Najib is right in that these are State laws - which of the State Legislative Assembly would be able to repeal or amend. So would the Pakatan Rakyat states (Penang, Selangor and Kelantan) be the first to table proposed amendments to remove these 'State Bans' on non-muslims using the words Allah and a string of other Arabic words... or would it be the BN governed States who will make the first move.
Naturally, we will expect the Pakatan Rakyat governed States to make the 1st move given the position that Pakatan Rakyat has already taken on the 'Allah' issue..
Najib as Prime Minister also showed great weakness in his position on the 'Allah' issue. Being UMNO President and BN leader, one would have expected him to come out strongly saying that they would be true to the '10-Point Agreement' - and would take steps to amend all State laws (and Federal laws) to be in line with the said Agreement...
I expected Najib to be better on this issue...remembering that Malaysia is a multi-religious country, and the fact that the usage of term Allah affects all Malaysian Christians and Sikhs..., and may all other moderate Malaysians... This exclusive usage of certain Arabic words, also Malay words, to just people of a particular religion is odd.
Would this also mean that the singing of some State anthems which have these words also is a crime? It is all a mess...
See also 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?
6:48PM Jan 24, 2014
Najib: 'Allah' ban stands in states with such laws
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today finally
broke his silence on the 'Allah' controversy, saying the ban on
non-Muslims from using the word will stand in states which have such
provision under law.
Najib added that the 10-point solution which allowed bibles to use the word 'Allah' was also subjected to such enactments.
"The (Umno) supreme council takes note of the 10-point agreement agreed upon by the cabinet, but the 10-point agreement is subjected to federal and state laws.
"That means in states where there are such enactments, it means it (10-point solution) is subjected to the enactment at the state level.
"But there are no such enactments in Sabah and Sarawak, therefore they can continue as usual," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur after chairing the Umno supreme council meeting this evening.
He added that the Agong’s declaration that non-Muslims cannot use the word ‘Allah’ was done in his capacity as the Kedah sultan thus it was confined to Kedah which also has an enactment banning non-Muslims from using the word ‘Allah’.
As such, Najib said there was no need for any scare tactics on the matter.
“There is no need for any parties to intimidate other parties,” he said.
When asked if this meant that the state enactments superseded the 10-point solution, Najib replied: “It’s not supersede, in the 10-point agreement, there is formal recognition in one of the points that it must be based on federal and state laws.”
The point Najib referred to is found in point number 9, which states: “Beyond the Bible issue, the government wishes to reiterate its commitment to work with the Christian groups and all the different religious groups in order to address inter religious issues and work towards the fulfilment of all religious aspirations in accordance with the constitution, taking into account the other relevant laws of the country.”
Najib defends policies amid criticism
On a separate matter, Najib said the Umno supreme council also reiterated its support for the government’s economic policies as it was producing results, with a strong economic fundamental recognised internationally.
“If we look in terms of economic growth, inflation and the stock market, the economy is in a convincing state but we do not deny we are facing price hike problems and are working on it,” he said.
Najib said the cabinet committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is awaiting the results of a cabinet meeting on how to reduce the rakyat’s cost of living.
He added that the price hikes could also be due to supply chain problems where wholesalers have disproportionately increase their prices to retailers as well as the moonson season.
The statement comes following criticism from elder politicians such as former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, who warned BN will lose power if the present policies which are causing price hikes continue.- Malaysiakini, 24/1/2014, Najib: 'Allah' ban stands in states with such laws
Najib added that the 10-point solution which allowed bibles to use the word 'Allah' was also subjected to such enactments.
"The (Umno) supreme council takes note of the 10-point agreement agreed upon by the cabinet, but the 10-point agreement is subjected to federal and state laws.
"That means in states where there are such enactments, it means it (10-point solution) is subjected to the enactment at the state level.
"But there are no such enactments in Sabah and Sarawak, therefore they can continue as usual," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur after chairing the Umno supreme council meeting this evening.
He added that the Agong’s declaration that non-Muslims cannot use the word ‘Allah’ was done in his capacity as the Kedah sultan thus it was confined to Kedah which also has an enactment banning non-Muslims from using the word ‘Allah’.
As such, Najib said there was no need for any scare tactics on the matter.
“There is no need for any parties to intimidate other parties,” he said.
When asked if this meant that the state enactments superseded the 10-point solution, Najib replied: “It’s not supersede, in the 10-point agreement, there is formal recognition in one of the points that it must be based on federal and state laws.”
The point Najib referred to is found in point number 9, which states: “Beyond the Bible issue, the government wishes to reiterate its commitment to work with the Christian groups and all the different religious groups in order to address inter religious issues and work towards the fulfilment of all religious aspirations in accordance with the constitution, taking into account the other relevant laws of the country.”
Najib defends policies amid criticism
On a separate matter, Najib said the Umno supreme council also reiterated its support for the government’s economic policies as it was producing results, with a strong economic fundamental recognised internationally.
“If we look in terms of economic growth, inflation and the stock market, the economy is in a convincing state but we do not deny we are facing price hike problems and are working on it,” he said.
Najib said the cabinet committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is awaiting the results of a cabinet meeting on how to reduce the rakyat’s cost of living.
He added that the price hikes could also be due to supply chain problems where wholesalers have disproportionately increase their prices to retailers as well as the moonson season.
The statement comes following criticism from elder politicians such as former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, who warned BN will lose power if the present policies which are causing price hikes continue.- Malaysiakini, 24/1/2014, Najib: 'Allah' ban stands in states with such laws
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