State anthems show Dr M wrong about ‘Allah’, Kit Siang argues: KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Malaysians of all creeds have sung of “Allah” in seven states here and for generations, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang pointed out today in rebutting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claim the Arabic word was “never used in the peninsula” by non-Muslims. Pointing out that “Allah” was contained in the anthems of Johor, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu, the veteran lawmaker today asked if the former prime minister’s insinuation applied to all non-Muslim subjects to the states as well. “The name of Allah is invoked in Selangor state anthem’s ‘Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku’, Kelantan state anthem’s ‘Segala Kebesaran Allah cucurkan’ and Kedah state anthem’s ‘Allah selamat Sultan Makhota’,” Lim said in a statement today. He further noted that the word appears four times in Perak’s anthem, thrice in Terengganu’s and was in both the first and final lines of the state song of Johor. “Were the Muslims particularly in these seven states in the past 56 years offended that non-Muslim Malaysians were also using the word ‘Allah’ in these state anthems?” Lim asked. “The answer can only be a powerful No’.” Yesterday, Dr Mahathir questioned the motives of peninsular Christians in seeking their constitutional right to use the Arabic word, accusing them of “creating tension” among Malaysia’s religious communities by insisting on using a word he said was peculiar to Sabah and Sarawak. “Our view before was people who already use it can continue doing so, but why bring it to the peninsula? It’s never used (in the peninsula) anyway,” he was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini yesterday. On Monday, the Court of Appeal ruled against a 2009 High Court decision allowing the Catholic Church to refer to the Christian god with the Arabic word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its weekly paper, the Herald. The court 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. While government officials have sought to allay fears that the ruling will be extended to Sabah and Sarawak — as demanded by some Malay and Muslim groups such as Perkasa and ISMA — concerns remain that its application there may be inevitable. Bumiputera Christians are said to number around 1.6 million and have been using the word “Allah” in the national language and their native tongues for centuries for the practice of their religion. Peninsular Malaysia is also host to large pockets of Christians from Sabah and Sarawak who have moved here in search of employment and formed local communities in several states. With them, they have brought their style of worship and the Al-Kitab Malay-language bibles that also contained the word “Allah”. In 2011, the Cabinet decided on a 10-point solution allowing Christians in Sabah and Sarawak to keep using the Al-Kitab, but it is unclear if that also meant they may do so when they are in the peninsula. Yesterday, another DAP lawmaker also pointed to the complexity of attempting to segregate the country be regions in which “Allah” may or may not be used. “In Sabah and Sarawak, Christians may pray to Allah but those who are in West Malaysia whose native tongue is Bahasa Melayu are not allowed to make reference to Allah,” DAP’s Tony Pua said yesterday. “What then happens when East Malaysians come over the West Malaysia for work or travel — can they pray to ‘Allah’?” The Catholic Church has said that it will make an appeal to the Federal Court, the country’s highest court. dlvr.it/4995Fx
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 04:24:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015