So what has been the reactions to Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department’s statment yesterday that: “Christians in Sarawak and Sabah need not worry over this issue because it is a common tradition there. I have been to an Iban church service and I heard the word “Allah” used there”? Well the jury is still out on whether in the context of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1 Malaysia vision there can be 2 Bibles for Malaysian Christians. The Allah ruling refers to the ruling by High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan on New Year’s Eve that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to Islam and that the Roman Catholic’s newspaper, The Herald, can use that term in its publication.
The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has rejected the suggestion that the word “Allah” could be used in East Malaysia but banned in Peninsula Malaysia. Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz, director-general of Jakim said: “We must be more systematic; there cannot be two sets of laws.” But why not? Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz said that if the word “Allah” was allowed for Christians in Sabah and Sarawak it would not solve any problems because of the migration and mobilisation of people from the two East Malaysian states to the peninsula. He said: “That does not solve matters; we are in a small country and we need standard laws and rules.”
Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Chairman of the DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) said: “How can you preach 1 Malaysia when you have two systems of practices in one country? Is Sabah and Sarawak not part of our country? We cannot have this if we are seriously seeking for a solution.”
DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang said: “It seems now we are having more and more segmentation and departmentalisation rather than 1 Malaysia. What Nazri said makes nonsense of the talk of resolving the matter through an interreligious dialogue. It appears that the government has already decided that the dialogue is not to find a solution to the controversy but to ensure that the government’s approach is accepted by all. All must be open, all must come without a pre-set mind, which does not appear to be the case, with Nazri’s statement.”
But what about the Christian leaders? Pastor Richard Semporoh from the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Church said: “It is a ridiculous arrangement and undermines freedom of expression.” Pastor Danil Raut who heads the SIB’s peninsular chapter, added:“We East Malaysians living in West Malaysia will continue to use it as that is the only medium we use but for internal use only.”
So the question now is whether the statement by Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz represents his personal view or the Malaysian Government’s. Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, secretary general of the Council of Churches in Malaysia said: “The matter has not been discussed with church leaders. So it must be his own view.” Asked to comment on the stand of the Council of Churches in Malaysia on the Allah ruling, Rev Dr Hermen Shastri said: “No comments until church leaders make a decision on the matter – leaders of West and East Malaysia.”
But could Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz’s statement be a trial balloon for the Malaysian Government, to gauge the reactions from all parties? When asked to comment on this matter, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would only say that at the moment the government would abide by the court’s ruling.
Think about it. What exactly did Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mean? If he meant that “at the moment” (i.e. until the outcome of the appeal result) the government would abide with the Allah ruling made by High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan, then the lifting of the Allah ban in East Malaysia would merely be to maintain status quo. But if Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin meant that the government would abide by the stay of execution ruling, then it means that the ban on the usage of the word “Allah” remains. Meanwhile, 11 churches were attacked, in addition to 1 Sikh temple and now, the first attack on a mosque. But the government maintains that security is under control.
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