Allah issue: Kelantan ‘pondok’ teachers lodge police report

An NGO claiming to represent 100 religious school teachers in Kelantan said they were”saddened” by the attitude of PAS leaders.

KOTA BAHARU: Minda Pondok, a non-governmental organisation comprising several ‘pondok’ schools in Kelantan, today lodged a police report over the proposal for the word ‘Allah’ to be used in the Malay version of the Christian Bible.

The report was made at the Binjai police station here by Mohd Syamsul Mohd Yusoff, a committee member of the NGO, who claimed to represent about 100 religious teachers.

He called for stern action to be taken against DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Muslim leaders who had supported Lim’s proposal to the federal government.

Lim had made this call in his  2012 Christmas Day message, to allow the use of the word in the Malay version of the Bible in peninsular Malaysia.

“This issue can incite Muslims. The National Fatwa (Edicts) Council has  decreed that non-Muslims cannot use the word ‘Allah’,” he told reporters after making the police report.

“We fear that unless the issue is resolved amicably, it can cause prolonged tension and chaos in our multi-racial and multi-religious country,” he added.

Mohd Syamsul said Minda Pondok was saddened that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat had supported Lim’s proposal.

“This is purely for political reasons. They are willing to turn a blind eye to the issue despite the religious sensitivity involved. We, religious teachers, are saddened by the attitude of these PAS leaders,” he said.

-Bernama