Nobody Trusts Najib's 1-Malaysia Anymore!!

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"Mark my words.
Umno is bent on systematically creating
political chaos in the country
to save itself out of the hole
it had dug itself into over the years"
~ Jeffrey Kitingan
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Within a short span of 9 months -
with a record number of scandals plaguing the Administration,
with a lame Judiciary,
with Utusan being permitted incitement,
with racism and religious bigotry at an all-time high in Umno's rhetoric,
with terrorism being subtly encouraged by "certain quarters",
his confession of being "powerless" to stop demonstration all of a sudden,
and the BN alliance in tatters,
Najib claims that his 1-Malaysia
"is intact"!!!

**Well, in that case - Thomas Jefferson must be my Uncle!!

UMNO HAS "LOST IT"!!

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"Where is the life we have lost in the living?

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information ?
The cycles of heaven in twenty centuries
bring us farther from God and nearer to dust."
- T.S. Elliot

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Back in 2006 I had written (published Jan, 2007) in "Where is the Spirit of Merdeka?" , I had written the following :-
"The spirit of Merdeka has been subverted by racists and the religious zealots over the years, and has been replaced by chauvinism – racial and religious..... Unfortunately, we are a society so paralyzed by symptomatic solutions one has to wonder whether we will learn anything from this mindless atrocity.......

They have failed so miserably to even convince themselves that they are on the right track, that they look for scapegoats all around them.

Having failed in its shortcut to an economic miracle, the advocates of the system (clamouring for issues and a new agenda to perpetuate their greed and envy) the now choose to preach intolerance, “arabisation”, and religiosity in the name of God, to further isolate, and “drug into a stupor” a beautiful people that was once open to change.

Even if we aren't too accurate in our assessment, much of what has passed-off for Islamisation by the govt was nothing more than frothy God-talk, mindless, thoughtless, and in its exploitation of people, heartless. The “one upmanship” practised by the various institutions that espouse religious chauvinism, is in fact a pathetic display of their failures and insecurities.

They need to feel that they are “winning” and wish to gloat about their “success” in being the defenders of their misplaced priorities, while hiding the enemies within, behind a cloak( turban or beard) of religiosity.

Malaysia today is a nation that has lost its conscience.
Lets hope that the soul still lives. "

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"What we need is a Leadership that is not only right where we are right,
but right where we are wrong".
~ G.K. Chesterton
**********************

Munsyi (teacher) Abdullah (1796-1854) will probably be turning in his grave (for having used "Allah" in his early Malay/Jawi translation of the bible), if he knew what Umno is doing today. It is given here on Tranungkite.com, that among Munsyi Abdullah's first works was a Malay/Jawi translation of the Bible. I reproduce here from that page :-
"Jemaah termanggu bila ditanya Ust. Nasharudin tentang antara hasil penulisan pertama Munsyi Abdullah yang kita gelarkan "Bapa Persuratan Melayu" tu...dan beristighfar panjang bila diberitahu antara hasil tulisan Munsyi yang pertama adalah translation BIBLE KE DALAM BAHASA MELAYU YANG DITULIS DALAM SKRIP JAWI!"

But in a 21st century Malaysia, they are afraid of the very things Malays/Muslims accepted centuries ago. That's how far back the Umno-Malay mindset has gone.
While in the past I still had hope that things could change- today, I dare say openly that Umno has lost it, and is irredeemably corrupt. They have stooped so low as to politicize a non-issue, which was there for centuries and caused no problems.Not just that, they have chosen to walk the path of hypocrisy & terrorism- they feign innocence but perpetrate terror among peaceful citizens.

The nation has been rocked by this senseless violence. True Muslims from all walks of life are disgusted by this act of intimidation. Malaysians are disgusted with fascist UMNO's hypocrisy. East Malaysian are shocked that what was their practice for centuries, has become an issue among the fascist Umno-ites.
While did not rule out the possibility that this would come to be, I hadn't expected UMNO to descend to such levels of depravity so fast, so soon.

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"Many of our perceptions are distorted by our prejudices, particularly if we perceive those prejudices to be convictions".
- Ravi Zacharias

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It is obvious that Najib's leadership leaves much do be desired. Despite claiming that all is hunky-dory, word is that Najib is facing quite a bit of a challenge within the party. Never mind the scandals that plague his 9-month old administration or the increasingly corrupt practices alleged. Just like Pak Lah, Najib is definitely not a grassroots man - worse still, he's the one who once won his Pekan constituency through postal votes. Therefore this manufactured "crisis" with the help of Mr. Kris - wherein he can show his "leadership skills".
It was probably why the two cousins had initially supported the "right of them to demonstrate" as they had to "strike a balance". (Both had backtracked on this in less then 24 hrs, after coming under fire in cyber-space, with Krismoodin claiming to be only the postman/officeboy who passes the message for the Police).

Maybe it was out of this frustration, that these Molotov cocktails were lobbed into churches. With no retaliation coming from the side of Christians, taking cue from what happened in Sabah - I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they would stoop lower. Back in the days when BN sought to wrest power in Sabah, Mosques were apparently defaced by mercenaries (illegal immigrants), and this had triggered riots. This same MO (modus operandi) may just be in the works right now. In fact, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that that was what happened when the church was burned today, with many more being "given warnings" through "failed attempts". After all, what loss would it be to an illegal immigrant who wishes for freedom, and would return to his motherland anyway.
(this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise though - they have "successfully alienated" the Christians of both East & West Malaysia, and the Christian votes in Sabah/Sarawak is quite a vote bank!)

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"Had Allah willed He could have made you all one community? But He made you as you are (diverse) as a test. So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah you will all return, and He will then inform you of the meaning of differences within you."
[Quran 5:48].
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Most politicians came out in swift condemnation of this cowardly and dastardly act of violence. Pak Lah, despite being generally silent, has come out to condemn this of the dastardly act of burning houses of worship.
Take note that thus far, his mentor - Mahathir- is still silent on this issue (just as he was, after the Perak coup d'etat). But of course, when all has calmed down, he'll come around with his 2 sen worth of "wisdom" on the matter.
Are there some "hidden hands" at play here?

P.S.
It doesn't take a genius to know how the infamous "May 13" was manufactured, and who were the masterminds behind it. But of course - in the end, after thorough investigation, in true Bodohland style, no one (or maybe some ikan bilis) will be implicated ......

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"It will not do to cling to the cause and wish the result away.
Reality does not play mind games.
What is more, to anesthetize the mind in order to abort what comes to birth
when wrong ideas are conceived and borne in the womb of culture,
will only kill the very life-giving force of the nation that nurtures the idea."
- Ravi Zacharias
---------------------------------

DAMN YOU, UMNO- FOR STOKING THE FLAMES OF HATRED!!

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim today condemned Umno and urged the government to take full responsibility for the church attacks.
“It has to take full responsibility for the worsening of relations between people of different faiths in this country in its handling of the use of the word Allah.
"The irresponsible conduct of fanning the emotions by Umno leaders has brought about this dangerous situation. What we see today confirms that this country is being governed not by engagement consultation, sophistication or persuasion but by brute and mob force,” he said in a press statement.....
“The Umno-led government has the penchant to use force or flexing of authority in dealing with delicate issues. Take the case of the ban imposed on the Herald. They could easily have engaged in consultation with the church in Sabah and Sarawak. They should try to understand why the need to use the word Allah without any preconceived notions or prejudice. After all, they have been using the word Allah for many years before BN government acted to ban the Herald.
"They could easily have also engaged in discussions with the various Muslim groups about their legitimate concerns on whether the church are surreptitiously converting Muslims and explore ways to address these concerns in spirit of dialogue and peaceful deliberations,” he said.
He explained that there are already laws against converting Muslims but Umno instead chose to politicise the sensitive issue.....

PAS vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had said that the demonstration on the use of the word “Allah” is Umno’s position and not the party’s.

"We call on all members of PAS in order not to be dragged in the same demonstration sponsored by Umno," he told party’s newspaper.

PAS backs the use of the word Allah by Catholics because it is consistent with the federal Constitution and Islamic principles.

-Pakatan wants Umno to take responsibility for church attacks

YOU DESECRATE HOUSES OF WORSHIP?

YOU WILL PAY A PRICE -
AND YOU WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT YOU
WHEN IT'S DONE!!
WOE UNTO YOU THE SHAMELESS ALLIES OF UMNO -
YOU TOO WILL FACE THE MUSIC!!

"Allah" - Stoking the Fires & Fanning Ignorance.

"PAS president Datuk Hadi Awang declared that the party
would back the use of the word “Allah” by the country's Christians,
arguing that it was consistent with the Constitution and Islamic principles.
“PAS would like to state that based on Islamic principles,
the use of the word 'Allah' by the people of the Abrahamic faiths
such as Christianity and Judaism, is acceptable,”
Hadi said in a written statement."

- ‘Allah’ debate exposes country’s fault lines, TMI

Never mind that Islam doesn't prohibit the use of "Allah" in worship by anybody else. Never mind that the Federal Constitution protects all in practicing their own faith. Never mind that Muslims worldwide are laughing at the imbecility of the hordes who protest against its use.
What matters to some politicians, is that they gain political mileage as "defenders of Islam" even if it was a lie.

This issue had cropped up long ago, but was hushed up after a kind of "compromise".
It was something that a certain previous PM could have addressed if he had any respect for the "Rule of Law", The Pillars of Democracy" or even understood the word "Nationhood".
To him everything needed a political solution & "Rule of Law" was dispensable - this is what we see today in our society, which has little respect for the courts (which have been rendered - "lackeys").

He allowed it to simmer to a boil, so that they didn't have to address the issue himself. He was a master at getting others to take the fall for him in many critical issues....
No effort was made to discipline those agent provocateurs, through the rule of law.
Reminds me of the term "hudna".

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"The deterioration of our political order did not happen overnight or in isolation.
It is part of a more general pattern of the decline of democracy
and the rule of law in many newer democracies.
Many post-colonial societies that began with democratic institutions
saw democracy collapse afterwards into dictatorship."
~ Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
******************************

Now with certain political parties under siege, they have sought to exploit it to the max. After having failed in their racisist agenda, they seek to exploit ignorance and evoke bigotry. They now use it as a means to "rally" the muslim electorate around them, while creating negative sentiments against the non-muslims.
The shameless vulgarity of ignorance in the comments from their leaders and opinions expressed in their blogs/FB is a testament to the unthinking minds that populate that particular party. In fact, I was quite surprised with the vulgar language they used to vent their emotions - with absolutely no reason whatsoever!
Through their stupidity & persecution, they make it virtually impossible for right-thinking person to respect or support them, and then they accuse the victims of lacking patriotism. They however have their support among those who are deemed "leaders" in our political hierarchy.

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"Right now, if you do not allow the protest, it will cause a lot of emotional reaction".
-Hishamudin, Home Ministry to allow protests against ‘Allah’ ruling

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One FB guy wrote (in bombastic words) that PAS sacrifices the sanctity of Islam - but when asked how it was so, silently chickens out - saying that only Muslims would understand. When challenged that it was his duty as a Muslim to "dakwah", his silence made me back-off with a polite "Kalau tak sudi, terima kasih" - lest I "provoke his primitive instincts".
This is the very siege-mentality (the primitive "flight or fight response") they promote among their masses.
The politicians whip up sentiments/emotions among their mindless minions, who have no idea why they do what they do. These are the people our politicians in the corridors of power, encourage to demonstrate.

*******************************

Either I am forgetful or the former prime minister has a selective recall
because in the 80s, the Al-kitab - the Indonesian bible - was banned
but a decision was made by his government to allow Christians
to import it with restrictions on its use and sale.

- Steve Oh, 'Allah' issue was resolved during Dr M's time, MalaysiaKini
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It is therefore not surprising that certain "selectively amnesiac" PM decided to give his 2cents worth on this issue - instead of demanding that rule of law should prevail, he has lent his weight to the unruly lobby of the ignorant. He carries on with his usual ways of undermining the courts so as to allow the executive to assert its power - to the detriment of our nationhood.
It doesn't matter to him one bit, if what his minions do subverts the "rule of law" - what matters is that he gets political mileage out of it. This may just be his last 'hurrah' - for his days are numbered.
The primitive Umno-aligned hordes (with their lack of respect for the "Rule of Law" and poor thinking capacity), now wish to change what has been prevalent in Sabah/Sarawak for ages before Umno or even Malaysia for that matter.

This issue threatens to fracture this nation.
It has been the language of our Christian Sabahan/Sarawakian brothers in prayer. It has been used in Malay translations for centuries (was it Munsyi Abdullah who translated the Bible into Malay?).

***********************************

"Negative comments and reactions on use of the term 'Allah'
will be a severe setback to relations among the various races and faiths,
and could poison ties between both halves of Malaysia....
Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have been using the term 'Allah'
from the 19th century,
long before the Federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963."
-Dompok fears backlash from 'Allah' row, MalaysiaKini
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Honestly - I don't give a fig about the word "Allah". My God doesn't need it and is definitely bigger than this word- and my faith is definitely stronger than those who "fear confusion".
To me, it is a word - that's all. In fact, it has been a word which I have not been comfortable with, until I understood how it came about - and so have come to accept it.

The bottomline here however, is the fact that the Federal Constitution provides for freedom of worship and does not permit interference of the executive in matters of worship. The Law is a living document that has to live in our hearts.
To kill its spirit would be to kill the hopes of true nationhood. Some believe that it doesn't concern them as they aren't Christian/Catholic/ Sikh/ Baha'i. They believe that it is a pointless fight - to quote temenggong (on MT), "I see two beggars fighting over scraps". (Temenggong, despite being Hindu, is obviously ignorant of the fact that "Alla"/ "Allo"/ Allah is also used in the Rig Veda & the Upanishads - or probably regards them as scraps).

They believe that the autonomy/independence enjoyed by the non-muslim houses of worship (the only bodies wherein the executive has yet to exert its influence in this nation), isn't worth defending. Those who deem it "childish" not to defend the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, they do so at their own (an the nation's) peril ....
and to them I say - "This is just the beginning - and every dog shall have its day".

With that, I rest my case - let's just hope that reason prevails ..... "Insya Allah".

************************************

"The deterioration of our political order did not happen overnight or in isolation. It is part of a more general pattern of the decline of democracy and the rule of law in many newer democracies. Many post-colonial societies that began with democratic institutions saw democracy collapse afterwards into dictatorship."
~ Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
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P.S.
So much for Najib's 1-Malaysia campaign.
For now, - with Mongolia/ RPK/ Bala/ Scorpene/Sukhoi/ Fat Mama etc etc etc hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles - it is quite obvious that he's under "somebody's thumb".
Anyways - I have a strange feeling that this year will see the demise of Mahathirism as a driving force in our polity .....

More on the manufactured "Allah" controversy....

Protests over 'Allah' ruling embarrassing

A Rahman
MalaysiaKini
Jan 6, 10
6:31pm

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Home Ministry applies for stay on 'Allah' ruling.

I fail to understand the logic of some of my fellow Muslims protesting in Penang and the federal government's (our prime minister, the Prime Minister's Department, the home minister and home ministry) stand to appeal over the High Court's decision over this issue. Why should Muslims get 'heated up' ?

The reasons given were:

1. As quoted by Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary-general of Malay rights group Pribumi Perkasa: 'We fear that the court victory will mean that Christian missionaries will now use the word, confusing (the identity of) Muslims and undermining religious harmony.' This is the 'confusion theory' that has been given as a reason. There is also a claim by the federal government that it will threaten national security.

2. Due to this 'confusion', it seems we Muslims are not able to distinguish between the 'Allah' of the Christians or that of the Muslims.

Now, when we debate this matter, it has to be done with a sound mind and a clear understanding of whether the ban on the term 'Allah' was done fairly to us Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Consider the facts :

1. The word 'Allah' has been used by pre-Islamic Arabs for God. There is evidence that the word 'Allah' existed before the birth of Muhammad (PBUH) for thousands of years. It is probably the oldest name man used to call God. Prophet Muhammad's father's name was Abdullah (The slave of Allah). This name was common among the Arab pagans and Jews. Abdullah bin Salam was one of the first Jews to convert to Islam in Medina.

2. We know for a fact that the Arabic Christians still use the term 'Allah' for their God. The word Allah is used in all Arabic translations of the Bible.

3. Our Sarawak and Sabah non-Muslim indigenous people have been using the word 'Allah' for God since the 1800s. I have seen, via the Internet, an 1818 version of the Christian bible, with the words 'Allah'. I am not sure of its origins though but it makes use of the word 'Allah'.

4. Other religions too do make mention of 'Allah' as their God.

a. 'Allah' in Sikhismis one of the names by which Gurunanak Sahib refers to God.

b. 'Allah' in Hinduism

i. 'Allah' in Rigveda Book 2 Hymn 1 Verse 2. Even in the Rigveda which is the most sacred scripture of the Hindus, one of the attributes given to God Almighty in Book No 2 Hymn No 1 verse II, is 'Ila' which if pronounced properly is the same as 'Allah'.

ii. Allo Upanishad. Amongst the various Upanishads, one is named as 'Allo' Upanishad in which God is referred to as 'Allah' several times.

5. I remember too that in the Quran, it states that the Christians do call their God as 'Allah', This in Al-Qur'an 5:72-73.

I am not an Islamic scholar but claiming that the use of the word 'Allah' would confuse us Muslims is really rubbish and to go beyond to claim that it will threaten national security is preposterous. Are we so weak in our faith that we cannot differentiate and we would turn apostates easily just because of the works of some Christian missionaries using this word?

Do Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak get confused? Come on, this is an insult to us Muslims. Are we saying we do not have depth in our faith that we can simply convert out of Islam just because of this? Does our Islamic faith carry such teachings? Is this more of the work of Man rather than of Allah?

We do not need Islamic scholars to tell us this. True Muslims do not need the government and self-proclaimed champions such as these Muslim groups to protest on our behalf. Their very act of claiming to protect our faith shows how shallow-minded these people are - both the protestors and the government.

Got a great travel photo? Can it win this photo contest?

They seem to capitalise on the political aspect of the situation rather than championing for the true cause of Islam. I'm not sure whether these protestors themselves understand the logic of why they are protesting. This is embarrassing us Muslims - not protecting our Islamic interests.

I shared this news with a few of my old Muslim friends overseas in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia and Jordan via e-mail. They could not even believe me when I told them that the Malaysian government bans the use of this word and that some Islamic groups protested in support. They thought I was joking!

We should observe fair administration due to the fact that many of our ministers and department heads are Muslims. We should have treated the non-Muslims fairly as well. The government has confiscated 15,000 Malay bibles of the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak even though the word 'Allah' has been in use since 1800s.

This news has been published throughout the world. We impose and claim exclusiveness on the word 'Allah' when such as act is not even found in our Islamic faith while our Holy Quran even says that Christians do, in fact, use the word 'Allah'. Is this how Muslim leaders act? Is this called fairness to the peoples of other faiths?

You know what is the talk of the town now? That the court of appeal will override the high court decision. This is already expected by the man-on-the-street. So predictable that many of my non-Muslim friends are betting on the odds that it will be overturned. This makes our court of appeal a 'kangaroo court'. Is this how the people should think of our government - of which the majority of leaders are Muslims ?

We talk so much about this '1Malaysia' and 'People First' (Rakyat di Dahulukan). Looks like this is just more empty talk. We are back to square one as far as the man on the street is concerned . The Muslim leaders in the government and some self-proclaimed 'champions of Islam' are the ones giving Islam a bad name, sad to say.

All I am saying is let us put this issue to rest with the high court's decision and let us move on as Malaysians. If this issue of using the word 'Allah' by any other religion is not prohibited by any our Islamic teachings as spelled out in the Holy Quran and the Hadith, then what is the fuss by some misinformed Muslims?

Further appeals and counter-appeals would do more damage to the nation's reputation in the eyes of the international community and to the unity of the various races of different creed within Malaysia. To the prime minister and the home minister, shouldn't the government act like true and just Muslim leaders and spend more time rectifying the economic situation rather than appealing over this issue?

Allah can’t be substituted with Tuhan in Bible translation

Muslims in other parts of the world (Arabs, Persians, North Africans, Pakistanis and Indonesians) have no objection and are not worried about getting confused when Christians using the word “Allah”. In contrast, some Malaysian Muslims claim to be confused; a strange phenomenon indeed.

By Dr Ng Kam Weng (Sin Chew Daily)

This observation lends credence to the suggestion that the Allah issue is an artificial Malay issue and not a genuine Muslim issue. The truth is that the current orchestrated protests against the recent High Court decision to allow the Catholic Herald (and Christians) to use the word Allah must be seen to be as cynical manipulations by Malay politicians to gain votes from their community.

I am more interested in going beyond these political manoeuvres. Politicians (and that includes government bureaucrats) are happy just to stay at the level of vague suggestions since they have no competence nor care to address real issues of translation. In contrast, Christians must ensure their arguments for the right to use the word Allah are based on concrete evidence supported by a coherent linguistic philosophy of translation of Scripture.

One major demand from the Malay protestors is that Christians stop using the word Allah on grounds that Christians can find a simple alternative, that is, simply substitute the word Allah with the word Tuhan. Unfortunately, this demand only betrays the ignorance of the protestors.

I would have thought that any Malay would know that the meaning of the words Allah (God) and Tuhan (Lord, Rabb) are not the same. How can they suggest that Christians simply use the word Tuhan to substitute the word Allah? To express the issue linguistically, Allah and Tuhan have different senses even though they have the same reference.

Both the terms Allah and Tuhan are used in the Malay Bible. Following the precedent set by Arab Christians, Allah is used to translate el/elohim and Tuhan (or TUHAN in caps) is used to translate Yahweh (YHWH). The two words are sometimes paired together as Yahweh-Elohim in 372 places in the Old Testament (14 times in Genesis 2-3; 4 times in Exodus; 8 times in Joshua; 7 times in 2 Samuel; 22 times in Chronicles; 12 times in Psalms; 32 times in Isaiah; 16 times in Jeremiah and 210 times in Ezekiel, etc.).

More importantly, the word Tuhan is also applied to Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Thus we read of the LORD Jesus as Tuhan Yesus (The word LORD was used to translate the word kurios 8,400 times in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament. It refers to human beings in only 400 times and refers to God 8,000 times. Of these 8,000 times, 6,700 are substitute for the word YHWH). The transference of the title kurios LORD/YHWH to Jesus Christ is testimony to the belief in the deity of Christ right at the beginning of Christianity.

This simple statistical survey shows clearly that the demand by Muslim demonstrators that Christians simply substitute the word Allah with Tuhan is unreasonable since it renders many Biblical references to God and Jesus Christ incoherent. First, the substitution is incorrect since the meaning of Allah and Tuhan are different.

Second, it creates an absurd situation when Christians try to translate the paired words Tuhan Allah (LORD God). Are Christians now required to call the LORD God, Tuhan Tuhan? This sounds like committing linguistic redundancy. Worse still, the repeated words Tuhan Tuhan come across to Malay readers as suggesting that Christians believe in a plurality of Lords/Gods (since the plural form in Malay is expressed by repeating the noun and setting them in apposition).

Finally, Christians are unable to express the Lordship of Jesus Christ as one who is distinct from the Father and yet shares with the God of the Old Testament, the name that is above every other name — kurios/Tuhan (Philippians 2:9, cf. Isaiah 45:23). In other words, Christians are rendered unable to affirm the deity of Jesus Christ and teach the doctrine of Trinity without the foundational words that maintain the semantic relationship between the words Allah and Tuhan as they are applied distinctively in the Malay Bible.

Christians in Malaysia would do their utmost to maintain religious harmony in Malaysia. Indeed, the Christianity community has made many concessions to accommodate the concerns of the Malay community.

However, it cannot accept the demand that it abandons the use of the word Allah and adopts the word Tuhan as the substitute simply because some ill-informed Malays take offence at their practice — an offence which would not have arisen if only these people set aside emotions and prejudices and examine the historical and linguistic evidence in a calm and rational manner. At the very least, Malays (or rather Muslims) should understand that believers are not at liberty to change the meaning of their Scriptures, the word of God, to satisfy the unfounded scruples of man.

Postscript

I refer readers to the accompanying post, “Translating the Names of God” published in the learned journal (The Bible Translator) that gives more concrete examples of how the names of God are translated in the Malay Bible.

The article also discusses the controversy among some scholars on how words Allah and Tuhan should be used in the revision of Shellabear’s version of the Malay Bible. In any case, all the scholars in the controversy agree that Christians need to use both the words Allah and Tuhan in the Malay Bible. Please note that the article is reproduced (partially) with permission from the author Dr D Soesilo.

What? Malaysian? Welcome to Umno-Land, Buddy!

A Letter to Lim Kit Siang

Dear Mr. Lim Kit Siang,

I have utmost respect and admiration for your tenacity in remaining in Malaysia to champion the cause of justice and equality and fight for a Bangsa Malaysia.

My heart broke when I read about your article regarding the honest cyber cafe operator especially when he wondered if he ‘had chosen the wrong country’ to start and operate his business.

I see my situation summed up in that phrase. You have said before that the best and brightest are leaving this country. Well, I am making every preparation to leave. I have consistently scored straight As in every public exam and placed among the top 3 of my form. In university, I studied medicine and am among the top scorers. I have just graduated and scored near perfect results in a medical licensing examination that will enable me to work abroad and further my studies.

I was born a Malaysian yet I cannot see myself as a Malaysian. As a Chinese, I feel that I am being discriminated against. I feel that the government is trying its hardest to sideline me just because of my race. I look around and see this discrimination manifested in various forms. From the issue regarding religious conversion to the allocation of places in local universities, the stench of discrimination is sickening.

It was horrifying to note in my batch of medical students, there were a substantial number of malay students who actually did not apply for medicine but were sent to study it. It is disgusting to think that many STPM straight A scorers are deprived of a chance to study medicine while the government gives the places to people who are not even sure that they want to study medicine.

I have seen how racial politics sully the environment in the university and how unqualified people are in high posts at the expense of far more intelligent and qualified individuals just because they are Malay. I have heard the terrible statements made by delegates at the recent UMNO General Assembly about revoking my citizenship rights should I question their special rights.

I have seen the videos on YouTube where UMNO MPs have the audacity to ask us to ‘keluar’ of the country if we don’t like what they are doing to it. And I see the pathetic attempt by the PM to ‘discipline’ these racists. I hate the fact that Gerakan and MCA have done NOTHING to fight for my rights instead of just kow-towing to UMNO for their own gains.

Patriotism isn’t about singing the national anthem or raising the flag. It isn’t about accepting at face value everything the government says. It isn’t about attending merdeka celebrations. It is about feeling accepted as part of your nation. It is about knowing that your nation accepts you as a son or daughter. It is about realizing that being a part of a nation entails certain responsibilities. That is my definition of patriotism.

And right now, as a Malaysian, I am feeling anything BUT patriotic. 50 years of independence? So what? What has it done for me? Whoopee. I have a chance to change my life. I will change my destiny. I could not choose the country where I was born but I can very well choose the country that I will swear my allegiance to. I want a country that will recognize me as a citizen and grant me rights equal to that of all other citizens. I want a country that has the wisdom to recognize my potential and talents and reward me accordingly. I want a country where the government fears its people and conducts itself in a manner worthy of respect and honor.

This is not my nation. I am leaving. Mr. Lim, I salute you and all those like you who can find the strength and energy to fight for an ungrateful bunch of people. How many actually held mass protests, hunger strikes or rose up to defend you and your family when you or your son was imprisoned for fighting for us? How many did more than just shake their heads and move on with their petty little lives? None that I know of. Yet you continue to defend their rights.

You are an amazing man, Mr. Lim and I truly admire you for that. Unfortunately, I have a bright future ahead and I will not waste it in this country. It is not my nation.

Thank you for fighting the good fight.

(Author’s name withheld for privacy)