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Another religious row erupts in Malaysia
Straits Times - May 8, 2011
Carolyn Hong, Kuala Lumpur – A fresh religious row erupted on Saturday after the Utusan Malaysia newspaper alleged that there was a plot to make Malaysia a Christian country, as a Muslim group Pembela accused "aggressive Christians" of threatening the position of Islam.
The Umno-owned Utusan daily quoted two blogs which alleged that Christian pastors who met in Penang last Thursday had taken a vow to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia, and to make a Christian the prime minister.
It also quoted the bloggers as saying that the meeting was organized by a division of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) in Penang.
The daily cited a blog by the name of Big Dog as saying that these were "very dangerous" developments as the DAP was accused of fuelling its political ambitions with a cry to change the country's leadership from Muslim to Christian.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said these allegations were serious, and that he was awaiting a report about the Penang meeting. "If certain races resorted to raising issues in an excessive manner, it will invite reactions from other races," he said.
The Utusan report sparked an immediate uproar as opposition parties including opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim slammed the daily, while the event organizers denied the allegations.
A police report was lodged by the pro-Malay group Perkasa's Penang chief Mohd Rizuad Mohd Azudin who said this could "destroy racial unity."
Relations between Malaysia's Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of the population, and the majority Muslims have been on edge since their clash over the use of the word "Allah" to refer to God.
Tensions briefly flared last year when a church was firebombed after the High Court allowed a Catholic publication to use "Allah." The government's appeal against this decision has yet to be heard.
The issue cropped up again after 35,000 Malay-language Bibles were held up in two ports for the same reason. They have since been released.
The Muslim Organizations in Defence of Islam (Pembela), a loose grouping of several Muslim groups, on Saturday held a forum in which its president, Yusri Mohamed, said Islam was under siege in Malaysia. He said it would lodge a police report on the Utusan allegations.
"We are dealing with aggressive, confrontational groups of Christians," he was quoted as saying by a news Web site. He said their demands to use "Allah" were part of their attempts to spread Christianity.
Muslim convert Ann Wan Seng, from the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, also spoke at the forum where he was quoted as alleging that some Muslim university students were wearing crucifixes beneath their headscarves.
Datuk Seri Anwar slammed Utusan for spreading lies that could create confusion among Malaysians.
"Utusan has gone way over the line, they have sacrificed their responsibility as media practitioners to bow before their masters," he said in a statement.
Anwar reiterated the opposition Pakatan Rakyat's commitment towards upholding Islam as the official religion of the country.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general, said Utusan was trying to "set 1Malaysia on fire", referring to Prime Minister Najib Razak's 1Malaysia racial unity platform.
"It is the most evil and dangerous element in our country right now," he said on Saturday, adding that the DAP will lodge a police report.
The organizers of the Christian meeting – National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship – denied that any such vow was taken by the pastors.
"The organizer vehemently denies such a claim as being unfounded and totally untrue, aimed at creating division and social disharmony in the multi-ethnic society of Malaysia, and appears to be seditious," they said in a statement.
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