IS SHE RIGHT? Nancy tells media to tone down on ALLAH as 'everyday rakyat don't feel much' , only on FB!

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri said that there have been talks involving the federal and state governments on laws pertaining to the prohibition against non-Muslims from using the certain words, including 'Allah'.

However, she said standardising the laws to match the federal-backed 10-point solution requires consent from the Malay rulers.

"They (the governments) have been talking all the while but we have to understand that in every state, the state rulers and in the case of Sabah and Sarawak, the Yang di Pertuan Agong, are responsible for (Islamic) religious matters.

"It is not easy to just give away the powers. Each state also has different cultures and practices," she told reporters.

Nancy, who is minister in charge of law, was asked if the federal government has engaged in talks with state governments on harmonising laws on the prohibited words.

This followed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Joseph Kurup's proposal to standardise state laws which prohibit non-Muslims from using of the words, including 'Allah', with the cabinet's '10-point agreement'.

The 10-point agreement allows printing of, importation into, and use of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages, even though the word 'Allah' is used.

Media asked to tone down on 'Allah' issue

Nancy said while Kurup is entitled to his view, it is best to not continue to debate the matter as it is “counter-productive”.

She also urged the media to tone down reports on the issue to avoid feeding rising religious tensions.

“Actually, the everyday rakyat does not feel much (about this issue) but you go on Facebook and you see that it is heated as people keep speaking about it.

“So I am appealing to the media not to talk so much about this issue. Please don't talk about it... I am not trying to control you but if we want harmony, we should not continue talking about it,” she said.

Speaking after visiting the Counseling and Credit Management Agency (AKPK), Nancy  added that Malaysia has many other issues which requires attention, such as rising bankruptcy rates, and it is better to focus on such matters.

Death penalty

On a separate matter, Nancy said the Attorney-General's Chambers research into abolishing the death penalty is still ongoing.

She, however, did not confirm if the moratorium on executions pending the research, which was announced by her predecessor Mohd Nazri Aziz, is still in place.

This follows the last-minute postponement by the Johor Sultan last week, hours before inmate P Chandran was to be executed.

“I will have to explain to you later. We are doing our best,” she said. - Mkini