KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — The MCA has come out to support the controversial High Court ruling on the usage of the word ‘Allah’ despite the Barisan Nasional federal government appealing the decision that has caused an uproar among the majority Muslim population.
The party said it was taken aback by demonstrations against the ruling as it was “grave cause for alarm as to whether worshippers of other faiths may profess their religion freely in accordance with Article 11, peacefully and harmoniously (Article 3), and to educate their children in their own religion (Article 12(2)) of the Federal Constitution”.
“The police reports lodged also suggest questioning and asserting pressure on the independence of the judiciary should one disagree with any judgement made,” MCA spokesman Gan Ping Sieu said in a statement released here.
MCA is the first Barisan Nasional component party to laud the ruling, adding it also welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s call for all quarters to remain calm and not resort to demonstrations, petitions and memoranda on the matter.
Gan also hit out at those who said the Dec 31 ruling that allowed Catholic weekly Herald to use ‘Allah’ to describe the Christian God in its national language edition would confuse Muslims.
“Deploying “confusion” as grounds for insistence on the ban by detractors is a poor attempt to throw a red herring i.e. deliberate attempt to divert attention from the real issue of law and constitutional rights of Malaysians to freedom of religion and to profess their faith peacefully and harmoniously.
“Any individual imbued with an iron will on his faith yet is open-minded to respecting, reading and learning clinically the creeds and practices of other religions in the world will remain true to his original religious conviction without any consideration of renunciation,” he added.
The party spokesman also said no group should claim exclusive ownership of “Allah” as it is not a patented copyright by any ethnic group.
“‘Allah’ is used by different believers throughout the world. For time immemorial, Sikhs refer to their God as “Allah.” Renowned 19th century Malay Muslim scholar and linguist, Munshi Abdullah who translated “God” as “Allah” into the Malay language remained a pious Muslim and was never confused,” he noted.
Gan said an individual’s definition of ‘God’ should not be used as justification to declare others’ usage of ‘Allah’ as inappropriate and thus deprive and deny the rights of followers of a separate religion to continue using ‘Allah’ to practise his/her faith be it in publications, scriptures, in church/gurdwara services and oral references during personal prayers.
“To do so contravenes the Federal Constitution and serves to create confusion, and this is where the confusion really lays — the confusion as to the application of law and rights as enshrined therein, and not a confusion of faiths.
“If “Allah” is to remain exclusive to one section of society, are other segments of society to be deprived of the right to pledge allegiance to the royalty and sing state anthems which contain the word “Allah”?” he asked.
Gan also pointed out that it was an historical fact that ‘Allah’ predates Islam and is commonly used by Arabic speakers of the Abrahamic faiths including Muslims, Christians and Jews, pointedly refuting and viewing “flawed any interpretation that Arab Christians refer to God as ‘Tuhan’ and not 1Allah1 as claimed by a prominent Malaysian who has retired from public office”.
“Since all Arab, Middle Eastern and Indonesian Christians are able to refer to God as ‘Allah’ freely, harmoniously without threat of punitive action, should not we in Malaysia follow suit in accordance with Article 3 of the Federal Constitution which allows “other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in the Federation?”
Such exemplary practices would live up to the 1Malaysia concept of mutual respect and understanding besides forging closer ties amongst all Malaysians.
“Does it make sense to take punitive action
On the court judgment, he said it was a matter of law in upholding the rights of Malaysians under the Federal Constitution and should be seen as just that.
“Conditions for the renewal of The Herald’s permit clearly state that the word “Terhad” must be affixed at the top of the masthead and the publication must only be sold within church grounds. These conditions are already being met.
“The court’s decision should not be stirred into a religious debate nor politicised as a racial/religious issue. MCA lauds the High Court for its bold and rational judgement. Our party calls upon all groups to respect the way of life of Bumiputera Christians and Sikh Malaysians, and not remove their constitutional rights,” Gan said
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