Cabinet wants both the BN and the opposition to stop discussing the Home Ministry ban on the use of the term 'Allah' by non-Muslims, just one day after MCA vowed that its party's ministers would pursue the matter.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (left) said open discussion on the matter could re-ignite religious tensions seen earlier this year."The Cabinet decided that it would be unwise to debate publicly on this issue, as it is still before the courts. Everyone knows, if a matter is still before the courts, we should not be debating it.
"Debating it will not lead us to deriving any benefits because it can again lead to an unhealthy situation," he said in a Bernama report.
Muhyiddin was commenting in the report, on MCA president Chua Soi Lek's statement yesterday that said the party's cabinet ministers would push the cabinet to expedite a resolution to the matter today.
Chua was clarifying that MCA was not sharing the same stand as DAP, who wants the ban rescinded, but was merely conveying the views of Christian groups.
His statement is an about-turn to an MCA central committee member Loh Seng Kok's statement earlier echoing DAP's call for Hishammuddin Hussein to drop the ban, since he had said in public he regretted the issue.
Avoiding 'chaos'
Chua's statement appears to be aimed at mitigating Loh's callwhich had drawn Muhyiddin's ire.
According to the minister, certain parties were trying to again bring up the ban for their own vested interests."However, as a responsible government, the government's stand is final in that whether BN components or the opposition, they should refrain from discussing the issue publicly because it will be sub-judice.
"If I say this, the other side will say something else. What will be the result? ... there will be chaos. The BN government as a responsible goverment does not want this to happen," he said.
courtesy of Malaysiakini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.