Education ministry distances itself from Christian-bashing seminar at UiTM

A banner of the UiTM seminar posted on the Facebook page of the university's Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies. – Facebook pic, June 3, 2014.The Education Ministry today distanced itself from the controversial seminar on Allah and Christology held at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) last month, saying that it does not put up any restrictions on varsity-organised activities.

Its secretary-general II Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang said it was up to public institutions of higher learning to decide on their activities, which the ministry does not get involved in.

"It all depends on the respective universities' managements. We, in the ministry, do not decide which programmes they can or cannot have but instead it is up to their own discretion to decide on what issues they want to discuss in their programmes," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

The seminar was jointly organised by UiTM's Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Warisan Ibnu Aaby and the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais) with the support of Utusan Malaysia, Kumpulan Karangkraf, TV Al-Hijrah, Zikay Group and Pantai Bharu Group of Companies

UiTM has come under fire for the May 6 seminar which saw several speakers talking on the "threat of Christianisation". Several police reports have also  been lodged over its Christian-bashing elements.

Zaini, however, claimed that UiTM was only used to host the event but denied that the university had a hand in organising it.

"It was not UiTM that organised the seminar but it just happened to be held there. It was organised by NGOs," he added.

Organisers, he said, also could not determine or filter beforehand any views or opinions that might come out from the panel of a forum as it is the "basis for higher education".

Zaini said the ministry had always encouraged educational programmes in public universities, adding that disputes or differences in opinion could be debated.

"When we have a conference, we cannot determine what the lecturer or panel will say as that is the educational institution.

"Most importantly, we encourage educational activities and not emotionally," he added.

Sponsors of the event have also distanced themselves from the UiTM seminar. They said they were under the impression that it was an academic programme and had no idea it was a Christian-bashing session.

Both UiTM and co-organiser Mais have meanwhile kept mum over the seminar, but a source from the religious authority said it had no hand in either the theme or the speakers.

"The university authorities decided on the event, invitations and the panel of speakers," the source said, adding that university authorities had asked Mais to distribute a book, "Exposing the Christian Agenda" to seminar participants.

Speakers at the event include Pertubuhan Muafakat Sejahtera Masyarakat Malaysia (Muafakat) general-secretary Abdul Karim Omar as well as Indonesians Masyud SM, Irena Handono, Menachem Ali dan Insan LS Mokoginta.

Although Mokoginta had claimed he was a Catholic priest before embracing Islam in 1976, the Bishops Conference of Indonesia executive secretary Father Edy Purwanto said it had no information on him.

Mokoginta had spoken on "The Threat of Christianisation" at the seminar and further said that "every follower of Jesus should convert to Islam otherwise it would be a betrayal to Him".

Meanwhile, checks on another speaker Handono, who claimed she was a former Catholic nun, showed she did not complete her "education", with Purwanto saying she was only briefly with the Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters as a novice.

- TMI