TIME MAGAZINE THREATENED? 'Halt all negative comments against PM Najib'

Time Magazine, which came under scrutiny last week for an article depicting the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Najib Razak apparent failure to deal with race relations and growing religious intolerance, will have to watch its columns.

The international weekly is said to be under ongoing scrutiny, with the matter of the article written by Zoher Abdoolcarim still under investigation by a unit tasked to monitor foreign publications at the Home Ministry.

A source said a handler at the ministry is preparing a report that will be submitted to the Ketua Setiausaha (Chief Secretary) of the ministry, soon and it is only then a decision will be taken on Time article.

Time Magazine was urged, in a meeting with several people, to report on ‘more positive’ aspects of Najib Razak’s leadership, the source said.

Have the guts to face up to the consequences of your actions & policies!

While the magazine was cleared for distribution in Malaysia, the interested parties were urged to halt all negative comments against the Prime Minister.

“While the magazine was released on time in neighboring countries, its release in Malaysia was delayed by a few hours,” the source said.

The article entitled “Losing Faith’ and published in the March 2 issue of the magazine, implies religious harmony is under severe strain in Malaysia, and lambast Prime Minister Najib Razak for his apparent mishandling of the deteriorating situation.

Churches and Mosques has come under attack in the country in the recent past, while the nation seems divided over the issue of the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims, despite a Court ruling that disallows Christians to use the word in their sermons.

The Time magazine article said the Malaysian system, which worked well in the past, is now under strain stating in recent months, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which leads the ruling coalition in Malaysia has become more strident about its brand of Islam.

The Department of Statistics in Malaysia stated this week as at 2010, Bumiputras (Malay-Muslims) make up 67.4% of the population, Chinese (24.6%), Indians, (7.3%), with other races making up the remaining 0.7%. - http://wfol.tv/2014/02/time-urged-project-positive-image-pm/

Time Magazine ticked-off over article in Malaysia?

Time Magazine came under scrutiny in Malaysia when its distributor was ticked-off over an article that did not please the Malaysian authorities on the current government’s handling of religious tolerance level.

The article implies religious harmony is under severe strain in Malaysia, and criticized the way Prime Minister Najib Razak is handling deteriorating situation.

Time went further in its criticism of Malaysia, stating the country is not a progressive society under Prime Minister Najib Razak pointing out there is a critical front undergoing testing times, and that is religion.

Time, through the pen of its Asia Editor, Zoher Abdoolcarim said Malaysia – where US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit in April this year – is an example among Muslim states and matters more because it is a study in how a country can or cannot reconcile Islam with the contemporary age.

“The challenge is greater for Malaysia given its distinct ethnic groups, about half of the 30 million population is Malay, nearly a quarter Chinese, followed by indigenous peoples and Indians.” Zoher Abdoolcarim wrote in the March edition of Time.

In the op-Ed, Zoher said he was right about Najib as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, but wrong in his assertion that Najib will be the man to enable Malaysia’s transition from tradition to modernity.

In the article entitled ‘Losing Faith’ Zoher wrote Najib was a moderate when he came to power in 2009, introducing changes that made Malaysia more open, but things changed almost immediately after.

“He has backtracked since to appease UMNO conservatives, many of whom want him out.” he wrote, adding that ‘religious jingoism is a bigger sin than political calculation, because how a society treats its ‘other’ reveals its core.’

He said the Malaysian system, which worked well in the past, is now under strain stating in recent months, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which leads the ruling coalition in Malaysia has become more strident about its brand of Islam.

“During a party conclave in December, several UMNO leaders called specifically for Sunni Islam to be enshrined as state religion. This came after the arrest of two Shi’ite Muslims for possessing books on Shi’ite Islam” he wrote.

He also pointed out the growing intolerance on the use of the word Allah in reference to a non-Muslim diety, even though such usage has long been common. He also referred to the seizure of bibles in the state of Selangor, controlled by the Opposition, as a form of the growing religious intolerance in Malaysia.

Zoher quoted two verses from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, urging those who would impose their dogma to take heed!

The article can be read on Time.com website here: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2166088,00.html

The article bears the following permalink: Essay: The Islamisation of Malaysia – http://wfol.tv/2014/02/time-magazine-ticked-article-malaysia/