Pakatan plays down Allah issue

(The Star) – Pakatan Rakyat leaders have tried to play down the controversial use of the word “Allah” by Christians, with PAS saying that the matter has been closed.

The leaders of the opposition parties have yet to meet to resolve the differing stand on the issue, although Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had proposed the meeting to resolve the matter.

“There has been no discussion on the matter. We (PAS) feel that it has already been resolved as all that needs to be spoken about it has been spoken,” said the Islamist party’s secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali after attending a Pakatan secretariat meeting here yesterday.

Asked if a decision had been reached by Pakatan partners over the issue, Mustafa replied that he did not want to add anything to the matter.

Controversy over the “Allah” issue cropped up when Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged the Federal Government to allow Christians to use the word “Allah” in their Malay version of the Bible in his recent Christmas message.

Lim’s message caused an uproar among Muslims, while some Muslim NGOs held protests in front of his office in Komtar, Penang, last month.

PAS also hit out at Lim, stating firmly that the word “Allah” should not be used by Christians to refer to God as it would only lead to confusion for both Muslims and Christians.

On Dec 27, Anwar conceded that an urgent meeting to discuss the matter was needed to resolve the issue although discussions were held by the Pakatan leadership when the controversy surfaced in 2010.

On a separate issue, Mustafa said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would decline the air-time offer by RTM to explain his “Amanat Haji Hadi” if no live coverage was given.