The Malay Mail Online – Tue, Oct 15, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — An appellate court’s decision that “Allah” was exclusive to Muslims suggests that Malaysians’ only recourse for civil liberties and freedom was to seek these elsewhere, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.
The former de facto law minister said the Court of Appeal’s ruling that barred the Catholic Church from describing its god with the Arabic word “Allah” in its Herald weekly paper revealed a “hopeless” situation and showed that “we have become a nation we were not”.
“For those who are not happy with the decision; who want to live in a free country and who value freedom, we should make plans to migrate,” Zaid told The Malay Mail Online today.
“If we cannot afford faraway places, move over to Sabah and Sarawak. They will be the last bastion and, perhaps, the last remnants of the country we once had,” added the former Umno supreme council member.
In its decision yesterday, the Court of Appeal adjudged the usage of the word “Allah” as not integral to the Christian faith and said that allowing such an application would cause confusion in the Muslim community.
The Catholic Church said yesterday that it would contest the Court of Appeal’s decision, pointing out that the ruling contradicts Putrajaya’s 10-point solution issued in 2011 to allow the printing, importation and distribution of the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Christian bible, that also contained the word “Allah”.
In response, Muslim group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) told Christians to emigrate if they could not accept the sovereignty of Islam and the king in Malaysia.
Today, Zaid said today the appellate court decision illustrated the primacy of Islam over other religions in majority-Muslim Malaysia and that the practices of other faiths must stop if they upset some Muslims.
The outspoken politician also said that the implications of the ruling extended beyond the Christian community that accounts for about 9 per cent of Malaysia’s 28 million people.
“So, it’s not just Al-Kitab that will be affected, but the practices of the Sikhs and other faiths will also be under scrutiny,” said Zaid.
Besides Bumiputera Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, the Sikhs also call their god “Allah”.
Sabah and Sarawak churches yesterday slammed the court ruling as “insensitive” and “repugnant”, and maintained that they would continue using the word “Allah” in worship and in the Al-Kitab, as they have done for centuries.
Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok, chairman of the Association of Churches in Sarawak, said it was “utterly irresponsible” and “grossly demeaning, to say the least”, for the Court of Appeal to rule that the use of the word “Allah” was not integral to the Christian faith.
Two-thirds of Christians in Malaysia are Bumiputera, who are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak and number some 1.6 million. East Malaysia is known for its cultural diversity and racial and religious tolerance.
Despite his dire prognosis for the country, Zaid said there was another way besides his mooted exodus of Malaysians who valued freedom and liberties.
“Alternatively, we should get Zulkifli Noordin and his followers to move over to Saudi Arabia. There, the sovereignty of Islam will not be allowed to be questioned; even by Zulkifli and his followers,” said Zaid.
Datuk Zulkifli Noordin, who is Perkasa vice-president, said yesterday that with the court ruling, the Al-Kitab should no longer contain the word “Allah” and 31 other words prohibited to non-Muslims by Islamic enactments in some states.
The Malay and Muslim right-wing group leader also told Borneo churches to emulate white Americans who had “changed”, after wrongly using the derogatory words “negro” and “nigger” to refer to African Americans for years.
“Let this country belong to peace-loving Malaysians,” said Zaid.
