DAP brands Najib a ‘lame-duck prime minister’

 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's comment that the use of the word 'Allah' is a state matter has 

infuriated some Malaysians. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, January 25, 2014.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been labelled a lame-duck prime minister following his comment that it was up to an individual state to decide on the use of the word “Allah”.

DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh said that although Najib had finally broken his silence on the “Allah” issue, his comment on Friday was akin to passing the buck.

"Although the implementation of the 10-point solution is no doubt up to the states, the fact remains there was an understanding," Karpal told The Malaysian Insider.

"This is a clear breach of faith because the 10-point solution was one of the fundamentals for Sabah and Sarawak to join the Federation of Malaya."

Karpal said this was a fact and Najib should be clear about it. He said it was not something which could be left to the respective states to decide.

"Perhaps Najib should be more concerned about the basis of how Malaysia was formed instead of paying attention to state laws."

Karpal, the Gelugor MP, also pointed out that the 10-point solution, which was endorsed by the cabinet in April 2011, was drawn up when the state enactments already existed.

"Despite the existence of the state enactments, Putrajaya still went ahead and endorsed the 10-point solution.

"To now claim otherwise is a serious breach of faith," Karpal said, adding that there was a basis for a suit to be filed against Putrajaya.

Human rights group Lawyers for Liberty today slammed Najib for what it described as a disingenuous solution to the 10-point solution.

"Basically, what Najib is saying is that although Putrajaya has come to an agreement with Christians, he is powerless to do anything within the states," said LFL co-founder Eric Paulsen.

"Najib appears to have forgotten that as the prime minister of Malaysia, he definitely has a say on how Islamic issues are dealt with as this is a policy matter."

Paulsen said Najib's comments did not resolve anything because the states would continue implementing whatever religious policies they saw fit.

"This includes future raids and seizure of Alkitab and Bup Kudus," Paulsen told The Malaysian Insider today.

Paulsen described the state enactments as impractical and questioned how certain Islamic and Arabic words could be banned in some states and valid in others.

"Under what context can these words be banned? And how can non-Muslims be banned wholesale from using these words?"

He said the state enactments, especially those relating to the control of propagation among Muslims, were too widely drafted and clearly not enforceable.

"This is making a mockery of the Federal Constitution as it infringes on fundamental principles, such as freedom of religion and speech."

He asked how the ban was to be applied. Did it apply to articles or a blog posting or only if he attempted to propagate to Muslims.

"Let us not forget, it is clearly stated in the Federal Constitution that non-Muslims are not bound by these state enactments."

Paulsen said Lawyers for Liberty was also concerned about the apparent growing move to dismantle constitutionalism in Malaysia.

"There seems to be a growing form of Islamisation and Talibanisation going on in Malaysia.

"Laws and policies are being seen through the eyes of conservative Islamic quarters and how the religious authorities interpret Islam in Malaysia."

Because of the interpretation of Islam by conservative quarters, other laws, including the Constitution, are being overridden.

Paulsen said Putrajaya appeared to be pandering to conservative Malay-Muslim powers and, in the process, undermining the fundamental principles that formed the very fabric of Malaysia.

"The rule of law, including freedom of religion and speech, has now been made secondary to these conservatives," Paulsen said.

On Friday, Najib finally ended his silence on the “Allah” issue and 10-point solution, saying the use of the word was up to the individual states.

Najib said the 10-point solution allowing the use of the word “Allah” in Bibles was valid for Sabah and Sarawak and any other state that did not forbid its use among non-Muslims.

However, in all other states, the use of the word depended on their respective enactments, such as in the case of Selangor.

Selangor's 1988 enactment prohibiting the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims led to a raid by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department on the Bible Society of Malaysia’s office on January 2.

More than 300 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia and Iban were confiscated in a move that caused an outcry in civil society. – January 25, 2014.