Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- 13th Malaysian General Election: Prospects And Challenges For PAS
- Petra: Blame Mahathir all you want, but look yourselves in the mirror
- PM: Non-Malays okay with fair affirmative action
- Najib: Social media a double-edged sword for Umno
- Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on
- PAS: Friday sermon an attempt to spread religious hatred
- The foreign invasion
- Being out of sync with reality
- Allah stand: PAS grassroots unhappy
| 13th Malaysian General Election: Prospects And Challenges For PAS Posted: 25 Jan 2013 07:12 PM PST
The controversy over the use of "Allah" by non-Muslims in Malaysia is one of the many tough issues that PAS has to deal with as a member of the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition which seeks to capture power in the coming general election. Can PAS walk the tightrope between political idealism and pragmatism should the opposition run the country? By Farish A Noor, Eurasia Review THE RECENT controversy over the use of "Allah" by Christians in Malaysia has raised questions about its impact on the political strategy of the Islamic party, PAS, in the run-up to the 13th general election expected anytime between now and 28 April this year. The extensive media coverage of the 'Allah' issue in Malaysia was sparked by a speech given by the Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during the Christmas celebrations last December. His defence of the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims to denote 'God' met with a strong reaction from several quarters who insisted that the word Allah should be reserved for Muslims only. DAP's ally PAS initially supported Lim's position but then shifted its stance when its council of religious scholars declared that the word should be restricted to Muslims only. History of PAS' electoral performance This has highlighted, yet again, the deep fissures within the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition and within PAS itself, between the conservative Ulama' and the so-called 'progressives' who are sometimes also called the 'Erdogan faction' of the party. Coming so soon before the upcoming general election, the debate raises the question of how PAS will perform and whether the Islamists will be able to come to power. To answer this question one would have to look at PAS' electoral performance since it was formed in 1951 and the rise and fall of its appeal over the past six decades. Since the elections of 1955, PAS' performance at the polls has been varied: In that year it won one Legislative Assembly seat; in the 1959 parliamentary elections after independence it won 13 seats; in 1964 nine seats; and in 1969 12 seats. After a brief period as member of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the 1974 elections, PAS ran on its own again, obtaining five seats in 1978 and 1982 and one in 1986. It won seven seats in 1990 and 1995; then secured 27 seats in 1999; seven in 2004 and 23 seats in 2008. It can be seen that PAS was strongest in the elections of 1969, 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2008 when it was part of a wider coalition. In 1990 and 1995, it joined the Semangat '46 party as the United Ummah Front and in 2008, it was allied to the PKR and DAP in the Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front). Conversely PAS fared miserably in the elections of 1986 (one seat) and 2004 (seven seats) when it ran alone and when its political platform was seen as radical and potentially confrontational. Inevitability of coalition politics? Two conclusions can be drawn from the observation of PAS' electoral performance to date: Firstly, PAS cannot possibly come to power at the Federal level unless it is part of a coalition. Even during the party's brief stint in power during the 1970s, it was part of the ruling BN. Given Malaysia's ethnic landscape in which Malays and other Bumiputra ethnic groups make up around 60% of the population, PAS – like other Malaysian parties that have national aspirations – would have to seek multi-party allies as part of a wider alliance. Also, the nature of the Malaysian electorate, with disparate interests identified along ethnic, linguistic and religious lines, makes it virtually impossible for any party to gain power on its own without the support of other ethnic or religious-based parties as allies. This is true for PAS as it is for all the other parties: Even UMNO, which remains the biggest party in the country, is dependent on its coalition allies in the BN. Secondly, the nature of Malaysia's inter-ethnic bargaining process means that any party with national aspirations will have to cater to the needs and concerns of the Malaysian electorate as a whole, and not antagonise any of the ethnic and religious minorities in the country. As seen in the general elections of the mid-80s, PAS' worst performance was when the party was seen as being too radical and influenced by the rhetoric and tactics of radical Islamist parties worldwide in the wake of the Iranian revolution. In 2004 PAS performed poorly after its leaders openly came out in support of the Taliban and justified calls for 'jihad' against the West. This suggested that the Malaysian electorate, including the majority Malay-Muslim voters, are not inclined to support any political party that takes a radical approach to politics and articulates a revolutionary course to power. In this respect the Malaysian electorate remains a force of moderation that tempers the rhetoric and ambitions of all the parties in the country. Dilemma of coalition politics PAS seems set for now on the course of coalition politics and is unlikely to leave the Pakatan Rakyat coalition at this stage. However, the demands and concerns of the conservative section of the party will have to be addressed while the party's leadership pursues the goal of coming to power as part of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious coalition. Just how the needs and demands of the conservatives in PAS will be assuaged if PAS comes to power remains an open question. Thorny issues ranging from the enforcement of Islamic rules to moral policing remain for the Pakatan coalition to deal with. Here lies PAS' dilemma: it cannot come to power at the Federal level unless it remains part of a coalition, but it can never achieve its goal of creating an Islamic state as long as it remains in a coalition. The handling of the 'Allah issue' therefore gives some indication of what sort of coalition politics we can expect from PAS should it come to power as part of a wider coalition. PAS is likely to remain in the current Pakatan coalition as this provides a vehicle to gain power. But remaining in such a coalition will also place a strain on the competing demands and aspirations of both conservatives and progressives in the party. This is an internal conflict that is not likely to be resolved even if it were to assume control of the Federal government, for there are bound to be demands from its ranks to further pursue the party's original Islamist agenda that has been set since the 1950s. Such demands, however, cannot be placated without incurring the corresponding loss of support from PAS' coalition allies. Therefore compromise will have to remain the operational mode of PAS' day-to-day politics, while the party leadership walks the tightrope between pragmatism and political idealism. Farish A. Noor is Associate Professor with the Contemporary Islam Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.
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| Petra: Blame Mahathir all you want, but look yourselves in the mirror Posted: 25 Jan 2013 05:41 PM PST
(Harakah) - Prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (pic) has chided Malaysians for being more quick in pointing fingers when things go wrong in the country, and urged them to see how they contributed to the current mess by voting in Barisan Nasional without fail. "You want to blame (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) for your stupidity. You do not want to admit that it is you who are stupid. So you blame BTN. You blame UMNO. You blame the mainstream media. You blame PAS. You blame the Islamic State. You blame Hudud. You blame the fact that Dr Mahathir has Indian blood in him. You blame the fact there was no Internet. You blame your parents who did not know any better.
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| PM: Non-Malays okay with fair affirmative action Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:27 PM PST
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Non-Malays do not oppose pro-Bumiputera affirmative action as long as it is fair and transparent, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday. The prime minister also said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland yesterday that the government was moving towards an affirmative action policy on the basis of needs instead of race. "By and large, the non-Malays in Malaysia, non-Bumiputeras in Malaysia don't actually oppose affirmative action," said Najib at an interview with CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria at the WEF yesterday. "But what they want to be seen, is the way you implement the policy (that) should be done in a more transparent and fairer way. And what they deserve as Malaysians, the non-Bumiputeras, they should also get what they deserve," he said at the forum that saw the participation of some 3,000 international leaders from government, business, civil society and media. Najib pointed out that entry to universities was now based on merit. "That has increased the percentage of Chinese Malaysians into universities. But interestingly, the Malaysian Indians have fared badly. So they want a quota system. "Because (in) the previous system, they got 7 per cent, but now, it's down to 3 per cent. But that goes to show that it's based on merit," said Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional chairman. Asked about government contracts, Najib said: "But even government contracts, quite a bit of it is based on open bidding. Some of it, of course, there's some preference for Bumiputera." As the 13th general election draws near, Najib said last week that the best way to protect Malay and Bumiputera interest was to expand the economic pie and ensure equal distribution of wealth by merit. He stressed that non-Malays could accept merit-based wealth distribution and called for an end to the rent-seeking culture.
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| Najib: Social media a double-edged sword for Umno Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:18 PM PST
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider Social media is both a boon and a bane for Umno as it caused Barisan Nasional (BN) to lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday. The prime minister told CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland yesterday that voters were getting more educated and critical. "I see the advent of ICT, social media as both something good, but also our bane. Could be our Achilles heel as well," said Najib in the interview with Fareed. "We need to realise that people are not going to give their vote to you based on how much you've done in the past," he added. Najib and his delegation are at the annual international forum that saw the participation of some 3,000 leaders from all around the world, including heads of state, as well as business, civil society, spiritual and media leaders. "Nobody can deny the fact that Umno and Barisan Nasional, we're the people who fought for independence. We're the people who developed the country. "But people today are saying that's in the past," the prime minister said. BN lost two-thirds parliamentary majority in the historic 2008 general elections that saw four states - Perak, Penang, Kedah and Selangor - falling to the loose coalition of PAS, PKR and DAP, that later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Najib stressed that voters at the coming 13th general election were more concerned with what the government could do for them in future. "That's important for us to realise, that the level of expectation has increased by leaps and bounds," said Najib, who is also the BN chairman. There are currently about 13.6 million Facebook users in Malaysia out of a 28.3 million-strong population, which is a 48 per cent penetration of the population, according to monitoring website socialbakers.com. A total of 29 per cent of Facebook users in Malaysia are aged between 25 and 34 years.
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| Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:12 PM PST
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Local clergymen are unhappy that federal Islamic authorities appear to be bent on "waging a war" between the country's Muslims and Christians over the protracted dispute on non-Muslims' usage of "Allah" to refer to their God. When contacted for their response to yesterday's Friday sermon by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), church leaders sighed in disappointment that the religious authority was so blatantly inciting suspicion and intolerance between the two most dominant religions here. But they refrained from condemning Jakim, noting that the authority reserved the right to preach to all Islamic followers like how church leaders could preach to parisioners, adding that it was time to lay the matter to rest. "The emphasis is unfortunate, because all religious places should be teaching people to live in peace and harmony with others, instead of cultivating a culture of suspicion," said Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri (picture). Treading carefully, the leader said that religions should always foster togetherness and acceptance, and should prevent from creating a society of fanatics. "But that is all I can say at this point," he added. Catholic priest Rev Fr Simon Labrooy was more forward with hs words, asking if the individual or individuals who penned the sermon in Jakim had unity or division in his mind. He said it was not the Malaysian Muslims who were "waging a war" on the Christians, but suggested that it was the person who wrote the sermon who should be investigated for his intention. "Never that the Muslims are to blame for doing this. But who has the right to write this? He should be hauled up because it shows that in his mind, he is already inciting religious tension. "Next, we have already provided a lot of facts o why and how 'Allah' has been used by Christians... why do you want to commit yourself to a blatant lie like this? "How could you judge the Arab-speaking world, particularly the Christians who use 'Allah' there?" he said. When asked if Subang Jaya parisioners in his flock have been affected by the ongoing polemic or feel animosity towards Muslims, Labrooy said Christians are aware that the ordinary Muslim is not the one responsible for the dispute. "They (Muslims) too do not want tension or trouble... this is just the work of a few bad apples," he said. Our Lady of Lourdes Church parish priest Rev Fr Michael Chua said the latest Friday sermon would warrant another discussion among CFM members on whether they should issue another response to the issue. "This is not the first time... there have been many other occasions and we cannot be responding to every single thing. "Let us stick to our last stand on this issue... for the sake of not prolonging this," he said, referring to CFM's remarks on the threat by Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali to burn Malay language Bibles.
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| PAS: Friday sermon an attempt to spread religious hatred Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:05 PM PST
Md Izwan, The Malaysian Insider Several PAS leaders have blasted Malaysia's Islamic authorities for allegedly stoking religious hatred during yesterday's Friday prayers for Muslim by calling labeling those who insist on using "Allah" to describe their God as "enemies of Islam". According to the few leaders contacted by The Malaysian Insider, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which had prepared the sermon, had failed to portray Islam as a religion od peace and understanding, and had instead shown intolerance. "Jakim's move was an attempt to incite the sentiment of hatred towards the Christians. "This attitude is inappropriate and irresponsible," Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said. In Jakim's Friday sermon yesterday, the religious authority had warned Muslims nationwide of attempts by "enemies of Islam" to confuse them into believing that all religions are the same. Muslims here were also told that being too open-minded and allowing Islamic rights to be abused by other religions was a "dangerous" act. "It is very clear that today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community's faith. "They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of 'Allah' in their scriptures," the sermon said. Jakim insisted that "Allah", a word that millions of Arab Christians and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God, belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam as it is clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused, doubtful and mistaken over the true identity of the Muslim God. Citing an unnamed academic research, Jakim said that the word "Allah" was never found in the Bible as God, to these users of the holy book, exists in the Trinity concept as "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The general term for the Holy Trinity, said the religious department, is "The Lord". As such, Jakim insisted that the National Fatwa Council's 2008 decision on the matter was accurate in stating that "Allah" cannot be used by those of other religions and cannot be likened to the Gods of others. The authority also warned that painful punishment would await disbelievers in the afterlife, noting that these "symptoms" if Islam's collapse would only destroy the glory and prestige of Muslims here. But Khalid said Jakim had not furnished proof to back its claims and was merely pointing fingers to drive a deeper wedge between the country's Muslims and Christians. "But why speak ill of the Christians, not all of them are bad. In fact, Islam is no advocate of this prejudiced behaviour to those of other faiths," he added. Instead, the lawmaker accused Jakim of being the reason why some Muslims are confused over their religious beliefs, arguing that the authority had failed to strengthen the faith of Muslims here. He said if Jakim believed that the faith of Muslim here has weakened, it should have used the sermon to differentiate between Islamic and Christian teachings, instead of condemning followers of the latter faith. PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub agreed with his party colleague's views, adding that JAKIM had become Barisan Nasional's (BN) tool to flare hatred at a time when religions tension was already at a high. "I'd like to ask, what is Jakim's role and responsibility when preaching to Muslims? "Jakim has become BN's tool... in fact, they had also twisted he statement made by the PAS Syura Council earlier this month," he added.
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| Posted: 25 Jan 2013 03:48 PM PST Is the government taking in large number of foreign workers to fulfill a specific purpose? Otherwise why the increasing influx? Selena Tay, FMT Now it has been revealed that under the tenure of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, citizenship has been given out to foreigners who landed on Sabahan shores. This is a matter of grave concern but the current news is that many foreigners who invaded the Peninsular after the 2008 general election have been given fast-tracked citizenship. In fact one of the greatest invasion has and is currently taking place in Kuala Lumpur is the invasion by Bangladeshis who have now overwhelmed the city in these locations: 1. Jalan Hang Lekir 2. Jalan Hang Lekiu 3. Jalan Hang Kasturi 4. Lebuh Pudu, areas surrounding Pudu Sentral and Menara Maybank 5. Chinatown, Jalan Petaling and Jalan Sultan 6. Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Jalan Tun HS Lee and Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin 7. Jalan Yap Ah Loy 8. Jalan Tun Perak and Lebuh Ampang 9. Areas surrounding Central Market (Pasar Seni) and Kota Raya Daily these Bangladeshis can be seen in these areas, milling around in groups of six to eight, carrying their large bags, many of them just arrived. On the weekends, it is much worse. Thousands of them are on the streets, crowding into the remittance houses and the business premises owned by their fellow countrymen. Is there a specific purpose? The situation already resembles Dhaka during the weekdays and on weekends you will be forgiven for thinking you are in Bangladesh if you happen to walk on the streets mentioned above. Other areas in KL where there are lots of foreigners are: 1. Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Chow Kit and the Lorong Haji Taib areas populated by Indonesians; 2. Selayang Wholesale Market populated by Myanmarese; and 3. Sentul populated by Bangladeshis and Indians from India. Recently this situation has gotten worse as the federal government has lifted the ban on the import of Bangladeshi workers although ban or no ban, the situation has always been worse, no difference at all. Is the government taking in foreign workers to fulfill a specific purpose? Otherwise why the increasing influx? It must be stated that foreign workers are here only for working purposes. Can those who gave instructions for them to be given fast-tracked citizenship and the ones who follow those instructions be categorised as "working against the interests of the nation"? Simply allowing citizenship to be given to every Tom, Dick and Harry reveals the extreme stupidity of those who engage in such a traitorous act as these unskilled workers can pose a genuine threat to the lives of Malaysian citizens because during their time-off, these foreign workers can easily indulge in crime. A few bad apples is all that it takes to cause a Malaysian's life miserable. Admittedly there are many good foreign workers but the price to pay in the increasing crime rate caused by those who are jobless is just too high a price. As the BN federal government is the only government who has been governing Malaysia, it is the BN federal government then who will be blamed as the ones who initiated this problem because the National Registration Department (NRD) is under their purview.
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| Being out of sync with reality Posted: 25 Jan 2013 03:45 PM PST The country's peace and stability is at stake but BN remains engrossed with its pet project BR1M and ways and means to stay in power. Jeswan Kaur, FMT Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says ruling party Barisan Nasional has successfully preserved the country's harmony and peace and provided comfort for the people. And for this reason, BN can be relied upon to live up to its promises, hence the need for it to win the next general election. For one, the deputy premier and education minister is out of sync with reality. And he has also taken to day dreaming. To begin with, no credit can be given to BN for maintaining peace and harmony back home. As for comfort, the rakyat can vouch for the poorly planned infrastructures and the pigeon-holed PPR flats. It is no secret that BN desperately wants to win the coming 13th GE. For that reason alone the federal government has resorted to money politics under the pretext of allocations for schools or mosques or markets. To make claims of BN being instrumental in restoring harmony in the country is one big lie. Had the nation's peace and harmony been BN's priority, both prime minister Najib Tun Razak and Muhyiddin would have taken insurgents like Ibrahim Ali, founder of the Malay rights group Perkasa to task for threatening peace and stability in the country. Similarly, both the PM and DPM would not have wasted time in reprimanding the Suara Wanita 1Malaysia chief Sharifah Zohra Jabeen and Wanita Umno member Norhayati Saidin, for their racist remarks. While Ibrahim, the MP for Pasir Mas has urged Muslims to burn the Malay Bibles which contain the word "Allah" under the guise that he is protecting the sanctity of Islam, Sharifah was at her worst behaviour when she attended a forum at Universiti Utara Malaysia last month, turning unruly and racist towards a student seeking answers to her question on 'free education in Malaysia". But neither Ibrahim nor Sharifah bore the brunt of their actions. Likewise, Norhayati who insulted the Indian community for "not knowing what a toilet was until BN came into power" was also not dealt with severely by BN chief Najib Tun Razak. Trouble brew long ago The fact that the pro-Umno racist politicians are never rebuked by the "powers that be" is proof that the likes of Ibrahim, Sharifah and Norhayati have BN/Umno's blessings in all that they too. As for the rakyat, they should stop hoping for a miracle in the form of a redeemed BN. Muyhiddin meanwhile should cease making a fool of himself for being utterly ignorant about the country's status quo where peace and harmony go. To trust BN with the country's administration is a blunder the rakyat cannot afford to make, not when BN has revealed its true colours by not speaking up for the non-Malay residents of this country. If truth be told, Malaysia's harmony and peace were in "trouble" a long time ago and BN never bothered learning the bitter lessons from the May 13, 1969 racial riots. Four decades later, the inter-faith issues in this country still rile up the rakyat. Why?
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| Allah stand: PAS grassroots unhappy Posted: 25 Jan 2013 03:42 PM PST Anwar Ibrahim's stand on the matter, says a PAS man, shows how much regard the former has for the Islamic party's religious credentials. Hawkeye, FMT BUKIT MERTAJAM: PAS grassroots are getting disillusioned with Pakatan Rakyat over the opposition bloc's inability to resolve the issue of allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah, claims former Penang PAS Youth head Mohamed Hafiz Nordin. Alleging that he has come to represent the voice of the PAS grassroots here, Hafiz said many members are not coming out openly to express their anxieties out of respect for the party leadership. Nonetheless, they are expressing their grievances through him, Hafiz told a press conference. "PAS members including me are a discipline lot. I would never exit from PAS as my struggle is Islam. It is only that I am the outspoken kind and would not relent in speaking my mind. I am willing to represent the feelings of those who are unhappy in PAS," he added. He said the insistence from Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim that non-Muslims are allowed to use the word in Malay-language bibles runs contrary to the PAS Syura Council's stance on the matter. "It shows how much regard Anwar has for PAS' religious credentials. We are disappointed with his decision," he added. Secondly, DAP's lack of sensitivity towards PAS is another thing which has undermined the ties down the line in Pakatan, Hafiz said. He said there is no harm for Anwar to seek for the Pakatan leadership council to review their earlier stance that non-Muslims can use the word. It is also good for DAP to allow PAS to explain things, especially on how the council arrived at the decision to extol that it is best that non-Muslims refrained from using the word Allah. Hafiz said the grassroots members foremost loyalty is towards PAS, and not Pakatan, as their membership is based on Islam's struggle.
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