open insurrection against Najib’s 1Malaysia concept

In his opening speech for the International Conference on Religion, Law and Governance in South-East Asia on Saturday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the tremendous force of religion must be harnessed to advance social and national unity.

He said: “A sign of our times is that religious and spiritual values take on renewed importance for human fulfillment. This is most relevant for stability and peace in fostering new openness between religions.” (Star 31.1.10)

Yesterday, Najib called on Malaysians to stand united against crude attempts to disrupt harmony in the country including the recent spate of incidents on houses of worship. (NST 1.2.10)

It must be a matter of grave concern that while Najib is preaching the tremendous power of religion to advance social and national unity, calling on Malaysians to stand united as a people, another government agency is guilty of a very crude attempt to disrupt harmony in the country virtually mounting an insurrection against Najib’s 1Malaysia concept and vision and challenging the authority of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

In Parliament last November and December, the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) which had been given a budget of more than RM600 million since 2,000, was exposed as a government agency which had been guilty of anti-national activities, creating more racists than Malaysian nationalists with its divisive, racist and seditious brain-washing by pumping communal poison and inciting racial hatred and animosity in the guise of “national civics courses”.
Continue reading “Cabinet must condemn and take action against Jakim’s insubordination and open insurrection against Najib’s 1Malaysia concept”

Posted on

Instant rejection of proposal for Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia GTP – cannot withstand public and parliamentary scrutiny?

I am very disappointed that my proposal yesterday for the establishment of an opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme was given the immediate short shrift by the second KPI Minister, Datuk Idris Jala who rejected the proposal out of hand.(Sin Chew)

I find this very revealing but ominous as the instant rejection of the proposal for a Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia GTP shows that the two KPI Ministers Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and Idris have no confidence that the GTP Roadmap can go very far out of the laboratory stage to withstand public and parliamentary scrutiny.

They are probably right and it will be most tragic if all the interests of GTP is focused at the laboratory stage more as “academic exercises” than in translating them into actual policies and programmes subject to public and parliamentary scrutiny.

The virtually total absence of public interest in the 1Malaysia GTP Roadmap Launch exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday, to the extent that I felt very embarrassed both for myself and for the KPI Ministers when I paid it a visit with DAP MPs Fong Kui Lun (Bukit Bintang) and Tony Pua (PJ Utara), is proof that despite 10 months and tens of millions of ringgit of publicity about the “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” concept, Najib’s Government Transformation Programme has failed to catch fire and is in danger of failing like a damp squib. Continue reading “Instant rejection of proposal for Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia GTP – cannot withstand public and parliamentary scrutiny?”

Posted on

Establish opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap to exercise parliamentary oversight if Najib, Tsu Koon and Idris are serious about major government reforms

I embarrassed Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, the KPI Minister and Chairman of Pemudah and Datuk Idris Jala, the Second KPI Minister and CEO of Pemudah when together with DAP MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua and MP for Bukit Bintang Fong Kui Lun, I visited the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap exhibition just after noon.

Apart from Idris, the GTP Roadmap exhibition staff and the media, there was hardly a soul from the public. Reporters said that the venue was as empty yesterday except for the official launching ceremony of the GTP Roadmap by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

It is almost ten months since Najib became Prime Minister, and apart from his dazzling “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan and concept, Malaysians have not felt and could not perceive that there is any meaningful change in their daily lives.

The 261-page “1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme” would make an impressive thesis on nation-building and government transformation but the national challenge today is not who can produce the best-sounding thesis but have the political will to implement meaningful changes in all aspects of national life.

In fact, there could not be a worse time for the launching of the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme when for the past month, the Malaysian image of a united, harmonious and progressive nation had suffered prolonged battering in the international media because of the failure of find a quick solution to the “Allah” controversy.
Continue reading “Establish opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap to exercise parliamentary oversight if Najib, Tsu Koon and Idris are serious about major government reforms”

Posted on

More important for Najib to convene all-party all-religion RTC to demonstrate Malaysian unity and condemnation of religious intolerance giving real meaning to 1Malaysia than to officiate launching of hollow-sounding GTP

The desecration of two mosques in Petaling Jaya, the Masjid Jumhuriyah in Taman Dato Harun and the Al- Imam Tirmizi mosque at Taman Sri Sentosa this morning, must be condemned in no uncertain terms – no ifs and buts – by all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.

Again, for the past four weeks since the beginning of the year, Malaysia is hogging the international limelight for all the wrong reasons – the 16th and 17th cases of desecration of places of worship involving arson attempts and acts of vandalism which now involve 11 churches, a Sikh gurdwara, three mosques and two surau.

This has aggravated Malaysia’s crisis of confidence to attract foreign investors, tourists and students, undermining Malaysia’s international competitiveness and tarnishing Malaysia as a safe and secure haven for FDIs and as an ideal location for tourists and students.

Clearly there are irresponsible people out to cause mischief and create inter-religious strife arising from the Dec. 31 judgment of the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan lifting the 2007 Home Ministry ban on the Catholic Church weekly Herald and allowing the use of the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia version, and it is most unfortunate that the lack of firm commitment by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein to uphold the rule of law had sent out the wrong message to these mischief makers.
Continue reading “More important for Najib to convene all-party all-religion RTC to demonstrate Malaysian unity and condemnation of religious intolerance giving real meaning to 1Malaysia than to officiate launching of hollow-sounding GTP”

Posted on

Would Tsu Koon raise in Cabinet tomorrow setting up of unity desks in all ministries and government departments to foster national unity and inter-racial, inter-religious and inter-cultural understanding on the ground?

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon yesterday called on media organisations to set up a special desk to be known as the Unity Desk to assist the government in improving mutual understanding among the multi-racial people in the country.

He said at the opening of the Media and Unity Symposium that the special desk could serve just like any other desk in the organisation, but with greater focus on efforts to foster national unity as well as religious and cultural understanding.

He suggested that media organisations with various and multi-language mediums should give priority to improving national unity and harmony by interacting frequently with one another to make the effort a success.

There is merit in Koh’s proposal and if there is any reservation, it is why Koh as the Minister responsible for KPI and national unity, should be tinkering at the edges of the problem of national unity when he should be grappling with the central issues as to why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept have failed to live up to the early promise to inspire unity and solidarity among the diverse races, religions, cultures and regions in the country?
Continue reading “Would Tsu Koon raise in Cabinet tomorrow setting up of unity desks in all ministries and government departments to foster national unity and inter-racial, inter-religious and inter-cultural understanding on the ground?”

Posted on

Why Police has not lodged report against Awang Selamat and Mingguan Malaysia for sedition when it had lodged report against Guan Eng for sedition?

Since the publication in Mingguan Malaysia yesterday of Awang Selamat’s editorial “Melayu sokong DAP?” reeking with racist poison and incitement, the question many Malaysians ask is why the police has not lodged police report against Mingguan Malaysia and Awang Selamat for sedition and to initiate police investigations when the police could lodge a police report against DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for his speech at the Pakatan Rakyat national convention in Shah Alam last month.

Malaysians want to know whether the police are guilty of double standards, especially when Guan Eng had clearly not committed any sedition when he referred to the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16 last year, while the Awang Selamat editorial in the Mingguan Malaysia clearly violated the Sedition Act in seeking to incite racial animosities and hatred with its spiel of seditious lies and falsehood as alleging that DAP is anti-Malay and wants to abolish the Malay monarchy by establishing a republic.

This is a question that the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan should account to the Malaysian people – whether the police are guilty of double standards.

Awang Selamat’s editorial in the Mingguan Malaysia yesterday is also a clear challenge of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept.
Continue reading “Why Police has not lodged report against Awang Selamat and Mingguan Malaysia for sedition when it had lodged report against Guan Eng for sedition?”

Posted on

Najib should set a two-week deadline to resolve the “Allah” controversy to salvage his 1Malaysia slogan and to defuse the latest factor driving away Malaysian talents and FDIs

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should set a two-week deadline to resolve the “Allah” controversy to salvage his 1Malaysia slogan and to defuse the latest factor driving away Malaysian talents and FDIs.

The Police are to be commended for their quick arrests in connection with four arson attacks on churches and suraus and Malaysians hope that the police can expeditiously resolve all the 15 cases of arson and vandalism against places of worship in the first three weeks of the year since the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the “Allah” controversy on Dec. 31 last year.

Right from the beginning, this controversy had been mishandled by the authorities, in particular the political leadership, who have failed to fully realize the negative impact and far-reaching consequences of the issue to the country.

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, for instance, should stop play politics on the issue and not allow his political role as Umno leader to wrongly influence his professional judgment and other aspects of his duties as Home Minister.

For instance, Hishammuddin said in Kuala Terengganu on Friday that the arson attacks on churches and suraus in the country could be attempts to undermine the 1Malaysia vision.
Continue reading “Najib should set a two-week deadline to resolve the “Allah” controversy to salvage his 1Malaysia slogan and to defuse the latest factor driving away Malaysian talents and FDIs”

Posted on

Awang Selamat’s vial of poison, lies and sedition and the rise of Middle Malaysia

Mingguan Malaysia’s Awang Selamat is ironically furnishing the best evidence of the rise of Middle Malaysia.

His Sunday vial of poison, lies and sedition, “Melayu sokong DAP?” in Mingguan Malaysia’s leader page today – for instance the falsehoods that DAP is anti-Malay and wants to abolish the Malay monarchy by establishing a republic – would have sparked unrest and turmoil in Malaysia pre-March 8, 2008 when mainstream media (msm) were virtually the sole source of information in the country.

But today, there would be those who would read Awang’s latest spiel of poison, lies and sedition with a yawn because it lacks credibility, although its capacity to create mischief cannot be under-estimated as not all Malaysians can yet escape the thrall of the Umno/Barisan Nasional monopoly of msm.

In previous years, DAP leaders would be very alarmed by such poisonous and seditious fare in the Utusan newspapers.

There is still cause for alarm but also room for confidence that with the rise of a Middle Malaysia it is no more a one-sided affair where Mingguan Malaysia lies are taken as gospel truth. More Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans, have a greater capacity to discern truth from falsehoods like those spouted by Awang Selamat in Mingguan Malaysia today.

The best way to debunk Awang’s poison, lies and sedition is to subject it to the exposure of reason and truth, but this does not mean that those in authority, particularly the Police and the Attorney-General should not take the necessary action against Awang Selamat and Mingguan Malaysia to protect the integrity and the best interests of plural Malaysia. Continue reading “Awang Selamat’s vial of poison, lies and sedition and the rise of Middle Malaysia”

Posted on

The Fight Over ‘Allah’ – Malaysia’s delicate balance is at risk

By Ioannis Gatsiounis
NEWSWEEK
Jan 22, 2010
(From the magazine issue dated Feb 1, 2010)

The interethnic chaos Malaysia has long feared moved closer to reality this month when 10 churches were at-tacked around the country. The attacks followed a civil-court ruling on New Year’s Eve declaring that a law prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word “Allah” to describe their God was unconstitutional. Strangely, though, Christians have been using “Allah” for “God” in East Malaysia since the 1920s without much controversy. So why the sudden spate of violence in a nation long viewed as a model of tolerance in the Muslim world?

The answer is that beneath Malaysia’s outward glow of progressive moderation, racial and religious consciousness has risen steadily among Muslim Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population. That creeping conservatism has been fanned by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), seeking to revive support that is slipping amid rampant corruption and other forms of misrule. Rather than trying to quell misgivings among Malays who felt that the use of “Allah” to describe the Christian God would sow confusion, the government appealed the decision, saying that Muslim sensitivities must be respected to protect the fragile ethnic balance. Then UMNO leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Razak, said the government could not stop planned protests against the ruling, though he has often opposed the exercise of free speech in the past. Critics charge the government with institutionalizing racism and emboldening Muslim hardliners. Whatever the case, the church attacks are the clearest sign yet that Malaysia’s racial-religious compact is unraveling. Continue reading “The Fight Over ‘Allah’ – Malaysia’s delicate balance is at risk”

Posted on

Greater unity under a Middle Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Lim Kit Siang said the Middle Malaysia concept mooted by DAP stresses national transformation in bracing future economic challenges while more effectively uniting all Malaysians.

He said we must not interpret the new economic model purely from economic perspectives, but must first put in place a new model of governance.

“Although prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has proposed a new economic model, the many issues that have taken place lately such as the disappearance of military aircraft engine and the ‘Allah’ issue have shown that the Barisan Nasional government does not have a new model of governance to give rise to a new economic model”

He said during an interview with Sin Chew Daily that Middle Malaysia means the majority of Malaysians.

“If Middle Malaysia could get the support of majority of people, it would create a favourable prerequisite for the country to face future economic challenges.”
Continue reading “Greater unity under a Middle Malaysia”

Posted on

If an Inter-Religious Council cannot be formed now to resolve the Allah controversy, then there is no way such a council could be revived under the Barisan Nasional

The failure of the Cabinet yesterday to address the issue of reviving an Inter-Religious Council set up during the premiership of Bapa Malaysia and the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman in the early decades of nationhood to resolve inter-racial problems and conflicts starting with the “Allah” controversy is a serious and irremediable setback for the 1Malaysia slogan and policy of the new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Not a single Minister, whether from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, UMNO or the Sabah and Sarawak Barisan Nasional parties was brave, principled or far-sighted enough to table the subject for formal discussion and decision at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

In October, Najib was so euphoric about his 1Malaysia slogan that he took it to the world stage to recommend its extension to a “1World” vision!

It was the height of presumption for Malaysia to ask the world to extend the 1Malaysia slogan to a 1World vision when Malaysia and the Barisan Nasional component parties under Najib had never been so disunited in the nation’s 52-year history – even the Makkal Sakthi spawned by Najib to replace MIC caught the disease and quickly split into two factions shortly after its official launch by the Prime Minister.
Continue reading “If an Inter-Religious Council cannot be formed now to resolve the Allah controversy, then there is no way such a council could be revived under the Barisan Nasional”

Posted on

Malay Provocation

New York Times
January 20, 2010
By PHILIP BOWRING

HONG KONG — One ought to be able to laugh at the absurdity of it. But the message is one of ignorance, religious and racial prejudice and political opportunism.

Last week, the Malaysian government declared that Christians in one part of the country could use “Allah” as the word for God when speaking Malay, but that those in most of the country could not. This is the same government that is currently running a public relations campaign called One Malaysia emphasizing the common identity of the nation’s racial and religious mix.

In reality, a government dominated by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) is using spurious religious/linguistic arguments to shore up its support among a majority Malay electorate, which has been fed for years with preferences and privileges. Meanwhile, non-Malay money and talent exits the country.

The government had earlier tried to stop the use of the word Allah by all Christians. This was successfully challenged in the High Court. But instead of letting the matter rest, the government declined to back down, setting the scene for the fire bombing of churches. While these could not be laid directly at the door of UMNO, hotheads in the party may well have taken their cue from what non-Muslims see as a deliberate attempt to stir up ethnic/religious issues for political gain. Last year it was Hindus who were the target of Malay provocation. Continue reading “Malay Provocation”

Posted on

The DAP Ipoh Resolution

The DAP Ipoh Resolution:
MUAFAKAT TRANSFORMASI MALAYSIA
(adopted by the DAP National Conference 2010 in Ipoh on Sunday, 17th January 2010)

PREAMBLE

  1. That the nation is waiting for a profound change is beyond doubt and that it is now a fact that the government-of-the-day is incapable of changing the intolerably arbitrary, self-serving, unjust, cruel and corrupt system of governance;

  2. That the world does not stand still to wait for Malaysia, and we risk watching Asia changing and its economy growing not as an active participant but as bystander if we do not catch up fast;

  3. That to save Malaysian governance from further deterioration, the economy from further plunder, and the people from further injustices is a shared imperative;

  4. That the Democratic Action Party (DAP) therefore, in partnership with other Pakatan Rakyat parties and in cooperation with civil society, is determined to transform Malaysia through a new muafakat (consensus)

    • by reversing distortions and corruptions of the Constitution, the rule of law and the system of governance,
    • by restoring mutual respect amongst Malaysia’s multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious peoples,
    • by renewing trust in public institutions and in the security services,
    • by rejuvenating the economy
    • by conserving the environment,
    • by revamping the education system, and
    • by re-establishing hope in our future as a nation;

    5. Continue reading “The DAP Ipoh Resolution”

Posted on

Early Skirmishes Of A Malay Civil War

by M. Bakri Musa

Recent attacks on churches are not a sign of an impending religious war in Malaysia. There is no doubting that in a plural society like ours those incendiary incidents could easily explode out of control. That notwithstanding, these recent ugly acts are merely sub-plots of a much larger and more dangerous drama that is now unfolding, one that is far more consequential and destructive. These are the early skirmishes of an explosive, protracted and very ugly civil war among Malays.

There is a definite pattern between these recent events and earlier ones involving only Malays, specifically the whipping of a young mother for consuming beer and the call for apostasy to be a capital offense. Connect the dots and you have a Malay community in deep conflict.

What struck me most with the recent spate of church attacks were the relatively muted responses from the victims. This reflected not merely a charitable “turning the other cheek” reaction, rather an intuitive realization by non-Muslims that they were not the target but merely innocent victims of a much larger conflict raging under the surface: a vicious Malay civil war. Those poor Christians were caught in a cross-fire in a conflict they did not realize was going on around them. Continue reading “Early Skirmishes Of A Malay Civil War”

Posted on

Home Ministry should withdraw appeal against KL High Court judgment on “Allah” controversy

The Home Ministry should withdraw its appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the “Allah” controversy to demonstrate the government’s seriousness and commitment to resolve the issue through inter-religious dialogue.

Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday that it is time to set up an inter-faith council to reach a mutual understanding on religious matters, with the Star report giving the headline : “’Time for interfaith council’ – Muhyiddin: Mutual understanding needed among all religions.”

Barisan Nasional leaders, from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak downwards have said that the “Allah” controversy must be resolved through inter-religious dialogue and not through the court process.

However, certain Umno Ministers and leaders have given the impression that when they speak about inter-religious dialogue, they are not talking about an open, full and free discussion and interaction but using the inter-religious dialogue to achieve a pre-determined outcome, in the case of the “Allah” controversy, to achieve the same objective as the Home Ministry ban on the Catholic weekly Herald from using the word “Allah”.

If this is the case, then the whole idea of an inter-religious dialogue would be discredited and would not be able to produce a lasting solution to the problem. Continue reading “Home Ministry should withdraw appeal against KL High Court judgment on “Allah” controversy”