Proposal To Amend Enactment Will Test DAP-PAS-PKR Ties - Academician
By Mohd Yusof Saari
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Bernama) -- A proposal by a DAP representative to amend the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 will impact the party's relations with PAS, and PKR which heads the government, said an academician.
Dr Amini Amir Abdullah, from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), believed this would test the credibility and faith of Muslim representatives from PAS and PKR, should it be put forward in a future state assembly sitting.
He said representatives from both parties could no longer be hypocrites when it involved matters pertaining to religion to save DAP's face, because as Muslims, the 26 Malay representatives comprising 15 from PAS and the rest from PKR needed to show solidarity in defending the sanctity of Islam, especially in the usage of Allah among non-Muslims.
"This suggestion will test the DAP-PAS-PKR relationship, besides gauging the credibility of those in PAS and PKR in Selangor. If the enactment change is realised, even with three non-Muslim PKR assemblymen, DAP still needs votes from other assemblymen for the enactment to be changed.
"So, this is where political unity and strength among PAS and PKR reps will be tested, whether to support or otherwise, because I'm confident that 12 Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives will reject the proposal," he told Bernama here today.
He was commenting on the proposal by Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran and Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San for the enactment to be amended to ensure the rights of non-Muslims.
The proposal was sparked after the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) confiscated Iban and Malay-language Bibles containing the word, Allah, from the Bible Society of Malaysia in Damansara last Thursday.
The Allah issue became heated again when the editor of Catholic weekly, The Herald, Father Lawrence Andrew, insisted on using the word, Allah, in weekend services despite a decree by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, that non-Muslims in the state are prohibited from using the word.
Amini Amir said although he was sure that Muslim representatives from PAS and PKR would reject the proposal, he felt they should reject it openly.
The faculty of human ecology lecturer said the move would signal that any attempt to play with matters on Islam would be rejected and could not be threatened, despite a temporary effect on the relationship between parties.
He also advised DAP representatives wishing to do so to take into account the position of the party's central executive committee (CEC) which had yet to be recognised by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
"They know the party cannot function until it is recognised by ROS, they also may understand that this invalidation can result in the right to bring up a proposal to be questioned by other assemblymen," he said, adding that it could also be an illegal motion based on the CEC's motion.
On the statement by state Islamic affairs, agriculture modernisation and rural development committee chairman Sallehin Mukhyi yesterday, that there was no need for Father Andrew to apologise over his statement on using the word, 'Allah', Amini Amir opined it was necessary to appease the Muslim community, and most importantly, to show compliance towards the Sultan of Selangor and court orders.
Admitting that a continuous dialogue between religions was important, he noted that an apology could give added value.
-- BERNAMA
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Bernama) -- A proposal by a DAP representative to amend the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 will impact the party's relations with PAS, and PKR which heads the government, said an academician.
Dr Amini Amir Abdullah, from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), believed this would test the credibility and faith of Muslim representatives from PAS and PKR, should it be put forward in a future state assembly sitting.
He said representatives from both parties could no longer be hypocrites when it involved matters pertaining to religion to save DAP's face, because as Muslims, the 26 Malay representatives comprising 15 from PAS and the rest from PKR needed to show solidarity in defending the sanctity of Islam, especially in the usage of Allah among non-Muslims.
"This suggestion will test the DAP-PAS-PKR relationship, besides gauging the credibility of those in PAS and PKR in Selangor. If the enactment change is realised, even with three non-Muslim PKR assemblymen, DAP still needs votes from other assemblymen for the enactment to be changed.
"So, this is where political unity and strength among PAS and PKR reps will be tested, whether to support or otherwise, because I'm confident that 12 Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives will reject the proposal," he told Bernama here today.
He was commenting on the proposal by Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran and Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San for the enactment to be amended to ensure the rights of non-Muslims.
The proposal was sparked after the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) confiscated Iban and Malay-language Bibles containing the word, Allah, from the Bible Society of Malaysia in Damansara last Thursday.
The Allah issue became heated again when the editor of Catholic weekly, The Herald, Father Lawrence Andrew, insisted on using the word, Allah, in weekend services despite a decree by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, that non-Muslims in the state are prohibited from using the word.
Amini Amir said although he was sure that Muslim representatives from PAS and PKR would reject the proposal, he felt they should reject it openly.
The faculty of human ecology lecturer said the move would signal that any attempt to play with matters on Islam would be rejected and could not be threatened, despite a temporary effect on the relationship between parties.
He also advised DAP representatives wishing to do so to take into account the position of the party's central executive committee (CEC) which had yet to be recognised by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
"They know the party cannot function until it is recognised by ROS, they also may understand that this invalidation can result in the right to bring up a proposal to be questioned by other assemblymen," he said, adding that it could also be an illegal motion based on the CEC's motion.
On the statement by state Islamic affairs, agriculture modernisation and rural development committee chairman Sallehin Mukhyi yesterday, that there was no need for Father Andrew to apologise over his statement on using the word, 'Allah', Amini Amir opined it was necessary to appease the Muslim community, and most importantly, to show compliance towards the Sultan of Selangor and court orders.
Admitting that a continuous dialogue between religions was important, he noted that an apology could give added value.
-- BERNAMA
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