Thursday 26 February 2009

I WARN YOU, you God-forsaken Dhimmi: Print it, Read it, but DON'T ever say this word - "ALLAH"

What the ^%#$.... real geniuses we have in the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs headed by none other than Mr. Hamid Albar himself!!!!
**(LOL ...I'm sure Fr. O.C. Lim will be real pleased ....)

Christians can use Allah in print, but they cannot say it

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — The controversial ban on the word “Allah” to mean God for non-Muslims is still in place, said a Malaysian Catholic priest involved in a court dispute over its use.

The Associated Press had reported earlier today that the ban had been lifted with conditions.

“The ban has not been lifted,” Reverend Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald, a Catholic weekly newspaper, told The Malaysian Insider this afternoon.

He said he had recently received a letter from the Home Ministry reinforcing the rule forbidding the word “Allah” in a non-Muslim context.

He explained the ban made exceptions for Christians to use the word “Allah” only in print and under stringent conditions.

“The printing, publishing, sale, issue, circulation and possession of any document and publication relating to Christianity containing the words ‘Allah’, ‘Kaabah’, ‘Baitullah’ and ‘Solat’ are prohibited unless on the front cover of the document and publication are written with the words ‘FOR CHRISTIANITY’,” Fr Lawrence said, quoting from the letter dated Feb 16, 2009.

“The words ‘FOR CHRISTIANITY’ referred to in subparagraph (1) shall be written clearly in font type Arial of size 16 in bold,” he added.

The notification, which falls under the Internal Security Act, was gazetted on Feb 16 this year.

“We feel good we can use ‘Allah’ again,” Fr Lawrence said, adding that the March 1 issue of The Herald will bear the required warning on its front page.

But he is wary of celebrating too soon, noting that the order does not allow Christians to use it orally, whether celebrating Mass or other forms of prayer and worship.

“If I had a Malay Bible, but if ‘FOR CHRISTIANITY’ were not printed on its front cover, ahhh, trouble,” the priest said.

Fr Lawrence noted that with the case still going on, the government’s latest move could be seen as acting in contempt of court.

Tomorrow, the High Court here will resume hearing the judicial review filed last year by the Catholic Church against the government over the “Allah” ban.

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Not to be left out in seeking publicity and conflict - we have the Rising Taliban of PKR, the one and only, the skullcap restrained mind of the intellectual amoeba, Zul Nordin!!

PKR man upset ‘Allah’ can be used in Christian publications

By Adib Zalkapli

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — PKR’s Zulkifli Nordin today questioned the decision made by the Home Ministry in allowing the Catholic weekly The Herald to use the word “Allah” in its publications.

“Have they referred to the related decree? The ministry should not compromise on this matter,” said the Kulim Bandar Baharu MP when asked about the decision.

He told The Malaysian Insider that his opposition to the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims were not motivated by theological arguments.

The Home Ministry has allowed Herald to use the word “Allah”, but the publication has to clearly print the words “For Christianity” on its cover.

“We should look at the social context where the word is used by the Malay Muslims in the country, what is the reason behind their insistence on using ‘Allah’,” said Zulkifli.

Earlier in his speech while debating the motion of thanks to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, the first term MP express his unhappiness with The Herald’s editor Lawrence Andrew’s statement on the use of the word Allah by the publication.

Cast in Stone & Casting Stones .....

"... some Articles in the Constitution are cemented in stone and can't be amended even with 100% majority in Parliament".
- "SuperAdmin" MalaysiaToday (comments section)
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As much as some things may be "cast in stone" in the constitution, it cannot last forever.

The question is - How long the leaders can keep it viable, without corrupting the spirit in which it was drafted.
Many things are said in the Constitution - but unless those who interpret it understand the spirit in which it is supposed to be applied and upheld, it is nothing but "toilet paper".

Right now, the extremists have thus far succeeded in manipulating the moderate secularist spirit in which it was drafted, so as to make demands based on a "literal" interpretation. This is made convenient through the draconian laws (eg EO, ISA, Police Act, UUCA, PPPA) which these extremists have formulated - laws which encourage ignorance and an unthinking mob mentality.

Discussion is deemed a danger. Debate is a danger. Education is deemed a danger. Progress is deemed a danger. Anything which threatens the comfort of the corrupt is deemed a danger.
Laws are formulated to protect the pirates from the people. "Daylight Robbery" will also be translated as constitutional, and "cast in stone". To challenge it would be deemed "seditious" and would warrant "detention" (and not "arrest", mind you!)

This attitude is further aided by the servile & corrupt instruments of state, which facilitate fascism and obsession for "sectarian supremacy & purity". That too, is considered "constitutional".
That the idea of "the unique identity and economic sustainability" is what the constitution intended, would be lost forever. It becomes a competition to plunder and rape the nation based on the fascist ideas of "supremacy" of an elite club of pirates, on the pretext of "constitutional rights" of a privileged "sect".

If the "spirit" of the Federal Constitution is lost for good thru this ignorance & manipulation, for better or for worse, one might as well resign oneself to an impending revolution and a new Constitution and the fracture of this "nation state" as we know it.

Whether this revolution will be peaceful or otherwise will depend on the level of education and enlightenment which the people espouse. In a worst case scenario, we will end up like the Swat Valley in Pakistan- in which case, even PAS as we know it wouldn't survive!

Then the we can kiss good-bye, all that is "cast in stone" ..... and sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" while we bang balls!

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"To be, or not to be: that is the constitution."
- with apologies to Shakespeare, Hamlet III.i

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Under Pressure - Mistaking Apples for Oranges Amidst the Vandals' Bushfires....

If a half dozen Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblypersons from Selangor cross over to Barisan Nasional, and what happened to Perak also happens to Selangor, would he still be a jolly good fellow?
- RPK,
For he’s a jolly good fellow, No Holds Barred

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Link to Full Lyrics of "Under Pressure"
"It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high
Pressure on people - people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
but it's so slashed and torn
Why - why - why ?"


It appears to me that RPK is under immense pressure and "needs to write a few things to straighten things out".
With a few charges against him in the courts and mourning the passing of an Aunt, sometimes I really wonder how RPK copes on a day to day basis. The pressure must definitely be nerve wreaking and mind boggling.

There have been a few signs of "coping methods" embraced by RPK.
First it was the Che Guevara style - complete with the cigar & then the Cap. Probably it was to "feel the revolutionary spirit" or whatever. Next came the angry statement of "a bullet" in the previous post. Maybe it was a sign of frustration at trying to put out the many bushfires that are being started by "vandals".
As such, of late RPK has come up with a few statements which weren't exactly what MT is about - at least IMHO ... but then again, he may be trying to get his audience thinking again (as opposed to the many sickeningly unthinking commenters we see these days, who laud everything RPK says). It may be that he was just courting controversy, so as to provoke discussion.

Nevertheless, the pressure RPK is under, is just as heavy as that which plagues DSAI. I think both of them are showing signs of the stress involved in putting out the ever increasing bushfires lit by the "vandals".
It is at times like these that we need to stand by our leaders - for a friend in need, is a friend indeed.
Let is sing them "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", despite the bad press in the MSM.
Let us help them ride this wave of bushfires ....

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(The following was my comment on MT in the above mentioned RPK's column ...)

"Knowing you guys and gals you will smear my cousin to kingdom come."
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Indeed Pete - clarity of thought should be the order of the day. So I say - you've gone on a tangent, and lack the very clarity required here!

If the DAP/PAS/PKR farts don't smell so sweet to you at all times, why then do you carry the flag of all these parties (on the Barisan Rakyat banner) at all times?
They may have signed the people's declaration for political expediency, but they don't exactly walk the talk at all times - Hassan Ali, Zul Nordin, that Manicka clown and the "Songkok issue man" are some to note. moreover, they back down, at the first sign of controversy!
(My hats off to LGE, Karpal & LKS though ....)

Then you go on to say, "They aspire for an Islamic State and since some of you do not agree with this you feel that Pakatan Rakyat is better off without PAS. Many also do not support HINDRAF because they fight on a Hindu platform. Even Indians of Muslim or Christian persuasions do not have nice things to say about HINDRAF.

Well, to that, Pete - I'll say damn those guys who say that their kinda fart alone smells sweeter than all the rest! Period. There is no premise for sectarianism in the People's Declaration!

As for the office of the heads of state, is created by the real rulers of a state - the government. The legitimacy of it lies with the people- and hence, the people have a right to dispute a judgmental error.
The onus is on the one who occupies the seat/office to maintain its credibility, and preserve its integrity against all odds, to uphold the constitution upon which it depends. The respect the office commands depends on the conduct of the office-bearer, and not his bloodline, heritage or "god-ordained rights"
So there is nothing wrong in questioning a flawed judgment, and praising a good call.

So - about Perak and Selangor ...
You're comparing apples & oranges, Pete!
These are two different scenarios - one was about the installation of an illegal govt. The other was simply "advice" sought.

Without a doubt, HM Sultan Azlan Shah may also have personally been a "victim of circumstances" just as much as the Perakians. and it isn't necessarily him personally that the people condemned, but the office of the Sultan - the institution that was abused by "hidden hands" at work.
Whatever said and done, the head of state cannot "fire" his MB - he may only select the candidate he feels, commands the majority in the assembly - and the argument about the "Interpretation Act" which Shad Faruqi highlighted is flawed. The MB can only be "fired" by a vote of no confidence.

Hence, I have no doubts whatsoever that the people would be pissed off should the office of the Selangor Head of State commit an indiscretion to the same effect - and it may not necessarily against your cousin in his personal capacity.
That it is your cousin who occupies the seat, is incidental.

As for KJ, we all know what he's done, and the reputation he has as a "wormtongue" and how sweet his dog-breath is when the situation calls for it ..... but of course there are always people who believe that it's cool to jump into a barrel of shit, to clean it from within, while hoping to come out smelling like roses.

Come what may, despite my difference in opinion, I'll still sing "For he's a Jolly Good Fellow" for you - becos of what Malaysia Today has given to the people.
So let's have some clarity over apples & oranges, and not get petty - passionate or not.