UMNO guna card agama untuk keliru rakyat

dragula · Post time 17-1-2014 09:30 AM

WSJ to Malaysia: Drop sedition probe against priest

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — Using the "Allah" card will not score Malaysia or its ruling political party Umno extra points in the long run, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said and urged authorities here to drop the sedition investigation against Catholic priest Rev Father Lawrence Andrew.

The US-based business news publication also pointed out that a recent poll by Merdeka Center which showed a dip in Umno's approval rating from 50 per cent to 38 per cent in June last year was the sharpest among Malays, while only 52 per cent of the predominant community approve of the government, compared to 67 per cent in August.

"Malaysia's leaders would be wise to note this shift and drop the investigation of Father Andrew," WSJ wrote in an opinion piece yesterday, titled "Between God and Allah", referring to Rev Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Catholic weekly, Herald.

"Depriving religious minorities of their rights isn't in the long-term interest of Malaysia or Umno," it added.

Andrew is being investigated for sedition over his statements to new portal The Malaysian Insider last month, which quoting him as saying that churches in Selangor will continue to refer to God as "Allah" in their worship.

The Catholic priest is at the centre of a long-simmering religious row between Malaysia’s Muslim-majority and Christian minority in their tussle for the right to use the Arabic word for God.

The magazine, which also covers current affairs worldwide, highlighted the Pakatan Rakyat opposition bloc's claim to winning the popular vote in Election 2013.

The 13-party BN won just 133 federal seats in Election 2013 after the ruling coalition ceded an additional seven seats to the DAP-PKR-PAS pact, performing even worse than in the political tsunami of 2008 where it lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.

WSJ suggested voter support for the Barisan Nasional giant will continue to wane unless the ruling coalition is able to pull up its socks on governance and economic matters rather than play to a select hardcore conservatives.

"These concerns helped the opposition coalition win the popular vote last year for the first time since independence.

"Even the Islamist wing of the opposition, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), has focused on good governance rather than using the Allah controversy to score political points," said WSJ.

Religious tensions in the country flared up again shortly after the October Court of Appeal verdict, which also saw the Selangor Sultan issue a royal decree last November prohibiting non-Muslims from referring to God as "Allah" and citing a 1988 state law that bans such usage.

In the critical opinion piece, WSJ said that playing the religious card to attract Malay-Muslim voters was a "convenient" way for Umno to shift public discourse away from clean elections and corruption.

"Umno is fanning religious tensions for political gain... They are not doing anything against the law"," WSJ said.

It observed that Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has defended anti-Christian protesters in Selangor.

Muhyiddin, who is also Umno deputy president, has openly declared Muslim hardliners who have been baying for a crackdown on Christians for purportedly using "Allah" to describe their God, were only carrying out royal decree and were not violating the law.

Last October, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that had favoured the Catholic Church in its suit against the Home Ministry after the Herald was banned from publishing the word "Allah".

The case is now pending a February 24 hearing for leave of appeal at the Federal Court.

http://my.news.yahoo.com/wsj-mal ... iest-050700934.html

Between God and Allah
For nearly 200 years non-Muslim residents of present-day Malaysia used the Arabic and Bahasa word "Allah" to refer to God. Seven years ago, the government began an unnecessary and provocative push to ban them from doing so in print. Now Malaysian police are accusing a Catholic priest of sedition after he announced that churches in the state of Selangor would continue using the A word in their local-language services.

At the heart of the dispute is prominent Catholic priest Lawrence Andrew. In 2007, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar banned Father Lawrence Andrew's church newspaper from printing "Allah." Father Andrew fought the ban in the courts and eventually lost in the Court of Appeal last October. In November, the sultan of Selangor took the campaign a step further and extended the ban to Bahasa-language Bibles and churches. Now Father Andrew is being investigated for violating the edict under the draconian Sedition Act.

Meantime, the dispute has galvanized extremist groups. Last week, in an unprecedented raid on a Christian organization, Islamic authorities in Selangor seized 320 Bibles from the Malaysian Bible Society and detained two Society leaders. Members of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) have intimidated moderate Muslims and threatened violence against churches that dare continue using "Allah" in services.

Such threats are irresponsible anywhere but particularly so in multiethnic Malaysia, where similar tensions have boiled over in the past. In 2010, after a High Court briefly reversed the ban on "Allah," mobs attacked churches, temples and even a convent school. UMNO is fanning religious tensions for political gain. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has defended anti-Christian protesters in Selangor, saying "what they are doing is carrying out the Sultan's decree. They are not doing anything against the law." Prime Minister Najib Razak also weighed in on the side of the Allah crackdown.

Touting such views is a convenient way for UMNO to steer public discourse away from corruption and clean elections. These concerns helped the opposition coalition win the popular vote last year for the first time since independence. Even the Islamist wing of the opposition, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), has focused on good governance rather than using the Allah controversy to score political points. It insists that minority religions' use of "Allah" is their constitutional right.

UMNO has previously sought to curry favor with its Malay-Muslim base by flaunting its Islamist credentials. But that strategy may no longer appeal to the country's increasingly urban electorate. According to a recent poll by the independent Merdeka Center, the drop in UMNO's overall public approval to 38% from 50% in June 2013 was steepest among ethnic Malays. Only 52% of the Malay majority approve of the government, down from 67% in August.

Malaysia's leaders would be wise to note this shift and drop the investigation of Father Andrew. Depriving religious minorities of their rights isn't in the long-term interest of Malaysia or UMNO.
http://online.wsj.com/news/artic ... 20260787539876.html

Yahoo dan Wall Street Journal ni sudah melampau, jaga tepi kain lain. ayuh perkasa buat demo kat depan US embassy

taikor · Post time 17-1-2014 09:35 AM

nak bawak keris tak masa demo?

nolya · Post time 17-1-2014 01:09 PM

taikor posted on 17-1-2014 09:35 AM
nak bawak keris tak masa demo?

Jangan, jgn bawa keris. Bahaya tu, takut berbunohanlah pula. Pot luck ramai2 bawa hamper mckangkung.

taikor · Post time 17-1-2014 01:11 PM

nolya posted on 17-1-2014 01:09 PM
Jangan, jgn bawa keris. Bahaya tu, takut berbunohanlah pula. Pot luck ramai2 bawa hamper mckangku ...

keris mainan boleh? asalkan ada gayanya...

tinker_bell · Post time 17-1-2014 01:15 PM

kalau baca dkt forum local yg byk non muslim..dorang suka2 hati maki hamun nama Allah..semoga jauh la dr bala...

nolya · Post time 17-1-2014 01:17 PM

taikor posted on 17-1-2014 01:11 PM
keris mainan boleh? asalkan ada gayanya...

yg mainan tu.............. boleh kot. Kalau bawa pun jgn tunjuk2 nanti polis tangkap. Ha ha ha (ketawa besar aku)

slippergombak · Post time 17-1-2014 01:19 PM

Umno.. sanggup buat apa ajer untuk terus berkuasa hatta gadai agama sendiri sekalipun....

Sebelum nih bangsa lain dah benci kag melayu hasil ratiban setiap hari umno hina, keji bangsa lain....

Sekarang penganut agama lain takut nak dekat islam sebab dakyah2 dan cemuh agama lain oleh umno....

Tahap bahaya dah umno nih... mmg penjahanam...

cmf_herrhughie · Post time 17-1-2014 01:30 PM

Percubaan pecahkan kauk pun dah buat, srkarang nak pecahkan antara agama
...mmg hebatnya umno

kambeng_masam · Post time 17-1-2014 01:40 PM

tinker_bell posted on 17-1-2014 08:15 AM
kalau baca dkt forum local yg byk non muslim..dorang suka2 hati maki hamun nama Allah..semoga jauh l ...

Dikatakan sejumlah christians yg benar2 cuba pertahankan nak guna jugak word Allah ketika WORSHIPPING. Jadi aku yakin dalam forum ko cakap tu yg guna nama Allah maki hamun bagai depa tu tentunya bukan christians yg guna word Allah dlm amalan depa. Betul? maybe depa tu yahudi?