Danger of spurning minority interests in Selangor [by Tony Pua] ----------------------------------- The Selangor government must not take Pakatan Rakyat’s overwhelming majority in the last general election for granted by failing to protect the very basic rights and interests of minority groups. It was previously hinted and was seemingly inevitable that the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) would move its premises from Selangor to Kuala Lumpur. This was in response to the Al-Kitab seizure crisis. What is most disappointing however, isn’t the fact that the BSM has finally announced its decision to move, but the complete indifference of the state government as exemplified by the menteri besar’s reaction. Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has nonchalantly wished BSM “all the best”, as if the move will magically remove a pesky thorn from the state government’s side. Since the raid in January by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais), which reports to the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais) headed by the sultan, the state government has issued various vague promises to help resolve the crisis. There was however, a distinct lack of urgency or pro-active responses to deliver an acceptable solution for all parties, or at the very least, defend the rights of the victims. The BSM’s decision to move has hence embarrassed not only the state government but also Pakatan in our ability and sincerity to uphold the rights of minorities in a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious Selangor and Malaysia. Pakatan’s position over the use of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims cannot be any clearer - that it can be used by other religions like Christianity and Sikhism as it has been for centuries, must not abused. In particular, the term shall not be abused for the purposes of propagation to Muslims, a position we respect as part of the constitution. The Selangor government has clearly failed to uphold Pakatan’s stand on this issue. Executive councillor for Islamic affairs, Sallehin Mukhyi, made the encouraging statement in the state assembly two days ago, that “non-Muslims in Selangor can use the word ‘Allah’ as long as they do not use it to propagate their religion to Muslims”. However, it appears that the law in Selangor does not reflect this position. Khalid confirmed the contradiction when he said: “I think you must understand (that,) as a state, we have laws to follow. People must believe that we respect the law and we respect the rights of everybody.” Pakatan shown up in bad light With all due respect, Khalid cannot be more wrong. There are good laws, and there are laws which leave plenty of room for improvement. It is the responsibility of any Pakatan government to uphold good laws, while seeking to improve the laws which do not reflect the position of the coalition or the interests of the rakyat. For example, the Internal Security Act and Sedition Act are clearly bad laws, which Pakatan leaders had fought against steadfastly over the past few decades, to their own detriment. As righteous leaders with strong moral convictions, we cannot cave in to bad laws which victimise the innocent and rob Malaysians of their basic rights. There can be no bigger insult to the injury Pakatan has suffered when BSM president Lee Min Choon justified the relocation by claiming that “Putrajaya offers better protection to religious minorities”. We may know the irony of course, that the Umno-led federal government offers no protection to religious minorities. It was after all the Umno-BN government which passed the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment in 1988. Lest we forget, it is the current BN federal government which is zealously attempting to ban the absolute use of the term ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims via the courts at all costs. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has pledged to defend the “exclusive right of Muslims” to use ‘Allah’, when he delivered the Maal Hijrah message last November. Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left) has upheld the decision of the Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar not to take action against the Muslim covert who has abducted his son from the mother, defying a custody order issued by the civil High Court. However, the BN’s abject failure to defend the rights of the minorities should not be an excuse for Pakatan to do the same. We must not forget that the rakyat gave us an overwhelming victory in Selangor in the last general election because they are expecting much more from us. We call upon the Selangor government to display political courage and demonstrate moral leadership by standing up for what we believe. It must utilise the political capital vested by the massive electoral mandate to uphold Pakatan’s position and principles. If we fail to make Selangor a showcase Pakatan state, then not only will we kiss our Putrajaya ambitions goodbye, but even our hold on Selangor will be in jeopardy. Do not forget, we won Selangor in 2008 despite having only two elected representatives prior to that. The same voters could repeat the feat gain against us in the 14th general election if we continue to take them for granted. -- Malaysiakini
Posted on: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 02:49:33 +0000
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