Utusan columnist: Christian claim reminds Malays of colonials, communists

(The Malay Mail) – Christian insistence on freedom of religion was a bitter reminder of the country’s previous colonisation by Western powers and communist insurgence after the Japanese occupation, according to an Utusan Malaysia opinion piece today.

Telling non-Muslims in general and Christians in particular to be mindful of religious sensitivities in the country, the opinion under the infrequent “Dari Jendela Tok Ki” column said previous colonial occupiers had spread Christian influence for over 400 years of the country’s history.

“This fact has not been forgotten by Muslims in Malaysia,” wrote the anonymous writer in the Umno-owned newspaper today.

“The history of the Three Stars (Malayan Communist Party), the oppressive communist approach, the history of communist domination after the Japanese surrender is a black mark that once passed and is too bitter to recall.”

Pointing to general secretary of the Council of Churches Malaysia Reverend Hermen Shastri’s recent remarks on the unfairness of restrictions against proselytisation to Muslims when none was applied to Islam, the writer said this was offensive to Muslims.

Telling non-Muslims not to be stubborn in challenging provisions and laws the writer said were put in place to protect the harmony that has existed since the country’s independence, he added that their freedom of religion has always been preserved.

The writer then added that Chinese involvement in business and the economy was superior to the Malays’, and that Tamil and Mandarin vernacular schools were also preserved.

Saying that many compromises and sacrifices were made when the country achieved its independence, the writer added that pressing the issue on “sensitive matters” was like picking at old sores and dangerous to the country’s harmony.

During a forum on the freedom of religion last week, Shastri urged both Muslims and Christians to stop spreading their faith amid deepening tensions over the “Allah” row between the two Abrahamic religions.

The Christian minority is accused of attempting to convert Muslims, which is illegal under Malaysian law.

Temperatures have risen of late over the so-called “Allah” row that remains unresolved four years after it shocked the nation and led to the worst religious strife in the country’s history.

The ongoing legal dispute between the government and the Catholic Church on the latter’s right to print the word “Allah” in its weekly Herald lies pending at the Federal Court, where a hearing for the Catholic Church’s leave for appeal is fixed on March 5.

Tensions were further heightened when, on January 3, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department raided the office of bible distributor Bible Society of Malaysia before carting off over 300 Malay and Iban language bibles that contained the word “Allah”.

Christians make up close to 10 per cent of the Malaysian population, or 2.6 million. Almost two-thirds of them are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as “Allah” in their prayers and holy book.