Why Bible-burning poser is bridge-burning in multi-religious Malaysia

Posted by Aliran on 22 January 2013

In a joint statement, Aliran, Sisters in Islam, Islamic Renaissance Front and Projek Dialoghave condemned Perkasa’s call to burn Malay-language Bibles as an abominable provocation.

Graphic courtesy of themalaysianinsider.com

We are appalled by the vile exhortation of right-wing Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali to fellow Muslims to burn Malay-language Bibles containing the word “Allah” in the continuing saga of the contentious use of the term in Malaysia.

This dangerous and reckless provocation will only court the zealotry of the bigots and consequently tear apart the existing fragile harmony among Malaysians of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Religious conflicts do not get resolved amicably and effectively by rabble rousing and dangerous antics such as the proposed torching of the holy books of believers.

The alleged distribution of Malay Bibles to Muslim children in a secondary school in Penang – yet to be verified – may have understandably caused deep concern among the Muslim community and requires immediate investigation, but it certainly doesn’t justify the burning of the Holy Bible. The provocation is mischievously intended to ignite hatred and extremism.

An understanding and appreciation of non-Muslim communities, which is so necessary for unity and harmony, cannot be promoted effectively by committing a sacrilegious act of burning holy books that are revered by their respective believers. In fact, this proposed act by Perkasa goes against the very teachings of most revealed religions including Islam.

The burning of holy books is an abominable act that cannot be justified. This was why the proposed burning of the Qur’an by an irresponsible pastor in Florida, USA some two years ago, for instance, received the well-deserved condemnation not only from Muslims but also from the majority of the right-thinking Christians and followers of other faiths.

This abominable call to burn the Bible becomes all the more despicable and sinister when it is intended to shore up the crumbling political fortunes of Umno-BN by manipulating the emotions of the Malay-Muslims, and also to divert the public’s attention away from the recent revelation of citizenship-for-votes in Sabah. Indeed, it is dangerous and mischievous to incite ethno-religious sentiments at the altar of political expediency. Additionally, it is feared that this proposed burning may provide an ugly precedent to the burning of other holy books in future particularly those of the Sikh community, which uses the word “Allah” in its religious texts.

In the interest of the future of Malaysia, and its ethno-religious diversity and harmony, peace-loving Malaysians, irrespective of creed and colour, must condemn this Perkasa provocation unreservedly. We must send a clear signal that the majority of Malaysians are accommodating and tolerant people who will not be taken in by this despicable act of recklessness.

Jointly released by:

Aliran, Sisters in Islam, Islamic Renaissance Front and Projek Dialog (an IRF initiative)
22 January 2013

If your organisation would like to endorse this statement, please send an email to aliran.malaysia at yahoo dot com by 29 January 2013

Source: http://aliran.com/11367.html

Umno is rotten to the core – it seems!

Posted by ramakrishnan on 18 January 2013

The cat is out of the bag – at last! Tun Mahathir and all his cohorts from his era cannot plead ignorance or amnesia. It is out in the open how they cheated and stole elections to remain in power.

Shamelessly they plotted and subverted the democratic process in their greed to remain in power. What they did is tantamount to treason.

They stole our elections and cheated our voters. They made a mockery of our elections and the democratic process consciously and deliberately.

To think that this diabolical scheme was hatched by people from the Prime Minister’s Department, the Home Ministry, the National Registration Department, the Election Commission, etc. It clearly establishes the fact that there was massive official fraud to ensure the two thirds majority, win the election and fool the public that the Barisan Nasional came into power through legitimate means.

To think that two of the then PM’s closest confidantes – Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, Mahathir’s political secretary, and Megat Junid Megat Ayub, the deputy home minister under Mahathir – were actively involved in cheating and stealing elections exposes the very possibility that one can remain as prime minister in Malaysia not only for 22 years but forever!

The Royal Commission of Inquiry in session in Sabah has exposed some startling revelations that are sending shock waves across the nation. What has been revealed during the session really stinks – perhaps that is the reason this scam was so aptly code-named Ops Durian Buruk!

• 40,000 blue identity cards were signed within a month for Muslim immigrants, mostly Indonesians and Filipinos, for the purpose of voting for Umno in the 1994 Sabah state election;
• Mohd Nasir Sugip, a former National Registration Department official, was handed over a list of 16,000 names to be made into ‘bumiputera Islam’ voters. The ‘operation involved providing the immigrants with new identity card numbers based on the date of birth, photographs and names provided by the EC’;
• Kee Dzulkifly, a member of the special unit dubbed G17 which operated out of the Sabah NRD headquarters, testified that the unit processed 100,000 blue identity cards for immigrants;
• This special unit “was also responsible for issuing letters of approval for birth certificates, which he estimated the unit had processed some 200,000 for the children of immigrants”.

The election scam, according to many, irrefutably proves there there is an ongoing plot – which the federal government, the NRD and the EC are actively engaged in – that exists right up to today, making the electoral process a meaningless farce.

Based on what is revealed – which proves that the various apparatus and functionaries of government have become the pliant subservient agents of the BN – it is no wonder that ruling coalition politicians can confidently declare that they can capture Selangor and take over Penang in the 13th GE. Having perfected the art of massive fraud in the past, the possibility that the BN will use similar schemes again is not unthinkable.

The BN’s victories have never been honourable ones won on a level playing field.

It is, as revealed at the RCI, within their means to easily create new voters, as has been alleged, give them MyKads or temporary receipts, round them up in a house to teach them how to vote for the BN, bribe them and then transport them into constituencies which are marginal to carry out the dastardly deed. This is apparently their perfected modus operandi to win elections.

This was how they defeated the PBS government in Sabah; this was how they denied the Gagasan Rakyat their victory; this was how they prevented Pakatan Rakyat from forming the federal government in March 2008.

Under these circumstances, it would be terribly wrong – even immoral – for the present Election Commission to conduct the 13th General Election. The present members of the EC have forfeited their right to conduct the election by implication. Their integrity is suspect; their neutrality cannot be trusted and their fairness is not beyond question.

What the so-called ‘trusted and respected leaders’ of our country have done is unforgiveable. They have sacrificed the security of our country and the sacredness of our nation for their selfish greed to hang on to power by whatever means it takes.

It is Umno, as it were, that has been behind this conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process which is unprecedented and mind-boggling. It has always been Umno that has been dictating terms and deciding policies. It must be held responsible for the electoral fraud.

We must liberate ourselves from this sordid affair that has nullified our sacred vote. It is said, “The first step toward liberation for any group is to use the power in hand…And the power in hand is the vote.” Let’s remember that!

P Ramakrishnan
Aliran executive Committee member
18 January 2013

Source: http://aliran.com/11336.html