Now Muslim NGO wants to ban the use of BM for any church event
Sonia Ramachandran, The Ant Daily
The protracted “Allah” controversy has now been extended to the rights of Malaysians to use Bahasa Malaysia.
It looks like the religious fanatics are now questioning Malaysians’ right to use the national language, especially for church activities.
In that case, why demand the use of Bahasa Malaysia in business signboards of non-Muslims or non-Malays?
Is the use of Bahasa Malaysia to be allowed discriminately to please these so-called protectors of Islam?
Muslim NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has reportedly taken offence that a church in Seremban used Bahasa Malaysia to promote its Easter musical, set to be held later this week.
On its website, Seremban Isma chief Zamani Ibrahim said the promotion of the event was done openly using Bahasa Malaysia, suggesting that it was done to persuade non-Christians to attend the musical.
Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) chairman and director Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, however, questions how a language could be associated with a religion.
“How do we say language is associated with a religion? Even the Quran was revealed in Arabic but Arabic is not solely for the Muslims.
“Even the Arab Christians read their Bible in Arabic. If they don’t take offence at that, why should we? Furthermore the Quran was never revealed in Bahasa Malaysia. The same language in the Quran is used in the Arabic Christian bibles,” said Ahmad Farouk, who is a cardiothoracic surgeon and an academician at Monash University.
The Isma website showed a photograph of the poster used to promote the Easter event that was put up on a lamp post on a road divider, which said “Muzikal Easter, 18-20 April 2014, 7.30 malam. Masuk adalah percuma”.
