When non-lawyers talk about the law

The 10-point resolution, however, is not an Act of Parliament and there was no law passed called ‘The Bible Act 2011’. But there are state laws (such as in Selangor and many other states) that decide what can and cannot be done because (unlike oil and gas which were nationalised in 1974) religion still comes under the respective states and the states decide what happens.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

RPK says…” then the law also says that Christians may not use Allah, plus two dozen other words, and Muslims cannot go to church and Christians may not preach Christianity to Muslims and many more. This is the law. Are you saying Christians will now drop all this talk about Allah and follow what the law says?”

Christians may be seen as breaking the state laws in using the Allah word but they are obeying the 10-point solution approved by Putrajaya and technically Federal “law” should override State laws so your argument is flawed.

Andy Tann

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That was the comment Andy Tann posted in my article Chinese think just like Malays.

I would like to first talk about the part that Andy says Christians ‘are obeying the 10-point solution approved by Putrajaya’.

I think what Andy was talking about is the 10-point resolution of 2nd April 2011 that was mooted to resolve the Bible impasse in Sabah and Sarawak. This was what was reported then:

In its 10-point resolution released last night, the Cabinet through its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala, assured the huge Bumiputera Christian population in Sarawak and Sabah they are free to bring in and use their bibles in Malay as well as in indigenous languages; and that no restriction will be applied. Jala also said that the bible can now be printed locally in any language, including in Iban, Kadazan-Dusun and Lun Bawang. (The Malaysian Insider, 3rd April 2011)

I suppose the 10-point resolution is a sort of pledge or promise from the federal government to Christians in East Malaysia. So how do Christians ‘obey’ this pledge, as Andy suggested?

Let me put it this way. I promise or pledge that if you were to visit me in Manchester I will buy you dinner. You then reply you are ‘obeying’ my promise to buy you dinner.

How do you do that? I am not too sure how that will work. I do not see how it is possible for you to ‘obey’ my promise when it should be I who should fulfil my promise.

This part alone shows that Andy does not really know what he is talking about. Maybe he confused the 10-point resolution with the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Yes, I agree, if this was a command or order or if it has been passed into law then you can say the Christians are obeying the commandment, order or law. But the 10-point resolution is no such thing.

A 10-point resolution is what I promise you. A commandment, order or law is what you are obligated to obey. They are entirely two different animals. And, this, Andy does not comprehend.

Article 153 in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia is law. The Petroleum Development Act 1974 is law. The Sedition Act is also law. The New Economic Policy (NEP) is not law. It is just an aspiration.

The NEP aspires to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor and to reduce the disparity between the different races. That is all it is. The method in how this will be done is flexible and will differ from situation to situation. And it will change from time to time depending on the success or failure of each situation.

And that is why there is so much ‘confusion’ regarding the NEP, the 10-point resolution and so on. It is not like the Ten Commandments that specifically say ‘thou shall not kill’, period. It is more like ‘thou shall not kill unless…

…that person is caught with a gun, that person is a drug trafficker, that person commits murder, that person wages war on the king, that person is a terrorist, etc.’

So you actually can kill under certain situations although the Ten Commandments say you cannot kill — without any qualifications or exemptions mentioned.

Under the Constitution, state resources belong to the state. Hence oil and gas are the property of the state. Under the Petroleum Development Act 1974, oil and gas are nationalised (under Petronas) and no longer belong to the state. Under the Agreement signed between Petronas and the states in 1976, the states would be given back 5% and this 5% will be called ‘royalty’.

Those are legal. The 10-point resolution, however, is not an Act of Parliament and there was no law passed called ‘The Bible Act 2011’. But there are state laws (such as in Selangor and many other states) that decide what can and cannot be done because (unlike oil and gas which were nationalised in 1974) religion still comes under the respective states and the states decide what happens.

Hence Andy’s comment that “Christians may be seen as breaking the state laws in using the Allah word but they are obeying the 10-point solution approved by Putrajaya and technically Federal “law” should override State laws so your argument is flawed” is itself flawed.

The 10-point resolution is for Sabah and Sarawak and does not abrogate or override the Selangor state law.

Anyway, just to change the subject.

See the news item below. It is quite ironical to see Muslims killing Muslims by the millions in Muslim countries while no Muslim cares two fucks about Muslims being killed in Gaza.

Over the last couple of days 750 Israeli rockets have been shot into Muslim territory while Muslims slaughter each other in the name of God. And Muslims in Malaysia would rather argue whether the Christians should be allowed to use Allah while their ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ are being butchered in the Middle East and Africa.

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(AFP) – The Israeli air force overnight hit more than 300 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the besieged Palestinian territory, an army spokesman said today.

“We aimed at 322 targets in Gaza overnight, taking to 750 the total number of Hamas targets hit by the army since the start (on Tuesday) of Operation Protective Edge,” Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told journalists in a telephone conference.

Among the targets hit were rocket-launching sites of Hamas’s armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, as well as tunnels used by the group and Hamas command posts, Lerner said.

He warned that a ground assault was still being considered.

“More than 20,000 reservists have been recruited but a ground assault would be the last option if we judge it necessary,” he said.

Israel’s cabinet has authorised the call-up of 40,000 reservists for such an operation, which looks increasingly likely as the conflict drags on, commentators say.

The army says Gaza militants have fired some 300 rockets at Israel since the Jewish state began Operation Protective Edge to stamp out the rocket fire.

Several of those have landed or been intercepted near Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the northern city of Hadera.

Israeli air strikes have killed at least 70 people since the operation began, including at least 11 women and 18 children, according to medical reports.