Go after MCA for 'Allah' repeal, CM tells Zahid
Published: Dec 14, 2014 6:47 AM | Updated: Dec 14, 2014 8:31 AM
Penang Chief Minister has blasted the home minister for telling the state government not to interfere with Penang's Islamic affairs, saying the latter should train his guns at MCA instead.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has blasted the home minister for telling the state government not to interfere with Penang's Islamic affairs, saying the latter should train his guns at MCA instead.
"I regret that Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has either been misinformed or is deliberately trying to distort the issue for political gain to raise hatred and threaten me for interfering in Islamic affairs when I have not done so.
"Instead Ahmad Zahid (right in photo, with Lim) should be training his guns on MCA for demanding that the Penang state government repeal the Administration of the Religion of Islam(State of Penang) Enactment 2004 to allow the use of 'Allah' by Christians," said Lim in a statement today.
The CM said neither his administration nor DAP has ever asked for the enactment banning the use of a number of words made in 2004 to be repealed, pointing to BN partner MCA for having made that call.
"(Isn't) this inflammatory demand by MCA calling for the repeal of the Islamic enactment is clearly a definite and serious interference in the administration of Islamic affairs?
"Why then is there no action or attacks by Umno on MCA?" he asked.
"Clearly Umno and MCA are playing a double-faced political game of attacking me for being anti-Islam whilst both Gerakan and MCA have even attacked me for being anti non-Muslim for doubling the annual budget’s allocation for Islamic affairs, as compared to the previous BN government," said Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general and Bagan MP.
On Thursday, MCA central committee member Ti Lian Ker (left) played the devil's advocate challenging Pakatan's Penang and Selangor governments to amend their respective state enactments that prohibit the usage of the word ‘Allah’ and other words deemed exclusive to Islam.
Last month, MCA's former vice president and former deputy minister Gan Ping Sieu speaking on behalf of his NGO Cenbet, went further to call on all such enactments to be reviewed nationwide.
Ironically, the enactments were passed during BN's rule in the 80s and 90s in most states nationwide with the exception of Sabah, Sarawak and Federal Territories.
For example, Selangor's enactment that had led to the bible raid at the Bible Society of Malaysia in January and that had become a thorny issue for Pakatan's state government, was passed in 1988.
Police report lodged
Yesterday it was reported that a police report had been lodged against Lim for allegedly for saying the state's ban on the word 'Allah' does not apply to non-Muslims.
Lim said his remark was merely "stating the legal position that the Penang state religious bodies have authority over Muslims, but not non-Muslims", which he said is consistent with the federal constitution and the enactment's wording.
"This position that a fatwa does not apply to non-Muslims is not only human and morally right but also sanctioned by the federal constitution and even embodied by the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Penang) Enactment 2004.
"Section 49(1) of the enactment states that a fatwa shall be binding on every Muslim in the state…, without mentioning non-Muslims, clearly restricting its application on Muslims," said Lim.
He quipped that Putrajaya was free to extend the laws to include non-Muslims if it so wished.
"Of course Ahmad Zahid or other Umno leaders can choose to extend federal government powers of Islamic laws on non-Muslims if they desire to do so, but their disputed legality can then be challenged and decided in courts.
"Ahmad Zahid should not try to twist the issue to one of the Penang chief minister’s interference of Islamic affairs, when it is about stating that the there is no legal authority to apply fatwas on non-Muslims in Penang," he said.
Lim added that despite general disagreement among non-Muslims and moderate Muslims over the federal government's decision to ban Malay-speaking Christians from using the word 'Allah', the state he said the state government respects the Federal Court’s decision on Catholic publication The Herald's prohibition.
"Even though the Penang state government may not agree with the court’s decision, as a government that is run on the basis of respect for the rule of law, the Penang state government will abide by the court’s decision," said Lim.
He charged that the issue over Penang's banned words was BN's ploy to distract attention from the police report that was lodged against Prime Minister Najib Razak's pet project 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) this week, no less by an Umno Penang leader.
"I regret that Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has either been misinformed or is deliberately trying to distort the issue for political gain to raise hatred and threaten me for interfering in Islamic affairs when I have not done so.
"Instead Ahmad Zahid (right in photo, with Lim) should be training his guns on MCA for demanding that the Penang state government repeal the Administration of the Religion of Islam(State of Penang) Enactment 2004 to allow the use of 'Allah' by Christians," said Lim in a statement today.The CM said neither his administration nor DAP has ever asked for the enactment banning the use of a number of words made in 2004 to be repealed, pointing to BN partner MCA for having made that call.
"(Isn't) this inflammatory demand by MCA calling for the repeal of the Islamic enactment is clearly a definite and serious interference in the administration of Islamic affairs?
"Why then is there no action or attacks by Umno on MCA?" he asked.
"Clearly Umno and MCA are playing a double-faced political game of attacking me for being anti-Islam whilst both Gerakan and MCA have even attacked me for being anti non-Muslim for doubling the annual budget’s allocation for Islamic affairs, as compared to the previous BN government," said Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general and Bagan MP.
On Thursday, MCA central committee member Ti Lian Ker (left) played the devil's advocate challenging Pakatan's Penang and Selangor governments to amend their respective state enactments that prohibit the usage of the word ‘Allah’ and other words deemed exclusive to Islam.Last month, MCA's former vice president and former deputy minister Gan Ping Sieu speaking on behalf of his NGO Cenbet, went further to call on all such enactments to be reviewed nationwide.
Ironically, the enactments were passed during BN's rule in the 80s and 90s in most states nationwide with the exception of Sabah, Sarawak and Federal Territories.
For example, Selangor's enactment that had led to the bible raid at the Bible Society of Malaysia in January and that had become a thorny issue for Pakatan's state government, was passed in 1988.
Police report lodged
Yesterday it was reported that a police report had been lodged against Lim for allegedly for saying the state's ban on the word 'Allah' does not apply to non-Muslims.
Lim said his remark was merely "stating the legal position that the Penang state religious bodies have authority over Muslims, but not non-Muslims", which he said is consistent with the federal constitution and the enactment's wording.
"This position that a fatwa does not apply to non-Muslims is not only human and morally right but also sanctioned by the federal constitution and even embodied by the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Penang) Enactment 2004.
"Section 49(1) of the enactment states that a fatwa shall be binding on every Muslim in the state…, without mentioning non-Muslims, clearly restricting its application on Muslims," said Lim.
He quipped that Putrajaya was free to extend the laws to include non-Muslims if it so wished.
"Of course Ahmad Zahid or other Umno leaders can choose to extend federal government powers of Islamic laws on non-Muslims if they desire to do so, but their disputed legality can then be challenged and decided in courts.
"Ahmad Zahid should not try to twist the issue to one of the Penang chief minister’s interference of Islamic affairs, when it is about stating that the there is no legal authority to apply fatwas on non-Muslims in Penang," he said.
Lim added that despite general disagreement among non-Muslims and moderate Muslims over the federal government's decision to ban Malay-speaking Christians from using the word 'Allah', the state he said the state government respects the Federal Court’s decision on Catholic publication The Herald's prohibition.
"Even though the Penang state government may not agree with the court’s decision, as a government that is run on the basis of respect for the rule of law, the Penang state government will abide by the court’s decision," said Lim.
He charged that the issue over Penang's banned words was BN's ploy to distract attention from the police report that was lodged against Prime Minister Najib Razak's pet project 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) this week, no less by an Umno Penang leader.
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