In the name of Allah, Umno eyes Malay votes

YOURSAY 'It is no disrespect to the Selangor sultan but this issue has been politicised and it is with deep regret that the sultan has been dragged into this fray.'

We'll continue to use 'Allah', declares churches council

Starr: It's nothing more encouraging than seeing the Christian leadership in the country taking its rightful place and standing firm in faith in defence of the constitutional right of religious freedom.

The constitution is the supreme law of the country which can't be surpassed and usurped by any other laws and decrees.

The king and his prime minister have the solemn duty to defend the very document by which they are sworn into office, let alone abusing and undermining it.

Treeman: The Kuala Lumpur High Court found the ban on non-Muslims using the word ‘Allah' as flawed and unconstitutional. Until such time this ruling is overturned, it remains law.

Lover Boy: The stand taken by the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) is consistent with the rights guaranteed under the constitution.

It is no disrespect to the Selangor sultan but this issue has been politicised and it is with deep regret that the sultan has been dragged into this fray. All the same, Daulat Tuanku!

Lai Tak Ming: I applaud my Christian leaders for having the courage to stand together with all Malaysians in exercising their freedom of worship. They are mere mortals, simple folks with no political agenda except the desire to serve and honour God in any and all languages.

To our Muslim friends, we mean you no harm or malice, just the desire to worship our God as you worship yours. Surely, this is not so difficult?

Telestai!: Christians should show restrain by not using the word ‘Allah' out of love and respect for its Muslim Malaysian brothers. I am a Christian and I don't see a major problem if Christian Malaysians were to do so.

Nothing is lost but a lot of goodwill will be gained. Less confrontation, more cooperation.

JMC: We are so near to Putrajaya but may not reach it as we allow evil forces disrupt our unity. The Pakatan Rakyat leadership, including Abdul Hadi Awang, has endorsed our right to use ‘Allah'.

Historically and constitutionally, we know we are right. Are going to allow our differences in what to call God to disrupt our goals?

The last thing we want is to fight and hate one another in the name of God.

Anonymous #37634848: The church and Christians are arrogant! They want to hear only what they want to hear. They don't care for the intense sensitivity of Muslims. Allah is one and only. There is no partner to Him, such as Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.

If you use the word ‘Allah' without the letter and spirit of Allah, you are insulting Him and therefore all Muslims. Is this the spirit of co-existence in Malaysia?

Chipmunk: Anonymous #37634848, the arrogance did not start with the Christians as we have been quiet and tolerant. Umno is feeling threatened as they are losing Malay votes. So the only way to win them back is to create a ruckus using religion.

Second, if you have read in many of the comments in Malaysiakini, the term 'Allah' was never an exclusive word for Muslims as it has been used in the Bible and the Sikh bible since the early days and even countries like Indonesia and the Arab world had no problem with others using the term ‘Allah'.

So again I ask you, why only now is Umno creating the religious tension?

MfM: PAS is right, ‘Allah' is not monopolised by Muslims, but they are also wrong as history in the region serves that ‘Allah' was used exclusively by Muslims before the Christian invaders came and colonised the archipelago.

Now we have the answer, I hope everyone is more enlightened on the matter and for once I agree with BN and Umno and the sultan that in Malaysia, ‘Allah' should only be used by Muslims.

However, for Sikhs and only for Sikhs, it is different since Sikhism itself is combination of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islamic principles which was coined by their Guru. Thus, it not surprising that in Sikhism there are references to Allah as the monotheistic god.

They have the right to use it, but not Christians and certainly not any of the polytheists.

James Dean: I would like to make this call to all opposition party leaders to stay out of this ‘Allah' issue. Why? Because BN had now even used the royalties to further confuse this issue.

Mohamad Abdul Malik: Bravo! Now BN and in particular Umno has gotten what it most needed - the Malay votes.

CCM general secretary Rev Hermen Shastri has done what Umno has not been able to do since 2003 - stem the tide of Malay votes to the opposition. Now it's plain sailing for BN. Goodbye to Pakatan dream's to Putrajaya.

Jiminy Qrikert: Mohammad Abdul Malik, that's what you think. But you fail to recognise that your narrow-minded chauvinistic kind who feed on a daily dosage of ‘ketuanan Melayu' is fast shrinking.

If Malays cannot accept what the entire Muslim world beyond Malaysia can accept, then it says more about the minds of such Malays and they belong to Umno anyway. So, no loss.

It is about time that we separate the racist, bigoted, narrow-minded extremist Malays from the progressive, inclusive, open-minded and liberal Malays so we can march together as Malaysians into the future without the shackles of ‘ketuanan Melayu'.

May Allah bless Malaysia with more such Malays who will join hands with non-Malays and who do not claim to have exclusive ownership over His name.

1234567: Shame on the so-called Christian federal cabinet ministers from Sabah and Sarawak BN parties, some of whom have been using the word ‘Allah' since young but dare not say a word now.

When you are in Sabah and Sarawak, you call Him ‘Allah' as in the BM Bible. Tell me then, when you are serving your ministerial positions in Semenanjung, how do you call your God? You call him ‘Allah', or have you changed it to ‘Tuhan'?

Don't get me wrong, this is not the question of ‘Tuhan' or ‘Allah', after all God is the same yesterday, today and forever. This is about integrity and bravery to speak up for the right cause, and for the people you are representing.

Anonymous#007: Bravo to the CCM for making this stand. I would also have lauded the Christian Malaysians if they had chosen to do otherwise, because this was and is not an issue created by Allah.

Indeed, this was and is a matter that had been created by man - the handful of Muslims who are so afraid that 'their' Allah is not as great as someone else's Allah, and that their fellow Muslims in Malaysia are all as weak-minded and intellectually-challenged as them.

They couldn't be more wrong - some quarters in PAS have proven there are Muslim Malaysians who can think straight and are able to differentiate reality from delusions.

I have no doubt there will again be unsubstantiated noises from the increasing number of NGOs which had been created and registered for dodgy purposes, but which are really extensions of Umno-BN and possibly full of Umno members, simply to create the impression there are a lot of quarters who are unhappy with this decision. - Malaysiakini