PRESS STATEMENT

Sabah BN/Umno leaders Should Stand Up and Be Counted on Bible Raid - Dr. Jeffrey
Kota Kinabalu: Malaysia is burning while the PM is still twiddling his thumb to decide what to say and what to do. Before the country spirals out of control, the fire and heat has reached the face of Umno and BN leaders in Sabah. They need to act before it is too late said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, commenting on the Allah controversy and raid by the Islamic authority on a Christian body in Selangor. The Sarawak BN leaders have spoken and have taken a stand with the Chief Minister earlier stating in no uncertain terms in the presence of Najib that the religious bigotry disease infecting Malaya has no place in harmonious Sarawak. Another senior Minister has now stated there cannot be two sets of legal interpretation on the Allah issue when the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. For the Sabah Umno and BN leaders led by the Chief Minister, they now need to show courage and leadership in the face of adversity of their common foes from within and stand up to be counted or else leave the Barisan Nasional. It is rather foolish for a federal Minister from Sabah to urge the people to remain calm without himself stating clearly his stand and what he will do to resolve the growing menace against religious freedom. He is no different from a doctor telling his patient who is suffering and in pain to go home and rest and remain calm without doing anything. Of course, no such doctor will do such a foolish thing. The problem on the widening religious discord is caused none other than by the federal government itself. The government is shooting themselves in the foot and the PM has shown no courage and no leadership at all. It is small wonder that he is admonished by the daughter of an ex-PM. No statements or actions whatsoever from opposition parties will heal or resolve the problem. The solution lies squarely within BN and its components led by racist big brother Umno. Umno alone cannot be counted or relied upon to resolve the problem. They have a vested and biased interest and are the cause of the on-going threat against religious freedom, not just against the Christian faith. Therefore, the other BN components need to remind the PM that he is supposed to be the PM for all Malaysians not just the Malays or of the Peninsula. They need to tell the PM and Umno in no uncertain terms that the on-going spat cannot be allowed to continue and need to be stopped at all costs. If unstopped, it will lead to the country being fractured along religious and racial lines. The situation is more critical in Sabah and Sarawak which epitomizes the true 1-Malaysia peace, harmony and goodwill amongst their multi-ethnic and multi-religious citizens. This peace, harmony and goodwill need to be and must be preserved at all costs.

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The onus now falls on the heads and shoulders of the Sabah Umno and BN leaders to stand up as Malaysian and community leaders to show their Umno/BN counterparts in the Peninsula their stand to preserve peace and harmony in the country. As it is an Umno/BN internal causation, the solution lies within BN itself. These Sabah Umno and BN leaders need not worry that making a stand will jeopardize their own positions or vested personal interests. If standing up and be counted in such a critical situation facing the country will affect their positions and personal interests, they just need to say goodbye to their so-called partners and leave the Barisan. Just remember that in the end, the good will triumph over evil. If they are looking for Ministerships and positions, by leaving BN and joining with the Pakatan coalition, they will be similarly be rewarded. Perhaps, their reward and position may even be better with the Prime Ministership of Sabah and senior federal Ministerships readily made available to them.

Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan Chairman STAR Sabah 03 January 2014

Sarawak Minister says Putrajayas tiptoeing around the Allah issue is just bull
BY DESM OND DAVI DSON J ANUARY 02, 2014

Sarawak's Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing (pic) today lambasted gutless federal leaders whom he said are tip-toeing around the Allah issue with an unsound policy apparently aiming to appease everyone. Leaders (in the federal cabinet) must be brave enough to take the bull by the horns and decide once and for all which set of religious laws Malaysians must abide by. We must take the bull by the horn and tell the bull who is boss, Masing, an outspoken and fierce critic of the federal government's stand on the Allah issue, said when reacting to the Selangor Islamic Religious department (Jais) raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) where 300 copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and Iban were carted away. The raid, where 15 Jais personnel and two policemen went to the BSM office in Damansara Kim and demanded to be let in without a search and seizure warrant, is the latest incident to set the mercury rising in the country's religious thermometer. Masing is particularly critical of the policy where Christians in the peninsula are banned from using the word Allah in their Bibles and religious publications in line with the Court of Appeal's ruling last October, but exempted Christians in Sarawak and Sabah from the ban under a 10-point solution agreed to by the Federal Cabinet in 2011. The Court of Appeal had ruled in favour of the Home Ministry to ban the Catholic church's weekly publication, Herald, from using the word in its Bahasa Malaysia section. Legal experts are questioning that exemption, saying the Court of Appeal ruling applied to all Malaysians, including in Sarawak and Sabah where the majority of their people are Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians. I expected this type of action from the Islamic religious authorities. Though I expected it, it was nevertheless most disappointing in a Malaysia where the constitution says in no uncertain terms freedom of religion exists. This raid is a reflection of a policy gone wrong. We cannot have one nation with two sets of religious laws applicable on the same issue. It wouldn't work. It can't work. Malaysian leaders must decide once and for all which set of religious laws Malaysians must abide by. This way Malaysians will have a clear choice on what to do. The law should be applicable to all, whether they stay in Lubok Antu (in Sarawak), Pulau Penyu (Sabah) or Kuala Perlis. Masing said the government's policy on the Allah issue was not based on principle, but based on appeasement.

This policy of appeasement, Masing added, is the cause of rising religious tension in the country. He said religious policies should not be decided based on political expediency. They must be based on sound religious principles tempered by centuries of divine wisdom. Masing reminded the federal leaders that people in Sabah and Sarawak travel. They go to the peninsula to work. How is it that they are allowed to use the word in one half of the country and not allowed in the other half? Christians make up about 9% of the Malaysian population, or 2.6 million. Almost two-thirds of them are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as Allah in their prayers and holy book. Besides the Bumiputera Christians from East Malaysia, some of whom have moved to the peninsula to live and work, Orang Asli Christians in the peninsula also typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship. He asked why the use of the word is an issue now. Why is it a problem now? What makes Muslims in the peninsula have the copyright to the word? He asked if the religious freedom enshrined in the Federal Constitution had been dumped for limited freedom of religion. Do we have religious freedom or is it restricted now? Datuk Dr Thomas Tsen, president of the Sabah Council of Churches, said he was shocked and disappointed with the raid. This is so shocking and disappointing. We can feel with our Christian brothers and sisters in Selangor. We pray that this issue can be resolved as soon as possible, with a peaceful, respectful and fair resolution in Selangor, for the stability and harmonious life together of our beloved one country of Malaysia, Tsen said. - January 2, 2014.

Putrajaya appeals for calm over Allah row

BY EI LEEN NG J ANUARY 02, 2014

Putrajaya has appealed for calm in light of increasing tension over the usage of the word Allah by Christians. Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said he had contacted minister in charge of Islamic Affairs, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who had assured that he would help cool down tensions. He will help look into the matter and help calm the situation, Kurup told The Malaysian Insider.

Christians form about 9% of Malaysia's 29 million population. Kurup, who is a Christian, advised all quarters not to resort to anything that would strain the good relations that the various races had enjoyed over the years. If there are any parties that are not satisfied, bring it up to the proper authorities and let the authorities deal with this in a sensible and peaceful manner. His statement came on the heels of a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) at the Bible Society of Malaysia's (BSM) premises in Damansara Kim, Selangor, this afternoon and the insistence by a senior Catholic priest that Christians can use the word Allah. During the raid, some 300 copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and Iban were seized, and BSM president Lee Min Choon and its manager Sinclair Wong were detained before being released at 4pm. Various Muslim groups have also called for action to be taken against the editor of the Catholic weekly, Herald, Rev Father Lawrence Andrew who had said that Catholic churches in Selangor would continue to use the word Allah in their weekend services in Bahasa Malaysia, which are primarily attended by Sabah and Sarawak folk. Lawrence's comments came following a statement from the new director of Jais, Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad, who had said that the state religious authorities would draw up a list of Selangor churches before writing to ask them to comply with the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988. We will write to all the churches in Selangor to respect the law that is in force in relation to this, he was quoted as saying. The enactment, which was passed by the then Barisan Nasional state government, prohibits nonMuslims in Selangor from using 35 Arabic words and phrases, including Allah, Nabi (prophet), Injil (gospel) and Insya'Allah (God willing). Andrew's statement caused an uproar among various non-governmental organisations, which among others, described his action as not only challenging the sensitivities of Muslims, but also a sign of disrespect for the law. Umno Selangor threatened to protest at all churches in the state on Sunday unless Andrew apologises for insisting that Christians could use the word Allah, reported Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia today. Umno Selangor liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Abdul Shukor Idrus said Andrew was challenging the Sultan of Selangors decree prohibiting non-Muslims in the state from using Allah to describe God. The tussle over the word Allah hit the headlines in 2008 when Herald was barred by the Home Ministry from using the Arabic word. The Catholic church had contested the directive in court and won a High Court decision in 2009 upholding its constitutional right to use the word. Putrajaya later appealed the decision and successfully overturned it when the Court of Appeal ruled last October that "Allah was not integral to the Christian faith".

Almost two-thirds of the Christians in Malaysia are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as Allah in their prayers and holy book. Besides the Bumiputera Christians from East Malaysia, some of whom have moved to the peninsula to live and work, Orang Asli Christians in the peninsula also typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship. January 2, 2014.