The people choose Pakatan Rakyat to govern the State, but the problem seems that Pakatan Rakyat is just too scared to lead and govern.... this is what is coming out in the handling of that 'Allah' issue, etc... What makes it worse is the very fact that PR stance on this Allah issue was most clear, as had been stated since 2008 and again GE13...
The question now is that whether Pakatan Rakyat will repeal/amend laws (maybe even State Constitution) that stand contrary to the PR position...
But, when it is time to act, Pakatan Rakyat is dilly dallying... it looks like PR is trying to shift the responsibility of making a decision on others... Najib, Putrajaya, National Fatwa..., Cabinet???
BAD LAWS - well, what you do to it when you come into power is to get rid of it fast.... it is stupid to just take the position that we will not repeal(or amend) these bad laws but will just not USE it... it is lame. That exactly is what Anwar Ibrahim, the Opposition Leader in Parliament and de facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat is saying....He is wrong....just amend/repeal such laws that are against your stand...
Blaming UMNO? It really is so lame - anyone can ask that the law is followed...it is their right. The solution is for the PR-led government in the different States to do the correct thing and get rid of such bad laws...or amend it.
And when you amend that State laws that 'disallow non-Muslims from using certain words like Allah' - there will surely be much protestation from certain quarters...maybe led by UMNO (or the BN)..maybe by others. Maybe even some may even resign from PAS, PKR and DAP.... That is always to be expected...but leaders, mandated by the people in the last GE13 on an issue which the people were fully aware what Pakatan Rakyat's position was, should now courageously and with confidence push forward to make the necessary changes in the laws that govern their State --- better to do it now in early 2014 when GE14 is years away...
I wonder whether Anwar, PKR and the rest of Pakatan Rakyat is trying to get Guan Eng and the Penang government to take the lead...No, Selangor is the state affected most now ...and Khalid must be brave to table the required amendments at the next sitting of the State Legislative Assembly of Selangor... and maybe make an announcement now that this is what they will be doing...
See earlier posts:-
Is the Selangor MB in control of JAIS? More evasions by Khalid and PR when what we need is real leadership..
Anwar, Mahfuz, PR and Selangor govt evasion of responsibility ... on 'Allah' issue in Selangor is pathetic?
Anwar: ‘Allah’ row a political conflict
January 17, 2014
(MM) – A worsening row over “Allah” spreading across the nation was
political issue rather than a conflict of faith, Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim said today.
Speaking on the tussle over the Arabic word that has also affected
Penang, after the state Mufti insisted that “Allah” was part of a list
40 words barred to non-Muslims by a 2004 syariah law, the opposition
leader called the move another instance of the row stirred up by Umno.
“Frankly, it is not a problem in Penang, it is just being used and
exploited by Umno to create an issue out of it,” he said in a brief
press conference at a meet the people session in Sungai Lembu here.
The New Straits Times daily reported last Saturday that the
Penang mufti had prohibited non-Muslims from using 40 Arabic words,
including “Allah”, “iman” (faith) and “nabi” (prophet), under the Penang
Islamic Religious Administration Enactment 2004 and based on a fatwa
(edict) that was reportedly declared in 2010.
Lawyers have since questioned the enforceability of syariah laws on non-Muslims, whom they say are not bound by Islamic law.
Today, the Permatang Pauh MP also expressed concern that the “Allah”
row was being fanned to unhealthy levels that could threaten peace in
the country.
He accused Umno of creating a siege mentality amongst Muslims by
instilling in them the fear that the sanctity of their religion was
being threatened in the “Allah” row.
The PKR adviser reiterated Pakatan Rakyat’s stand since 2010 that the
word “Allah” may be used by non-Muslims as long as it is not abused.
He urged all parties to be mindful of religious sensitivities and to
refrain from condemning each other’s religion in order to be able to
reach an amicable solution.
“What we must do now is to resolve the whole ‘Allah’ controversy first,” he said.
A University of Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel)
released yesterday showed that continued use of the “Allah” row for
political capital was not bearing any fruit, but was instead increasing
the risk of inter-ethnic tension in the country.
Tempers continue to simmer in the worsening row over the Arabic word
that has now spilled beyond the legal case between the government and
the Catholic Church over its right to use “Allah” in its weekly
newspaper Herald.
The issue worsened after the Selangor Islamic Religious Department
(Jais) said it would begin enforcing a state enactment that it insists
bars non-Muslims from using “Allah”.
The ongoing legal dispute is still pending before the Federal Court,
which is set to hear arguments from both sides on March 5 before
deciding on whether it will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church. - Malay Mail, 17/1/2014, Anwar: ‘Allah’ row a political conflict
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