UMNO WANTS TO DESTROY the Malay Bible, not Pakatan: So who will MCA support - Tony

Umno Selangor led by Datuk Noh Omar has lined up 30 roadshows to "educate" Muslims on the state's controversial legislation governing propagation among Muslims in view of the Allah row. The objective of these “roadshows” are clearly to incite Muslims against Christians, the latter who are defending their rights to practise their religion in their mother tongue.

On Sunday, Noh had led about 1,000 Umno members in Hulu Selangor in a short march to protest against the use of the word Allah by Christians. At the end of the march, they had burnt an effigy of Rev Father Lawrence Andrew, who is the editor of the Catholic weekly, Herald.

UMNO, with the approval of MCA had in 1988 passed the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions Enactment 1988 (Control of Propagation Among Muslims), a law which prohibits non-Muslims in the state from using the word Allah and 34 other Arabic words.

Noh and UMNO are campaigning relentlessly to ensure that the Al-Kitabs seized by JAIS based on the laws which they passed are not returned to the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), while at the same time demanding that all Al-Kitabs or any other non-Muslim holy books banned from using the above words in the state.

The Pakatan Rakyat state government is caught with the law passed in the Selangor state assembly and is trying to resolve the sensitive and controversial matter in the least incendiary manner.

Common position

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the Selangor Menteri Besar has offered a non-political and non-partisan solution out of the quagmire by offering to work with the Federal Government to secure a common position to the “10-point Agreement”.

Only with a joint understanding and agreement between both the Federal and State Government can this matter be diffused, and rising tensions eased. Without such common understanding and agreement, the tensions will only worsen whatever unilateral decisions are made by either Government.

Hence the attempt by MCA and its former President Dato' Seri Chua Soi Lek to politicize the matter by pinning the blame on Pakatan Rakyat, is completely irresponsible and does not contribute towards any constructive resolution to the crisis. Instead, the question must be asked, if MCA objects so hard to the actions by JAIS – why is it that the Party is still sleeping in the same bed with UMNO, who are bent on destroying these Al-Kitabs?

Umno the destroyer, not Pakatan

It is not Pakatan Rakyat who wants to destroy these Al-Kitabs, it is UMNO. Hence if MCA wants to be a hero in this matter, the best way is to persuade the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to uphold the 10-Point Agreement with the Churches made in 2011, and instruct the Home Ministry to endorse the legality of the Al-Kitabs. The Menteri Besar has already announced that with the confirmation by the Home Minister, JAIS would return the holy books to BSM.

However if MCA is completely powerless to do so, then at the very least Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who is both the President of the Party and the Chairman of MCA Selangor Liaison Committee, must censure and demand that his counterpart Datuk Noh Omar cease and desist from riling up Muslims, creating hatred towards Christians as well as causing massive amounts of ill-will and disharmony. MCA must recognise the fact that no Pakatan party, PAS, PKR or DAP are going to the streets to inflame religious tension – only UMNO and its ilk are doing so.

The DAP and most certainly our partners, are fully prepared to stand with MCA, if the latter is able to discover its courage, to resolving the above crisis in a harmonious and amicable fashion, while condemning all parties organising seditious rallies and protests against the Churches.

Tony Pua is the MP for PJ Utara