KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 – The tug-of-war over the Alkitab has moved on to cyberspace as the race to win the crucial Christian vote heats up in Sarawak ahead of state polls on Saturday.
A string of partisan text messages targeting Christian voters has been making the rounds within the state in what appears to be a last-ditched bid to swing votes in favour of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
The Borneo state is home to Malaysia’s largest Christian population where an estimated one in two voters is Christian.
Some of the messages have also managed to cross the South China Sea to the peninsula, where more than 200,000 Sarawakians have settled down to further their studies and work.
One such message The Malaysian Insider received today read: “In Sabah and Sarawak, under BN, Christians can worship freely, can print and import Bibles without restrictions whatsoever. No stamps, no serial numbers. Opposition are spreading all sorts of rumours and lies. Pls forward to 5 fellow Christians, in the name of Jesus!”
The Christian who forwarded the message said it was referring to the Cabinet’s 10-point formula to resolve outstanding issues that have plagued the religious community for the past 30 years.
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said it showed an attempt by interested parties to subvert the Christian dilemma centred on the use of “Allah”, the Arabic word for God.
A counter message has also popped up online questioning the validity of the 10-point formula, this time in the national language.
“Kenapa 10 perkara cadangan kerajaan berkenaan isu alkitab tidak meyelesaikan isu penggunaan isu ALLAH?
“Kerana semua arahan berikut masih berkuatkuasa. 1. Tegahan alkitab di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri 1960 sbb ia memudaratkan kepentingan & keselamatan Negeri. 2. Larangan perkataan Allah dalam semua penerbitan Kristian. Alasan untuk jaga ketenteraman awam & mengelak salahfaham antara orang Islam & Kristian. Surat dari Bahagian Kawalan Kementerian Dlm Negeri Perkeliling 5/12/86. 3. Larangan pengimpotan alkitab/penerbitan buku2 Kristian. Garispanduan Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan &Teks Al Quran. JUSTERU, ALKITAB MASIH DILARANG KERANA PERKATAAN ALLAH, 10 perkara hanyalah untuk memancing undi semasa Pilahan Raya Umum Sarawak.”
[In English, it reads: “Why the 10-point government proposal on the Alkitab does not resolve the use of the word ‘Allah’?
“Because all the following orders are still in force. 1. The Alkitab is banned under the Internal Security Act 1960 because it threatens public interest and national security. 2. The word ‘Allah’ is prohibited from use in all Christian publication. The excuse is to protect public order and prevent confusion between the Muslims and Christians. A letter from the Home Ministry’s (Publication) Control division dated December 5, 1986. 3. A ban on the import of the Alkitab/Christian books. Guideline from the Publication Control and Al-Quran Text division. Therefore, the Alkitab is still barred because of the word ‘Allah’, the 10-point is vote-bait for the Sarawak elections.”]
The Star newspaper also reported today another text message circulating in Bintulu and Sarikei since Sunday urging voters to cast protest ballots against the BN, which Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dr Mashitah Ibrahim denounced for being seditious.
“Vote against BN is a vote for Jesus. BN is an anti-Christ agent. Christians are being discriminated and rights in Constitution denied. Don’t vote for BN. If you are a true Christian, send this message to 8 other Christians,” the English daily reported, citing the message.
Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who met with church leaders in Kuching earlier today , has brushed off reports of chain SMSes being spread among the Christian community urging them to vote against the BN.
“Have they got the authority from Jesus to say that?” he replied when questioned by reporters after the meeting with the Association of Churches in Sarawak.
Several church leaders appeared ignorant of the SMS fight when contacted by The Malaysian Insider for comment today.
“We have no personal knowledge of this. Sorry,” the Catholic Church’s spokesman, Father Michael Chua, said in a text message.
But Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) secretary-general, Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, remarked that churches are non-partisan and will never tell its congregation how or who to vote.
“We don’t take a partisan stand. We don’t support this party or that but we hold all parties to be responsible for responsible governance.
“In Christian tradition, Christians are asked to vote responsibly according to their conscience and they should take it upon themselves to check out their candidates,” he said, adding that the messages could have originated from individuals with strong opinions of their own and was not a reflection of the church.
Shastri also said the text messages being circulated telling voters who to cast their ballot for was not new and had been employed in past election campaigns
“This thing about SMS, it’s nothing new. It’s happened before. SMS is now the medium. This is the new world. Communications is much faster,” he said.
The senior clergyman poured water on Mashitah’s effort to rein in the text messages by getting the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to investigate its origins.
“There’s no way the government can control this. The only way to check this is for the people to make a new government that’s more responsible and accountable,” Shastri said, pointing to the revolutions in the Middle East that started because reports of government abuses went viral.
Dr Ng Kam Weng of the Kairos Research Centre in Petaling Jaya said the government’s decision to take their 10-point formula public by broadcasting it through the media rather than through quiet diplomacy gave the impression it is not interested in negotiations.
The head of the Christian think tank debunked views that Christians are now “playing politics”.
“So what comes across is political posturing. There’s no room for negotiation. That’s why the various Christian groups will respond publicly as well,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this does no one any good,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
A string of partisan text messages targeting Christian voters has been making the rounds within the state in what appears to be a last-ditched bid to swing votes in favour of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
The Borneo state is home to Malaysia’s largest Christian population where an estimated one in two voters is Christian.
Some of the messages have also managed to cross the South China Sea to the peninsula, where more than 200,000 Sarawakians have settled down to further their studies and work.
One such message The Malaysian Insider received today read: “In Sabah and Sarawak, under BN, Christians can worship freely, can print and import Bibles without restrictions whatsoever. No stamps, no serial numbers. Opposition are spreading all sorts of rumours and lies. Pls forward to 5 fellow Christians, in the name of Jesus!”
The Christian who forwarded the message said it was referring to the Cabinet’s 10-point formula to resolve outstanding issues that have plagued the religious community for the past 30 years.
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said it showed an attempt by interested parties to subvert the Christian dilemma centred on the use of “Allah”, the Arabic word for God.
A counter message has also popped up online questioning the validity of the 10-point formula, this time in the national language.
“Kenapa 10 perkara cadangan kerajaan berkenaan isu alkitab tidak meyelesaikan isu penggunaan isu ALLAH?
“Kerana semua arahan berikut masih berkuatkuasa. 1. Tegahan alkitab di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri 1960 sbb ia memudaratkan kepentingan & keselamatan Negeri. 2. Larangan perkataan Allah dalam semua penerbitan Kristian. Alasan untuk jaga ketenteraman awam & mengelak salahfaham antara orang Islam & Kristian. Surat dari Bahagian Kawalan Kementerian Dlm Negeri Perkeliling 5/12/86. 3. Larangan pengimpotan alkitab/penerbitan buku2 Kristian. Garispanduan Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan &Teks Al Quran. JUSTERU, ALKITAB MASIH DILARANG KERANA PERKATAAN ALLAH, 10 perkara hanyalah untuk memancing undi semasa Pilahan Raya Umum Sarawak.”
[In English, it reads: “Why the 10-point government proposal on the Alkitab does not resolve the use of the word ‘Allah’?
“Because all the following orders are still in force. 1. The Alkitab is banned under the Internal Security Act 1960 because it threatens public interest and national security. 2. The word ‘Allah’ is prohibited from use in all Christian publication. The excuse is to protect public order and prevent confusion between the Muslims and Christians. A letter from the Home Ministry’s (Publication) Control division dated December 5, 1986. 3. A ban on the import of the Alkitab/Christian books. Guideline from the Publication Control and Al-Quran Text division. Therefore, the Alkitab is still barred because of the word ‘Allah’, the 10-point is vote-bait for the Sarawak elections.”]
The Star newspaper also reported today another text message circulating in Bintulu and Sarikei since Sunday urging voters to cast protest ballots against the BN, which Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dr Mashitah Ibrahim denounced for being seditious.
“Vote against BN is a vote for Jesus. BN is an anti-Christ agent. Christians are being discriminated and rights in Constitution denied. Don’t vote for BN. If you are a true Christian, send this message to 8 other Christians,” the English daily reported, citing the message.
Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who met with church leaders in Kuching earlier today , has brushed off reports of chain SMSes being spread among the Christian community urging them to vote against the BN.
“Have they got the authority from Jesus to say that?” he replied when questioned by reporters after the meeting with the Association of Churches in Sarawak.
Several church leaders appeared ignorant of the SMS fight when contacted by The Malaysian Insider for comment today.
“We have no personal knowledge of this. Sorry,” the Catholic Church’s spokesman, Father Michael Chua, said in a text message.
But Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) secretary-general, Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, remarked that churches are non-partisan and will never tell its congregation how or who to vote.
“We don’t take a partisan stand. We don’t support this party or that but we hold all parties to be responsible for responsible governance.
“In Christian tradition, Christians are asked to vote responsibly according to their conscience and they should take it upon themselves to check out their candidates,” he said, adding that the messages could have originated from individuals with strong opinions of their own and was not a reflection of the church.
Shastri also said the text messages being circulated telling voters who to cast their ballot for was not new and had been employed in past election campaigns
“This thing about SMS, it’s nothing new. It’s happened before. SMS is now the medium. This is the new world. Communications is much faster,” he said.
The senior clergyman poured water on Mashitah’s effort to rein in the text messages by getting the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to investigate its origins.
“There’s no way the government can control this. The only way to check this is for the people to make a new government that’s more responsible and accountable,” Shastri said, pointing to the revolutions in the Middle East that started because reports of government abuses went viral.
Dr Ng Kam Weng of the Kairos Research Centre in Petaling Jaya said the government’s decision to take their 10-point formula public by broadcasting it through the media rather than through quiet diplomacy gave the impression it is not interested in negotiations.
The head of the Christian think tank debunked views that Christians are now “playing politics”.
“So what comes across is political posturing. There’s no room for negotiation. That’s why the various Christian groups will respond publicly as well,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this does no one any good,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
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