Up-dated: Nov. 14, 2009
LOOKING at the many twists and turns on the issue related to the use of the word ‘Allah’ for God by non-Muslims in the country for almost a year now, it makes one wonder if the Malaysian government is truly serious about promoting the concept of 1Malaysia mooted by the Prime Minister.
The latest: 1.The Herald, the Catholic weekly newsletter which had its 2010 publishing permit approved in August, has received a second letter in September informing them that its permit for next year was retracted.
2. The paper is still fighting for the right to use the term “Allah” for God. High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan on Nov. 10 ruled to strike out the eight interveners in its challenge against the Home Ministry’s ban on publishing the word ‘Allah’ in a non-Muslim context and has fixed the next hearing for Dec. 14.
3. Malaysian authorities seized a consignment of 10,000 copies of the Alkitab (photo right) sent from Jakarta to Kuching, Sarawak, on Sept. 11 because the Indonesian-language Bibles contained the word ‘Allah.’
The last point, the detention of the Alkitab, is totally unnecessary; a government action that has no justification.
JOE LEONG
I say it because this Holy Book of the Christians, published by the Indonesian Bible Board, has been imported by the church in Malaysia since at least 1987, over 20 years ago.
It is the same edition of the Alkitab that has contained the word Allah since its edition in 1974. Why then, is a need for the Home Ministry officials to detain it for so long this time?
If there were any valid excuse for the latest move, surely an explanation could be given by the officials concerned to the church.
My understanding of the government promoting “1Malaysia” is to ensure that the people of diverse races and beliefs are able to live in peace and harmony with one another, and that the peoples can enjoy freedom in accordance to the Constitution and laws of the country.
In my opinion, the latest detention of thousands of copies of Alkitab without any explanation is definitely not conducive to the concept of 1Malaysia. What a pity! It is a move in the opposite direction.
As a Malaysian journalist, it also saddens me to see that The Herald, the weekly official publication of the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Kuala Lumpur, seem to be fighting a losing battle with the Home Ministry.
Not only did the Ministry withdraw the tabloid’s publishing permit for 2010, it also rejected its application to publish some of its articles in the Kadazandusun language.
That in effect would mean that by next year, Catholics in Malaysia would be deprived of this newspaper currently sold in churches throughout the country, with a total of 14,000 subscribers.
Here again, the church was not given any reason for the decision to withdraw the permit.
The church first applied for the annual licence in late July. The Home Ministry had replied on Aug 5 and approved their application to publish in four languages: Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil, but rejected their request to add a new language, Kadazandusun.
The church received another letter on Sept 3, which retracted the approval given a month earlier even though the RM800 publishing fee had been paid.
More puzzling is the fact that the ministry has ordered the church to disclose its bank accounts and send in the latest statement.
The weekly’s editor, Fr Lawrence Andrew (photo left), found this odd. “They are a licensing body for permits, not a commercial body,” he said.
He also said they were forced to put in a letter asking for a refund on the RM800 payment.
If the Ministry sticks to its decision to withdraw the permit, the fight of The Herald in court for the rightful use of the word Allah would no longer be relevant by end of the year, for it would by then have no more right to publish anything at all!
What a shame! Some of our fathers of the nation, if still alive, would certainly be quite upset to see this turn of events.
The Rukunegara was drafted with greatest care and thought by our national leaders shortly after the race riots of 1969.
As a journalist I recall that situation very well and remember who were actually responsible for drafting the document.
Item No. 1 was, Belief in God.
Are we now encouraging our citizens to observe this tenet of our national ideology or are we deliberately placing roadblocks across their path towards belief in the Almighty?
Come on, look at the facts.
How could contents of The Herald cause any harm or confusion to any section of the Malaysian society outside the Catholic circle since it is only subscribed, circulated and sold within the confines of the Catholic churches only?
I recall too that during the early years of the Malaysian Federation, when I was working as a press officer of the Information Department in Kota Kinabalu, the word tolerance was repeatedly used, believed and observed.
Now even the word tolerance seems to have lost its meaning. The government does not seem to have the capacity to tolerate a Christian publication like The Herald.
1Malaysia? Would someone kindly explain to me again what it means? I might be one who is a little slow to learn.
Our Prime Minister Datuk Najib Abdul Razak (right) just had a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the nation that has the largest number of Muslims in the world and where the Alkitab is freely published and distributed.
Our PM should have taken the opportunity to ask Pak Susilo how the latter deals with Catholic publications in Indonesia and the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims there.
I had occasion to learn that there are no such problems down there. During my visit to Sumatra, I was shocked to learn that the Catholic Church there was operating an FM radio station in the midst of a Muslim community.
Unbelievable, but it was there. Not only did I visit the radio station, I was interviewed “live”. That was in July 2006, just over three years ago.
The announcer (seated at right) told me that most of the callers who asked questions about Christianity were Muslims who lived within the broadcast range of FM 107.7
Talk of religious tolerance and freedom? It is there. The situation could not have changed since my last visit.
1Malaysia has much to learn from our neighbours.
Hey, there is hope yet. Look at the positive side. If Najib Razak has the courage to acknowledge and recognise Sept. 16 as Malaysia Day, then he has the courage to do what’s right in this case.
Here are steps that could be taken to safe the situation:
Step No. 1: Home Ministry officials should release the detained copies of the Alkitab without further delay. Granted that it is their duty to know what’s being imported into the country, but it should not take more than two months to do this. Two weeks are long enough.
Step No. 2: The Catholic Church in KL should instruct her legal counsel to withdraw the court cases related to the ’Allah’ controversy and SUE FOR PEACE! Yes, if nothing else, safe the Herald and allow it to live, not die. Bring in all your friends in high places in government, like Tan Sri Bernard Dompok of Sabah, to intercede and make peace with the Home Affairs guys. Give the readers of the paper a real Christmas present and spare them the pain of seeing it go to the graveyard.
UP-DATE: The Home Ministry has denied retracting the printing permit for the Catholic weekly newsletter The Herald.
Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein (photo right) said in Kuala Lumpur, that The Herald still had its permit to print its weekly newsletter in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil, according to a report by The Star.
“It is only their application to print the newsletter in the Kadazan language that was never approved.
“Even in the application to print in the Kadazan language, the reason was not given because the editor wrote to tell me that they did not want to proceed with the intention under current circumstances,” he told reporters after chairing his ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting on Nov. 13.
Hishammuddin said the matter over the permit seemed to be a case of miscommunication, whether this be deliberate or not, giving rise to the perception that the ministry was not allowing its printing in any language.
The Herald editor Father Andrew Lawrence was reported on Nov. 12 as saying that the newletter, which had its 2010 publishing permit approved in August, had received a second letter a month later, stating that this had not been allowed.
He had said the letter had asked the publishers to apply for the refund of the RM800 paid for the weekly’s permit.
Hishammuddin said he had ordered his officers not to refute allegations through the media but to meet with those involved in publishing the newsletter for an amicable solution.
“I told my officers that in any case, in which people manipulate sensitive issues affecting the nation and the people, it is better to discuss face-to-face with those involved. If this still cannot be resolved, then I will meet them myself,” he said,
When contacted, Father Andrew confirmed that the newsletter had received approval to print in 2010.
“I was told that the August letter that gave us the approval was the right one and for us to ignore the September letter. The meeting was amicable and cordial,” he said.
However, commenting on the reports that more than 15,000 copies of Bibles from Indonesia were confiscated in recent months because they referred to God as “Allah”, a report by the New Straits Times (Nov. 14) quoted Hishammuddin as having said, “They were not allowed to be brought in. That is very different.”
The minister refused to clarify the reasons they were not allowed in as well as the status of the Bibles that were reported to have been detained by officials of his ministry.
Related articles:
Thu, Nov 12, 2009
Borneo Boy, News & Views, OPINION, People, World