KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — The government has moved to
appoint a new chairman for the Cabinet’s interfaith panel amid
heightened racial and religious tension in recent months.
National Unity and Integration Department (NUID) director-general Datuk Azman Amin Hassan will officially replace Datuk Ilani Ishak as head of the Special Committee to Promote Inter-religious Understanding and Harmony, after the latter died of cancer on February 24.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of unity and performance management Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (picture) believes the committee will now be able to continue its task in dealing with interfaith issues.
The panel’s work was halted after Ilani’s death, with the rest of the committee members unable to find a suitable replacement for the former Kota Baru MP.
“The committee will go on. The prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) has endorsed the joint proposal made by both ministers — myself and (Datuk Seri) Jamil Khir (Baharom) to appoint Datuk Azman Amin Hassan, the director-general of NUID as the new chairman of the committee,” Koh told The Malaysian Insider yesterday in an exclusive interview.
With race and religious politics intensifying since the 2008 general election, Malaysians believe that inter-racial relations have degenerated over the past five years due to distrust among the different races.
A survey of 1,013 Malaysians conducted from May 24 to June 8 by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research found that only 66 per cent of respondents said ethnic relations were “good” — a 15 per cent decline from the 78 per cent who said so in February 2006. It also found that just over a third believed that there was “sincere and friendly ethnic unity,” down from 54 per cent five years ago, and those that thought unity was superficial rose from 29 per cent to 44 per cent.
Malay rights groups and Muslim NGOs have recently accused Christians of allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity following an Utusan Malaysia editor’s claims that Muslim primary schoolchildren are being taught about Jesus by Christian youths aiming to convert them, which is illegal under Malaysian law.
The claim comes on the back of heightened tension between Christian and Muslim groups following a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on a dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya.
Earlier this year, the Malay daily also accused the opposition DAP of conspiring with church leaders to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister.
Another instance was the controversial edict by the Penang Fatwa Council banning the use of loudspeakers for reciting verses from the Quran before dawn prayers. The ban had caused a furore among the Muslim community in Penang and earned much criticism in the Umno-controlled media with political leaders claiming this as evidence that the DAP-led state government was impinging on the rights of Muslims.
Shortly after the edict was passed, the DAP’s headquarters in Penang was discovered partly charred by an unknown man who was purportedly seen leaving a stack of burning newspapers in front of its premises. DAP leaders have linked the attack to the ban, saying this was the second incident since the controversy hit the headlines.
The new man at the helm of the interfaith panel faces a daunting task — one that Ilani was unable to complete due to her death.
The panel, set up last year to address the Alkitab row, might have been snuffed out earlier if not for Ilani’s skilful navigation of the narrow channels of communication between the Muslim and non-Muslim camps. The four sub-committees formed by the panel have been holding meetings since Ilani’s death, but sources told The Malaysian Insider they are unable to take it up with the main interfaith panel until a new head is appointed.
“We were looking for someone outside, from an NGO but those suitable were not ready to take over. It’s a big responsibility. Although they are willing to participate.... That’s why it took us a while to manage that (finding a replacement),” said Koh.
The minister said that the year had been a very difficult one with the deaths of Ilani as well as interfaith dialogue member and former Gerakan vice-president John Gurusamy.
“This year has been a sad year... important figures within the interfaith (network) have passed away... But I believe the good examples they set will inspire us to continue their good work,” said Koh.
He also said that the main challenge was to create a general understanding between the followers of the different religions in Malaysia, and warned that “irresponsible” remarks made by individuals or groups could jeopardise the efforts in working towards that goal.
“Otherwise we can be sitting on a powder keg, can be very explosive. Good work sometimes can be punctured by irresponsible statements. One hundred people can say good things, but it takes only one person to say something extreme and good work is perceived to be destroyed,” added the minister.
Azman, 58, was one of two candidates named to lead the Special Cabinet Committee to Promote Inter-religious Understanding and Harmony, replacing Ilani
The Malaysian Insider understands the other candidate was Datuk Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan, the director-general of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), also 58.
Azman, a Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate who majored in developmental communications, had been serving in the NUID since joining the civil service in 1977.
The Kelantan-born was due to retire in May this year but his contract was extended by three months.
He has been playing a key role in the interfaith panel since its inception early last year, following the firebombing of churches and other places of worship nationwide in January.
National Unity and Integration Department (NUID) director-general Datuk Azman Amin Hassan will officially replace Datuk Ilani Ishak as head of the Special Committee to Promote Inter-religious Understanding and Harmony, after the latter died of cancer on February 24.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of unity and performance management Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (picture) believes the committee will now be able to continue its task in dealing with interfaith issues.The panel’s work was halted after Ilani’s death, with the rest of the committee members unable to find a suitable replacement for the former Kota Baru MP.
“The committee will go on. The prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) has endorsed the joint proposal made by both ministers — myself and (Datuk Seri) Jamil Khir (Baharom) to appoint Datuk Azman Amin Hassan, the director-general of NUID as the new chairman of the committee,” Koh told The Malaysian Insider yesterday in an exclusive interview.
With race and religious politics intensifying since the 2008 general election, Malaysians believe that inter-racial relations have degenerated over the past five years due to distrust among the different races.
A survey of 1,013 Malaysians conducted from May 24 to June 8 by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research found that only 66 per cent of respondents said ethnic relations were “good” — a 15 per cent decline from the 78 per cent who said so in February 2006. It also found that just over a third believed that there was “sincere and friendly ethnic unity,” down from 54 per cent five years ago, and those that thought unity was superficial rose from 29 per cent to 44 per cent.
Malay rights groups and Muslim NGOs have recently accused Christians of allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity following an Utusan Malaysia editor’s claims that Muslim primary schoolchildren are being taught about Jesus by Christian youths aiming to convert them, which is illegal under Malaysian law.
The claim comes on the back of heightened tension between Christian and Muslim groups following a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on a dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya.
Earlier this year, the Malay daily also accused the opposition DAP of conspiring with church leaders to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister.
Another instance was the controversial edict by the Penang Fatwa Council banning the use of loudspeakers for reciting verses from the Quran before dawn prayers. The ban had caused a furore among the Muslim community in Penang and earned much criticism in the Umno-controlled media with political leaders claiming this as evidence that the DAP-led state government was impinging on the rights of Muslims.
Shortly after the edict was passed, the DAP’s headquarters in Penang was discovered partly charred by an unknown man who was purportedly seen leaving a stack of burning newspapers in front of its premises. DAP leaders have linked the attack to the ban, saying this was the second incident since the controversy hit the headlines.
The new man at the helm of the interfaith panel faces a daunting task — one that Ilani was unable to complete due to her death.
The panel, set up last year to address the Alkitab row, might have been snuffed out earlier if not for Ilani’s skilful navigation of the narrow channels of communication between the Muslim and non-Muslim camps. The four sub-committees formed by the panel have been holding meetings since Ilani’s death, but sources told The Malaysian Insider they are unable to take it up with the main interfaith panel until a new head is appointed.
“We were looking for someone outside, from an NGO but those suitable were not ready to take over. It’s a big responsibility. Although they are willing to participate.... That’s why it took us a while to manage that (finding a replacement),” said Koh.
The minister said that the year had been a very difficult one with the deaths of Ilani as well as interfaith dialogue member and former Gerakan vice-president John Gurusamy.
“This year has been a sad year... important figures within the interfaith (network) have passed away... But I believe the good examples they set will inspire us to continue their good work,” said Koh.
He also said that the main challenge was to create a general understanding between the followers of the different religions in Malaysia, and warned that “irresponsible” remarks made by individuals or groups could jeopardise the efforts in working towards that goal.
“Otherwise we can be sitting on a powder keg, can be very explosive. Good work sometimes can be punctured by irresponsible statements. One hundred people can say good things, but it takes only one person to say something extreme and good work is perceived to be destroyed,” added the minister.
Azman, 58, was one of two candidates named to lead the Special Cabinet Committee to Promote Inter-religious Understanding and Harmony, replacing Ilani
The Malaysian Insider understands the other candidate was Datuk Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan, the director-general of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), also 58.
Azman, a Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate who majored in developmental communications, had been serving in the NUID since joining the civil service in 1977.
The Kelantan-born was due to retire in May this year but his contract was extended by three months.
He has been playing a key role in the interfaith panel since its inception early last year, following the firebombing of churches and other places of worship nationwide in January.
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