your say 'Helen Ang's critique on the 'Allah' controversy, is very convoluted, and in the process she is lost in the convolutions.'

 

Studying the Bible, maths and science in Malay

Teoh Soong Kee: I'm disappointed with the careless broad brushes made in this article, and in the lack of understanding shown therein.

The need for our young to be competent in English for the global markets is different from fighting against extremists who want to take away the right of Malay-speaking Christian (and other religious communities) from using a word which he/she associates with in his/her personal beliefs.

Hello: Helen Ang's critique on the ‘Allah' controversy, is very convoluted, and in the process she is lost in the convolutions. She ends up being neither here or there, instead of being the voice of reason.

Voice of Reason: This is a very confused exposition on the issues at stake. I have always regarded her articles as having some credibility, but I must say in this article she has shown the same muddled thought processes as those who oppose the use of the term ‘Allah' by Christians.

Soo Jin Hou: The PPSMI (teaching of maths and science in English) issue happened before the ‘Allah' controversy. In those earlier days, nobody expected the government would outlaw the term. How can you justify calling the Christians hypocrites when it didn't occur to anyone (even you I suppose) that the earlier PPSMI issue would be linked to religious issues today? Helen, you're putting the cart before the horse.

A Disgusted Malaysian: The issues raised here are two separate issues altogether.

On the Bible: The Umno-dominated government has so destroyed the good education system left by the British that our poor Malaysian children, especially the East Malaysian indigenous children, know nothing other than Malay. The use of Malay is therefore necessary for the Christian children to read and understand their Bible.

As for maths and science: Although the government has finally acknowledged the harm they have inflicted on our children in using Malay as a medium of instruction, yet, for the same political reason that they imposed it in the first place, they refuse to revert to full use of English in schools, suggesting instead to confine its use to only maths and science. Proficiency in English is the way forward for our children - hence the right thing to do is to vote for its use.

Temenggong: This issue has its genesis in 1964 with the Vatican II adoption of ‘inculturation' as church policy.

This policy of inculturation is aimed to make the white man's religion appear local in outlook. The main person behind this policy was Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict. The policy first took shape in non-Muslim nations like India in the 70s. In the 1980s, Pope John Paul incorporated inculturation into his Papal doctrine in his 'Mission of the Redeemer', also crafted by Ratzinger.

The bottomline of the ominous Redeemer policy is to adopt local customs, traditions, attire and terms, go native, appear agreeable, and universal, commend their faith and efforts, participate in NGOs, dialogues, give high fives, etc, all for the purpose of drawing them towards the Catholic faith.

Sadly, the policy had limited success. The war to harvest the souls was lost, leaving only the remaining pockets of indigenous people. After coming to the papal throne, Ratzinger as Pope resurrected the failed policy and Malaysia is one of its targets.

Sept 11 provided a reason for a renewed clash of civilisations which we now see unfolding in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, and of course Malaysia, though in a softer way. It is an ideological battle, not one that is just over a word.

Philip Aw: For the Catholic Church to drop the use of the term ‘Allah' now on a directive issued by the Home Ministry because of the possible offense to the "sensitivity" of certain sections of the population is not bearing witness to the truth, and that is something the church cannot do.

Ian2003: It seems that language is the problem. If equal emphasis was given to English, then the issue of the need to have the Bible in Malay does not exist. Dr Mahathir Mohamad propagated PPSMI to rectify such deficiencies. All Malaysian should master the language of advanced technology.

It is due to the lack of such proficiency that we are in this predicament. Shouldn't we support PPSMI? When our children are proficient in English, then they could study the Bible in English. Then you would see the progress that Sabahan and Sarawakian can achieve.