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Malaysian media accused of fueling religious tensions
Straits Times - August 31, 2011
A human rights group, Suaram, said the recent reports on television and in Malay newspapers are playing on Malay fears for political gain, as the general election draws near.
It said in a statement on Monday: "Suaram is concerned that this incident points to an escalation in fear-mongering by the mostly government-controlled mainstream media by propagating the idea that Islam is under threat."
Suaram was referring in particular to a television report alleging that a tuition center was converting Muslims.
Opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) MP Tony Pua called the stories a 'systematic and orchestrated campaign' to divide the people and retain power for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election.
"BN is willing to not only spread false news, but also use highly charged religious sentiments to tear the country apart," he said. Pua added that the reports were calculated to inflame sentiment and anger among Malays and Muslims in the country, especially towards the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance.
Netizens have also widely criticized the news reports, which they see as a move to rally the Malay vote by creating a perception of Islam being under threat.
Political columnist Karim Raslan wrote in The Star yesterday that the re-emergence of the apostasy issue suggests a deep-rooted anxiety among Malay-Muslims over their future and identity.
Earlier this month, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department raided the Damansara Utama Methodist Church on suspicion that some Muslims attending a dinner there had converted to Christianity.
Malaysian law prohibits proselytizing Muslims, and the community regards apostasy as one of the gravest sins.
About 10 per cent of Malaysians are Christian and 60 per cent are Muslim. Following the church raid, the Malay-language Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia newspapers carried several stories alleging that some church groups were enticing Muslims to convert by giving them aid.
Then, about a week ago, an Umno-owned television station reported that a tuition center in Kuala Lumpur was allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.
And even before this uproar had died down, another one broke out last weekend over a television report about a Facebook group that is a support group for Muslim apostates. The report alleged that some opposition politicians, including Muslims, supported the group.
Pua slammed the report as incendiary, saying that these opposition leaders had been added to the group without their knowledge.
The attacks are hitting the opposition PR at its weakest spot – religion. It is an area where the alliance's three main partners have struggled to find common ground.
Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) is finding it difficult to marry its recent centrist stance with the demands of its more conservative supporters, who want the party to take an uncompromising position on issues such as apostasy.
The DAP, in turn, has spoken out strongly in defence of the church, while Parti Keadilan Rakyat is trying to tread cautiously by remaining silent or neutral. As the only opposition party based on religion, PAS has borne the brunt of the attacks.
"It's being targeted at PAS, which is facing an onslaught because of their accommodating position," said Reverend Hermen Shastri, secretary-general of the Christian Federation of Malaysia.
In Selangor on Sunday, three banners of PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat were found defaced, with cross markings, according to PAS newspaper Harakah. "Defacing using a cross sign is like accusing that person of becoming a Christian," PAS MP Khalid Samad told the newspaper.
Shastri did not deny that some "misguided individuals" may have tried to convert Muslims, though he was adamant that there were no concerted efforts to do so.
While Muslims have indeed received help through church community service programs, he said, it was not right or fair to say that such help was aimed at converting them. He added that this persistent "conflict narrative" between Christians and Muslims can open up a fault line that is far more dangerous and emotive than race.
The tensions go back to 2009, after the High Court allowed a church publication to use the word Allah to refer to the Christian God. This triggered a Muslim protest, and a church in suburban Kuala Lumpur was firebombed. Two Muslim men were convicted for torching the church.
Subsequently, the government impounded thousands of Malay-language bibles with the word Allah. Under pressure, the government later released them, but the confiscated bibles became a campaign issue in the Sarawak state elections in April, which the BN won with a much-reduced majority.
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