NO GUTS TO GO AFTER THE CHRISTIANS, Umno and NGOs pick on Father Lawrence

Speakers at the Selangor Umno roadshow last night moved to allay fears that their protests on the Allah issue would cause inter-communal tensions saying that their focus is on Catholic priest Rev Father Lawrence Andrew who, they say, was instigating Christians to break the law.

At the third-leg of the roadshow in Shah Alam last night, the speakers also said Andrew did not represent the opinion of the majority in the Christian community.

Norman Toha, from Malay rights group Jalur Tiga (Jati), claimed this was told to a coalition of Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) by a group of 15 non-Catholic priests. The priests had allegedly approached the coalition after one of its rallies last December.

The group of priests had supposedly told leaders of the Muslim coalition that Andrew did not represent the views of all Christians and that they were prepared to meet with members of the coalition.

Andrew was singled out for insisting that Christians would still use the term Allah in their services despite a 1988 Selangor enactment that bans them from doing so.

“This is done on purpose by Andrew, not by other Christians. Not all Christians agree with Andrew. All this while, Muslims and Christians have lived together in peace. Why is Andrew sparking this issue?

“This is why we want Andrew to be investigated,” said Norman, who is Jati secretary-general.

Pakatan politicising Allah, not Umno?

The focus on Andrew is aimed at casting Selangor Umno as the party which is defending the state law and several Muslim decrees which ban the use of Allah, and other terms such as Baitullah, solat and Kaaba by non-Muslims.

By being seen as defenders of the law, they aim to distinguish themselves from political rivals Pakatan Rakyat, which they claim is backing Andrew and is waffling on their stance on the Allah issue.

Selangor Umno chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar turned the tables on Pakatan when he claimed that it was the opposition coalition that was politicising the issue for political mileage.

This was after Pakatan leaders and other critics accused Umno of exploiting the issue to garner support from Malay Muslims, a majority of whom, a survey shows, do not want Allah to be used by non-Muslims.

"Andrew broke the law and yet we are labelled as the ones who are wrong. PKR and DAP only support that which can benefit them politically.

“And PAS only uses Quranic verses that also support them,” said Noh, a lawyer by training who previously held several ministerial portfolios in the Cabinet.

Andrew is being investigated under the Sedition Act for a statement he made on December 27 that Christians would continue using the term Allah in their prayers and church services.

His comment was taken as a direct challenge to an edict by the Sultan of Selangor that non-Muslims in the state were prohibited from using the word Allah.

Selangor Umno has also argued that a 1988 Selangor enactment prohibits non-Muslims from using a list of more than 20 words which have been classified as exclusive to Muslims.

At the road show, Noh claimed the enactment did not contradict the provision for freedom of worship for all religious in Article 11 of the Constitution.

Instead, he argued, under subsection four of the same Article, individual states can pass laws regulating the propagation of other religious to Muslims.

The 1988 Selangor enactment falls under this section, Noh said.

It is in this context that Noh defended the Selangor Islamic Religious Department's (Jais) seizure of more than 300 Bahasa Malaysia and Iban Bibles on January 2.

The Bibles also violated the 1988 enactment as they contained the word Allah, Noh said.

“These Bibles can be used in states which do not have laws like the Selangor enactment, such as Sabah, Sarawak, Penang and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, but not in Selangor.

“I am prepared to openly debate this issue with anyone. Whether it is (constitutional law expert and PKR member Prof) Dr Aziz Bari or the MP of Shah Alam (Khalid Samad).

“Name the time and place I will be there,” added Noh.  - TMI