YOURSAY ‘How can it be fair when they are bound to side their own religion?’
Federal Court throws out 'Allah' appeal
Proarte: Anyone with a basic understanding of the constitution would know that there is the freedom to worship in peace and harmony. The powers-that-be have chosen to attack Christians using unconstitutional and unjust means.
The courts have let us down in failing in their solemn and sworn duty to defend the Malaysia’s constitution.
It strikes me that PM Najib Razak has calculated that he must not be seen to be 'weak' on Islam no matter how bogus the issue is. He has decided to play on the same terrain as former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad camp.
Both are now 'jaguh kampung' (village champion) when it comes to fighting for Islam and the Malays. Let us see how the battle between the Umno factions plays out.
With the Altantuya Shaariibuu albatross hanging around Najib's neck and the parlous state of the Malaysian economy due mainly to Umno mismanagement, Najib is on a very sticky wicket.
A court judgment which denies Christians the right to use the word ‘Allah’ shows how uneducated Malays are about Islam, the Arabic language, Islamic history or the constitution which guarantees freedom of worship.
It is a blot on the judicial system, the political system, the education system, the dignity of the Malays and on the practise of Islam in Malaysia.
Sadly, Najib has not asserted his authority by letting good sense prevail but rather has let extremist forces whose doyen is Mahathir, win the order of the day.
This ruling by the Federal Court calls into question how serious Najib is in wanting to stamp out extremism in Malaysia. Umno could not have chosen a more ridiculous plot to show Malays that they are the 'defenders' of Islam or to exercise 'ketuanan Melayu' (Malay supremacy).
NewMalaysia: It was a bias decision right from the beginning when you have Muslim judges sitting on the bench deciding on an issue related to Islam and Christianity, how can it be fair when those Muslim judges are bound to side their own religion?
It’s blatant conflict of interest when those judges were appointed to hear this case. Only when all the judges sitting on the bench are from non-Muslim and non-Catholic/Christian, only we can have a truly unbiased judgment.
Sali Tambap: The verdict is not unexpected especially after the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision. The judges also seemed to vote along ethnic and religious lines. It did not help when some retired judges were Umno supporters and they were obviously Umno's nominees.
The conclusion to this case was a foregone conclusion when the Home Ministry appealed the decision of the High Court. It was determined to get its way through in stopping the use of ‘Allah’ by the Herald in its Bahasa Malaysia section.
More importantly, looking at this episode one cannot help but see it as the majority Muslims bullying the minorities in this country. They just could not resist the temptation to do so.
Yap CS: Now that Sikhs are also not allow to call God by the name 'Allah', does that mean they cannot mention it in their prayers?
Commentable: This day appears to finally seal the fate of the minorities on the use of the word ‘God’ in the Arabic language.
It also translates to the fact that the courts at all levels, except the High Court, have endorsed the Court of Appeal's finding that the word is not an integral part of the Christian faith.
Hopefully we will see the day when Parliament rises up to the occasion to fix this wrong, for otherwise we can expect a lot of complications that will be stirred up due to unlawful spying as well as unlawful entries and seizures by some over-zealous lot.
Maharaja: If Christians cannot use the word ‘Allah’, just use the word ‘Tuhan’ as is in our national anthem ‘Negaraku’.
Will Muslims follow the Christians and other non-Muslims to use the word ‘Tuhan’? Will Muslims feel that if they use 'Tuhan', it is as though that they are singing or calling to a god who is not Allah?
Should the word ‘Tuhan’ in our national anthem be changed to ‘Allah’ then? And if we do change it to ‘Allah’, will the non-Muslims and in particular, the Christians be permitted to sing the word ‘Allah’ too?
And if they can sing the word ‘Allah’, why can't they also use ‘Allah’?
Negarawan: The book "Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia" has brought much needed international attention on illegal logging and its links to a corrupt government.
Likewise, a book needs to be written to internationally expose the corruption and executive manipulations in the Malaysian judiciary, as evidenced by the VK Lingam royal commission, many dubious court cases like Altantuya's murder, Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy, the ‘Allah’ case, as well as the racial/religious extremist ex-CJ Abdul Hamid Mohamad, and the attempts to cheat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case on Pedra Branca case by the attorney-general.
The international community and world leaders need to know the truth about the rot in Malaysia.
Think: There will come a time far in the future when mankind will either be shamed and/or amused looking back at our own history and realise how we were hostile - fought, killed and took advantage of one another in the name of a religion claimed to worship a God that were essentially created by men, for men.
‘Allah’ court decision violates Malaysia Agreement
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