It’s all an Umno game – Stephen Ng

Although Christians in the country have been made the scapegoat, things have to be put into perspective for the sake of unity and harmony.

Both the Alkitab and the Sikh scriptures use “Allah” to refer to God, but only the Christian scripture is being targeted, ridiculed and confiscated.

Despite having only the flimsiest argument against the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims, the religious bigots calling themselves “champions of Islam” continue to victimise Christians.

They claim when the word “Allah” is used in the Alkitab, it confuses Muslims.

Exactly who are these Muslims and why are Muslims in Malaysia so easily confused when other Muslims around the world have no problem with the name being used by other religious communities?

No one, including the man behind the 1Malaysia slogan, who promised Muslim NGOs such as Pembela that he would defend the exclusive use of “Allah” by Muslims, has ever quoted any part of the Quran that prohibits non-Muslims from using the name “Allah”.

Instead, opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and former Kelantan menteri besar, Tok Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat who, disagreeing with Umno ministers, quoted the Prophet saying: “Our Allah and your Allah is one”.

The same Quranic text is also used by renowned international Islamic scholars to advise the Barisan Nasional government on the “Allah” controversy, but to no avail.

The squabble over whose right it is to use the name “Allah” for God is truly unnecessary in the eyes of the international Muslim community.

Numerous translations have put it this way, for example, Sahih International: “And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims (in submission} to Him."

In Malaysia, it is the politicians who have led the Muslims on a stray path. Let us pray that this Ramadan month will see many of them returning to the truth path, so that they will stop using religion to achieve Umno’s ultimate aim of destabilising the Selangor government, with the intention of seizing it back in the next general election.

The Malaysian Insider has revealed that Mais’s chief, Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa is, in fact, an Umno strongman.

In the game of strategy, Mais is the stick, while Putrajaya is the balm. Blame will fall on the religious authority, while Umno is the good guy that tries to bring peace and harmony. Is this not what it appears to be?

Otherwise, how else would you explain why there is no action against the Sikh scriptures, Guru Granth Sahib, where Sheikh Farid (appears to have a Muslim name, too) uses the word “Allah” 12 times, while all three others – Guru Nanak, Guru Arjan and Saint Kabeer – also used the same word 18 times.

While the Alkitab uses the accurate spelling for “Allah” (similar to the spelling used in Prophet Muhammad’s “your Allah”, the Sikh scriptures write the name in another language (ਅਲਹ੝) other than Arabic.

We already know the perpetrators

Therefore, the Christian and other non-Muslim community at large should take comfort that it is only a minority that is trying to use the same game strategy as in the past.

These happen to be Umno members and leaders or, they are out in the open supporting Umno and Barisan Nasional, and vice versa, when it comes to the general election.

The strategy of championing Islam had helped former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to remain in power. The same strategy is still being used to try to unite Muslims in this country under one umbrella, although we already know the perpetrators and their strategy no longer work.

In fact, it backfires because a majority of the Christians in this country are more educated and would not hesitate to make a dent to Umno’s big fat hope of winning the general election.

Had it been the other way around, perhaps, Umno might have a better chance to win the middle ground.

It is the work of a certain faction of our community either behind the scene or in direct confrontation, which is trying to cling on to power. They have vested interest.

I must thank Perkasa’s Datuk Ibrahim Ali who recently said that it is not a sin to give UiTM projects to Umno members.

Tracing back the “Allah” controversy, Dr Mahathir, who was then home affairs minister, was the first to ban the Indonesian Alkitab in 1982, barely one year after he became the fourth prime minister of Malaysia.

This helped him to achieve his objectives. In his early years, Dr Mahathir had initially faced resistance from within Umno, especially those who were Malays and pro-Tunku Abdul Rahman.

By making it illegal to possess or distribute the Alkitab, Dr Mahathir managed to consolidate his power based with the support from the Malays by championing Islam.

In 1986, when Dr Mahathir was again challenged by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from Team B, he saw another opportunity to use the same tactic to unite the Muslims to defend his position. Within the next few years, one state enactment after another was passed. The rest is history.

Today, the scenario is different. In 2007, when Umno home minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar slapped a prohibition order on the Herald, it kickstarted a lengthy and painful litigation which ended with the controversial Federal Court ruling.

Although the Catholic Herald was never intended for proselytisation of Muslims, it earned the ire of authorities because of the Bahasa Malaysia section that is supposed to cater to the Catholic congregation in Sabah and Sarawak.

Most of us who are not Catholics have never even heard of the Catholic Herald until the High Court ruling in 2008. How the publication could be used to proselytise the Muslims, I just wonder when everything in it is hardly even comprehensible by non-church goers.

It’s all an Umno game. The same observation is made by Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad, who said that Umno is using the same strategy plan to attack on the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government.

“Umno,” he said, “which lost the state government wants to regain its power through the backdoor, so it uses the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais)... The head of Mais is not appointed by the state but by the sultan. The chairperson, Adzib, is an Umno member.”

There you go. The same reason is what motivated the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to raid the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) and a Hindu wedding. It is sad that under such circumstances, even the sultans as constitutional monarchs, are being used pawns for Umno’s political mileage.

Apart from Perkasa, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has been very vocal. Along with Mais, it was involved in a Christian-bashing seminar held at UiTM.

I must thank Isma president, Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman for revealing who his true political master is when he was quoted saying that both Chinese-based parties should be grateful to Umno: "Even when MCA and Gerakan suffered heavy losses in the last general election, they were still given cabinet positions.

Do we not remember that Perkasa’s Ibrahim, who lost in the last general election, was made a candidate on an Umno ticket?

Dr Mahathir personally went down to the ground to campaign for Ibrahim, but he lost to PAS. This is a slap on the face of Mahathir and Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Ibrahim’s selection as candidate certainly did not happen without the knowledge of Najib.

Reaping what you sow

At the end of the day, it is what we sow, that we will also reap. We cannot blame the BN government for everything that is happening today.

Our Sabah and Sarawak brethren have voted the present regime into power.

Although it was Syed Hamid who first prohibited the Herald from using the word “Allah”, now, the Sabah and Sarawak church cannot blame the apex court decision for ruling that “Allah” is now a banned word as far as all non-Muslims are concerned, since its decision is binding on a lower court and the Federal Court is the supreme authority in this country.

No state, including Sabah and Sarawak, can cushion itself against the ruling of the Federal Court.

The moment a group of Muslim extremists in Sabah or Sarawak complain against the church for using the name “Allah”, or choose to bring this matter to the court, the decision by the apex court will be binding.

As usual, after the apex court ruling, the government read out its part of the script: “Christians can still use the term 'Allah' in their churches and (we are still) committed to the 10-point solution.”

Let it be known that no amount of balm from Putrajaya will be able to comfort the non-Muslim community, unless the apex court’s decision is overturned.

Are we are not reaping what we sow when we voted politicians in both the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak which are aligned to Umno and Barisan Nasional? We have put them in Putrajaya, and now we are blaming them for all the woes that we suffer today? How ironic!

Be united

Following the apex court ruling, I urge my fellow Christians and other non-Muslim communities to unite together with our other Muslim brethren, who are equally persecuted and whose religion being used in the political game to divide the nation, to pray against a regime that is given to wickedness.

Controversial Muslim, Dr Kassim Ahmad was invited as a guest speaker at Perdana Leadership, thereafter, when he was arrested, the same man behind foundation himself, Dr Mahathir did not even come out aggressively to defend Kassim. One can only ask, “Did Dr Mahathir plan it that way?” Only God knows.

As peaceful people, we will not take arms or go to war with the government of the day, but our votes will count when we rise up from our slumber – Sabah and Sarawak and the peninsula.

While Pakatan has its weaknesses, too, the sins of BN for the past 60 years are far too many for us to “close an eye” (quoting the words of former Jasin MP from Umno).

If in the past, Sabah and Sarawak folk helped to prop up Umno and BN’s grip on Putrajaya, let us be awakened from our slumber and shake this nation with our prayers. Please share this letter with all your brothers and sisters.

“When one member suffers, all suffer together; when one member is honoured, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

If Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar refuses to act on Perkasa information chief, Ruslan Kassim, who threatened decapitation as the punishment for anyone ridiculing Islam and the Selangor Sultan, or acting on the court order to arrest the former husband of M. Indira Gandhi, we know that God will.

Never mind about the 321 Alkitab, if they choose to keep the Bibles or even destroy them, we can easily download it in any language and version, from approved Bible portals such as www.youversion.com and www.bible.com.

Ramadan is a good time

For our Muslim brethren, Ramadan is a good time to get close to God. Our God is a great God, who will forgive when we turn to Him.

I would not risk using the name “Allah” here, but you know I am referring to the One and Almighty God. You can start thinking back the words of Najib, who used the example of a terrorist group to urge Umno to be brave and willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the party.

But like many other critics, I wonder if Najib, as a leader, would even have the guts to sacrifice his own life for his party.

We, Malaysians, who know how Umno operates and we would not buy into its dirty politics. At the end of the day, we will still want change, and together with Harris Ibrahim, we will have Anything But Umno.

Yes, while we may hit out at Selangor MB, it is only a warning that if anyone behaves like Umno or BN leaders in matters of public interest like Kidex. We know that, until we remain united as one, replacing the all-powerful Umno and BN at Putrajaya is nearly impossible.

My greatest fear is that Umno will change its game plan and turn on a new leaf now but will it?

* Stephen Ng reads The Malaysian Insider.