Welcome to ONE Malaysia (I am being sacrastic!)

Been a while since I highlighted some Malaysian news. Very depressing. Malaysia Boleh One Malaysia policy???

CFM CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF 15,000 BIBLES

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) calls for the immediate release of the 15,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia currently being withheld by the authorities.To withhold the use of the Bahasa Malaysia Bibles is an infringement of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which gives every Malaysian the right to profess his/ her faith as well as to practice it.

This has been going on for years!

For the full statement by CFM, click HERE

For the news report, click HERE

Spat over qualifications Ex-mufti faces another controversy

PETALING JAYA: New controversy has emerged over the arrest of former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul with the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) now questioning his qualifications.

Jakim claims that Dr Mohd Asri did not major in Syariah law, but in Arabic Studies, and that there was no dual elective from the University of Jordan previously attended by Dr Mohd Asri.

Click HERE for the full story

And here's something interesting to add to the mix ... RPK's related article!

On a related note, I think it is good that its more and more coming out in the open (in Malaysia that is) that in Islam, most of the Hadith is disputed and only a small percentage is considered authentic. Back in Malaysia, I grew so weary having to politely explain this fact that is hidden from most Malaysians (Muslims and non Muslims alike). Weary because it is a standard and unfair "tactic" to attack the Bible as full or errors, argue that the many versions we have show that the Bible is corrupted etc while at the same time declare the Quran and Islam is perfect and has no such issues(and it cannot be challenged or it is deemed to be insulting to Islam, and hurtful to the feelings of Muslims). It is tiring to hear that that there has only ever been one version of the Quran from the very beginning (all copies in history were exactly word for word the same, which is historically untrue) and that historically there is only one united true Islam in terms of practice backed up by the thousands of Hadiths.

And of course then there is the attack on how Biblical scholarship in the area of textual criticism to sort out authentic Scriptures from inadvertent copyist errors, proves that the Bible is full of errors but at the same time conveniently hiding the fact that Muslim scholars of integrity do something similar in order to determine for themselves which of the Hadiths are authentic. But In Malaysia, we are not allowed to know such things!

Okay ... even rambling on that ... but a little more on this :-)

I found this report by the Nut Graph very interesting... in terms of how the largest Indonesian Muslims group views Islam and the Islamic state concept (and there's an interesting related comparison with new Zealand as well ...)

Overriding the religious state

A POPULAR former state mufti has just been arrested by the Islamic religious authorities. A Muslim woman who drank alcohol must be whipped. Those who question the sentence on her must be silenced. The proposed relocation of a Hindu temple was met by a Muslim-led protest threatening bloodshed. Christians must not use the word "Allah". These are, sadly, the headlines that contemporary Malaysians would associate with discussions on religion.

And so, it was a humbling experience listening to Malaysia's regional neighbours sharing their experiences at the Fifth Regional Interfaith Dialogue, organised by the Australian government and held in Perth from 28 to 30 Oct 2009. For example, a plenary session, "Faith and education: preventing the radicalisation of vulnerable youth", was led by none other than Indonesia. And Indonesia brought no less than the top leaders of its two biggest Muslim movements — Dr Sudibyo Markus of Muhammadiyah and Dr Ahmad Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

Muzadi said, "NU has more than 10,000 pesantren (religious boarding schools) and 40 million members in Indonesia." This might sound like bragging, but the point must be placed within context — Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, and NU is the planet's biggest Muslim organisation. And just what is NU's stand on issues such as the Islamic state?

For the rest of the report click HERE.

PM asked to clarify mixed-race bumiputra status

jackwong@thestar.com.my

KUCHING: Sarawak has sought the help of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to address the issue of children of mixed parentage in the state who have supposedly been denied bumiputra status.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu said he wrote to the Prime Minister on the issue several days ago.

He highlighted the case of SPM top scorer Marine Undau, whose application for a place in a matriculation programme was rejected because of her mixed parentage.

So the double standard policies have new further sub divisions based again on race?

For the story, click HERE.

UMNO claims it is not racist ... but I tend to think Malaysian politics is about the primacy of one race (and with it one religion). I like this other Nut Graph article ...

Umno, not racist?

3 Nov 09 : 8.00AM

By Ding Jo-Ann

DATUK Seri Najib Razak's assertion over the weekend that only "one or two Umno leaders" have made racist comments and that they do not represent the party's views belies belief.

Umno's top leaders have in fact publicly and repeatedly championed the Malay agenda over the legitimate interests of other Malaysians. In some instances, intimidation and fear have even been used in their rhetoric to uphold "Malay rights".

Hence, Najib's exhortation for Malaysians to ignore and forget the racism that Umno is capable of is problematic, to say the least.

Not just a few

It was at the opening of the Gerakan national delegates conference on 1 Nov 2009 that the prime minister reportedly said that people should not pay too much attention to the one or two party leaders who make racist remarks. He added that every party had such leaders. Najib, who is also Umno president and Barisan Nasional chairperson, urged people to instead look at Umno's policies from "Day One", saying they have "always been fair, inclusive, democratic and open".

Click HERE for the rest of the article if you are not too depressed today...

One last thing ..... (for now), more news on the Kartika caning issue..

Cops query SIS over Kartika issue

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Two representatives of Sisters in Islam (SIS) gave their statements to Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today on a police report lodged against SIS in Kuantan over the Kartika Sari Dewi Soekarno issue.

SIS executive director Hamidah Marican and its board member Zainah Anwar were called in to give their statements for an investigation under Section 4(i) (a) of the Sedition Act by the CID at 10.35am.

The two, accompanied by lawyers, spent almost two hours at the CID’s legal prosecution division, according to SIS Programme Manager (Research and Publications) Masjaliza Hamzah.

“SIS hopes that after recording these statements, the police will recommend that no further action be taken against the organisation. We would like to reiterate that within the framework of a democratic society, there must be an open, responsible, rational and respectful dialogue on Islam and its impact on our lives both private and public,” she said in a statement here.

Click HERE for the rest of the report.