Anwar, Mahfuz, PR and Selangor govt evasion of responsibility ... on 'Allah' issue in Selangor is pathetic?

The Selangor PR government first talked about SOP(standard operation procedures) not being followed - now is asking the BN Federal Government to decide.

Mahfuz (and PAS) is saying that the National Fatwa Council to decide...

Anwar says ...that Najib should take a position

So, Anwar, Mahfuz and the Pakatan Rakyat is just avoiding their responsibility when they should take or rather reiterate their position on this 'Allah' issue

Pakatan Rakyat is in power in Selangor and it is up to Khalid Ibrahim and PR to do the needful - which may also lead to necessary State Constitution and laws being amended/repealed or even enacted.

The problem arising from the 'Allah' issue that resulted in the seizing of Bibles, arrest of 2 leaders from the Christian community, the threat of protest against Churches using the term 'Allah' are all happening in Selangor. The actions are by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department(JAIS) - and as such we want the Selangor  Government to take a stance - and Selangor is under the Pakatan Rakyat(PR), is not JAIS under the Selangor Government, whereby Pakatan Rakyat has more than two third majority.

Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat tries to shift the blame on Najib, the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Barisan Nasional but this is not right.

It is Khalid Ibrahim(Selangor Menteri Besar), the Pakatan Rakyat government of Selangor and the Pakatan Rakyat that needs to take a stand on the 'Allah' issue.

But alas Anwar and the Pakatan is not taking a clear stand, and this is odd because they did have a clear stand since 2008, which was again reiterated before GE13. 

Mahfuz, representing PAS, also is avoiding taking a stand - trying to force it upon a 3rd party - see 

The question is that whether the Selangor Constitution needs to be amended to be in line with the Federal Constitution with regards the power of the King/Sultan who can only act on the advice of the Menteri Besar.

The question is whether the State Enactments should be amended to be in line with the Pakatan Rakyat publicly declared position - this would only require a simple majority.

Do not shift the blame on Najib, the Barisan Nasional or even the 'National Fatwa Council' - it is Pakatan Rakyat, Khalid Ibrahim and the Selangor government that needs to ACT - and act decisively here. 

Malaysia

Anwar calls Jais action ‘high handed’, wants Najib to make a stand on Allah issue

By EILEEN NG
January 05, 2014

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) waded into the Allah debate by calling on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to make a stand on the controversy while declaring that he did not approve of the “high handed” ways of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), which had seized Malay and Iban language bibles containing the word Allah.

“If Jais felt that there are any actions that have contravened the law, then they should call up the relevant parties for an explanation.

“But you can’t take such drastic action because it will be perceived as anti-Christian. There is no need for such action. It only causes tension,” he said after giving a talk at the Centre for Reform, Democracy and Social Initiatives today breaking his silence on the issue.

 Jais raided the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) office in Petaling Jaya, where it seized over 300 copies of the AlKitab and Bup Kudus. Two top BSM officials were also detained in the raid.

But lawyers have since questioned the authority of Islamic authorities to raid the BSM premises or seize the bibles, pointing out that Jais and other such departments have no jurisdiction over non-Muslims.

They also cast doubt on the validity and constitutionality of enactment that they say impinged on the right to religious freedom.

Anwar believed the entire controversy was an attempt to deflate attention from the country’s economic problems such as the rising cost of living due to price hikes and subsidy cuts.

“I don’t dismiss the fact there are attempts to deflect attention from the economic problem the country is facing and other problems like the quality of education, economic injustice and moral degradation.

Anwar said Najib should take a position on this issue.

“The government should deal with it and not by attacking the rest,” he said.

Anwar also ticked off the three DAP assemblyman - Yeo Bee Yin (Damansara), Rajiv Rishyakaran (Bukit Gasing) and Lau Weng San (Kampung Tunku) for proposing to amend the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988.

Passed by the then Barisan Nasional state government, the enactment prohibits non-Muslims in Selangor from using 35 Arabic words and phrases in their faith, including “Allah”, “Nabi” (prophet), “Injil” (gospel) and “Insya’Allah” (God willing).

Anwar said there is no need for such hasty action as there are proper channels within the state government and Pakatan Rakyat for them to put forth their views.

Jais’s raid comes amidst heightened tensions over the use of the word Allah, the Arabic word for God, by non-Muslims, which Muslim groups insist is exclusive to Islam.

The raid is widely seen as being triggered by Catholic weekly Herald editor Rev Father Lawrence Andrew’s remarks that churches in Selangor will continue to use Allah in their Bahasa Malaysia services following a warning from Jais to stop.

Although global Islamic scholars have clarified that the term can be used by anyone, state Islamic authorities in Malaysia have reacted negatively to reports of churches using the word Allah in services and literature catering to the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christian community.

The tussle over the word Allah arose in 2008 when Herald was barred by the Home Ministry from using the Arabic word. The Catholic church had contested this in court and won a High Court decision in December 2009 upholding its constitutional right to do so.

Putrajaya later appealed the decision and successfully overturned the earlier decision when the Court of Appeal ruled last October that "Allah was not integral to the Christian faith".

Christians make up about 9% of the Malaysian population, or 2.6 million. Almost two-thirds of them are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as Allah in their prayers and holy book.

Besides the Bumiputera Christians from East Malaysia, some of whom have moved to the peninsula to live and work, Orang Asli Christians in the peninsula also typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship. – January 5, 2014. , Malaysian Insider, Anwar calls Jais action ‘high handed’, wants Najib to make a stand on Allah issue

 

Published: Tuesday January 7, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday January 7, 2014 MYT 7:19:47 AM

We want Fatwa Council to decide on Allah issue, says PAS

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has urged the National Fatwa Council to end the conflict over whether or not non-Muslims could use the word “Allah” to refer to God.

Party information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar said both Muslims and non-Muslims had been left confused over conflicting state and federal stands on the matter.

“We want the Fatwa Council to decide which is correct,” said Mahfuz at the PAS headquarters.

He said while the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 prohibited non-Muslims from using the term the Cabinet had allowed Christians from Sabah and Sarawak to use the term.

(The Federal Government had issued the 10-point solution to allowed Christians in East Malaysia to use “Allah” in the Al-Kitab prior to the 2011 Sarawak Elections.)

Mahfuz said he both the Selangor and Federal governments must have consulted religious authorities before arriving at their decisions.

He said the Fatwa Council should decide once and for all.

“This must be resolved or Islam will be seen as practising double standards. It creates the perception that Islam is unfair to non-Muslims,” he said.

Mahfuz described the Jais raid and the subsequent calls from three DAP state legislators to amend the 1998 Selangor Non-Islamic Religions Enactment as “hasty”.

Yeo Bee Yin (Damansara Utama), Rajiv Rishyakaran (Bukit Gasing) and Lau Weng San (Kampung Tunku) had proposed the amendments to ensure that Muslims’ and non-Muslims’ rights were protected.

PAS central working committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the DAP was entitled to voice its views but Pakatan Rakyat’s stand should be reached by consensus.

He called for a parliamentary bipartisan committee to also be set up to resolve the crisis.-Star, 7/1/2014, We want Fatwa Council to decide on Allah issue, says PAS 

1:10PM Jan 7, 2014

Make up your mind on Allah issue, Putrajaya told

The Selangor government wants Putrajaya to make up its mind on whether non-Muslims can use the word "Allah" or not as there are now conflicting policies.
Selangor exco in charge of Islamic affairs Sallehen Mukhyi said the state government will write to the Home Ministry for an explanation.

He referred to the 10-point solution approved by the Cabinet in 2011 allowing Christians in East Malaysia to use bibles with the word "Allah" without restrictions while such bibles in the peninsula must have a "For Christians Only" stamp.
          
However, he said this is in conflict with the Selangor Sultan's decree which bans non-Muslims from using the word "Allah".

"I will write to the (home) minister for an explanation on why imported Malay-language bibles are allowed.

"He (the minister) has to explain to the state so that the issue is not politicised," he told a press conference in Shah Alam this morning.

Sallehen was commenting on the recent raid by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) on the Bible Society of Malaysia where more than 300 Malay and Iban language bibles with the word “Allah” were seized. - Malaysiakini, 7/1/2014, Make up your mind on Allah issue, Putrajaya told