‘East Malaysians still side BN despite Allah issue’

Bread-and-butter issues are more integral than faith matters for Sabah and Sarawak, say political analysts.

PETALING JAYA: The reignited tussle over the word ‘Allah’ is not enough to turn Christian bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak away from Barisan Nasional, analysts said.

Political analysts acknowledged that the BN-led government was perceived as infringing on the rights of Christians to practise their faith by prohibiting the use of the word ‘Allah’ among non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia.

The interfaith row turned uglier when the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raided the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia on Jan 2, seizing over 300 copies of Malay and Iban bibles that were to be distributed to East Malaysia.

According to Professor Dr James Chin of Monash University Malaysia, while urbanites in Sabah and Sarawak would be concerned about the row, issues of livelihood would always be important to rural East Malaysians.

“I suspect the Allah issue would affect Sabah and Sarawak, but not to the extent that it would sway the masses to vote for Pakatan Rakyat in the next general election.

“You will see a reduced majority in rural areas for BN, and perhaps more seats for Pakatan Rakyat in urban areas. But that’s about it,” Chin told FMT.

The political analyst said in East Malaysia’s rural areas, day-to-day survival was the core concern of the people there – and this meant relying on the government for subsidies, gifts, and vote-buying.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Dr Faisal Hazis concurred by saying that while anger existed over the way Christianity was being dictated at the federal level, it would only hold sway among the urbanites.

But he added that it depended on how far the churches in the two states pushed the issue, noting that in the 2011 Sarawak state elections, Christians leaders there were tacitly urging followers to vote for the opposition.

Movement in churches

“They weren’t bluntly telling people to vote for Pakatan Pakyat, but they did say that they had to vote in a government that was transparent, that upholds religious freedom. And it definitely had an impact on urban areas, at least, during the 2011 elections.”

He said even now, church leaders were increasingly outspoken in Kuching, something that was unheard of several years ago.

“So there is a movement in the churches. But we don’t know how organised the churches are in rural Sarawak, and how far they are pushing for this issue. In 2011, only a few rural seats went to the opposition, despite the Allah issue already being there.

“So I don’t think the Allah issue will be significant in the future, unless the churches made a big movement out of it,” said Dr Faisal.

He said the opposition leaders were not doing enough to capitalise on the issue, noting that they were largely absent on the ground during the campaign period of the 2013 general election.

“The problem is that the opposition itself is weak, especially in Sarawak. While resentment among Sarawakians exist over unfulfilled promises and rising cost of living, they won’t automatically vote for the opposition,” he said.

Dr Faisal said the opposition should go down to the ground and provide East Malaysians with an alternative leadership, rather than rely on BN’s shortcomings to shore up votes.