Perkasa A Biased Organization

Perkasa, a non-governmental organization (NGO) supposedly representing Malay rights has proven that it is very biased. The Malayan-based English language daily, The Star reported that Perkasa, through its Secretary-General has made a police report against the newspaper.

Syed Hassan Syed Ali in his report claimed that The Star has insulted a court decision through one of its articles which questioned a recent court decision.

In January this year, Perkasa staged a demonstration outside the Federal Territory Mosque in Kuala Lumpur to protest a court decision allowing the Roman Catholic Church to use the term "Allah" in its newsletter, The Herald.

Was that not an insult to a court decision?? Which is more insulting? To hold a demonstration in front of a place of worship carrying placards or writing an article in the newspaper?

Perkasa has proven that it is nothing but an empty garbage can!

Boy Caned By Teacher, But Father Investigated

The Daily Express today reports that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz has asked the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) to ascertain the religious status of a Sarawakian man.

This is because the man's 10-year old son was recently caned ten times by a teacher for consuming pork sausages in school. The boy's mother had packed him the lunch for school. Now, what is interesting is instead of concentrating on action against the teacher and ensuring that this incident does not recur, Datuk Nazri has asked JAKIM to investigate the status of the boy's father.

This was due to allegations by an independent Member of Parliament, Zulkifli Nordin that the boy's father Baginda Minda is a Muslim. Baginda has since refuted Zulkifli's claim.

Now, even if the boy's father was a Muslim, the teacher has no right to cane the boy. Sarawak like Sabah is a secular state according to the Malaysia Agreement. And even if the teacher concerned wanted to impose Sharia law on the boy, he should have reported the matter to the relevant religious authorities. The teacher has no right to impose punishment on any student. And eating pork in schools is not a crime.

What is most saddening is that this has happened in Borneo which is known for its religious tolerance. And even more saddening is the establishment where the incident occured; a Christian missionary school!

BN Wins Batu Sapi

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has won the Batu Sapi by-election through Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS). Its candidate Datin Linda Tsen garnered 9,773 votes while Ansari Abdullah of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) polled 3,414 votes. The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) gained 2031 votes through its candidate Datuk Yong Teck Lee.

It is no wonder the BN won as North Borneo Herald had earlier stated that the percentage of illegal citizens in Batu Sapi is high. These illegal citizens have no sense of patriotism to the country as they are actually foreigners. And fearing they may get deported if the government party loses, it is only natural that they voted overwhelmingly for BN.

North Borneo Herald wishes BN a hearty congratulations and hopes Datin Linda Tsen would do her best for her constituency. As for PKR and SAPP they are only dreaming if they think they can win areas with foreigner-majority unless they come up with an extremely brilliant strategy, which is highly unlikely.

Of Interfering In Other Religions

Mohd Hisamudin Yahaya, a representative of the United Malays National Organization's (UMNO) youth wing from its Putrajaya* division has lodged a police report against Lim Kit Siang, the advisor of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) for supposedly labelling UMNO members as infidels. This was reported by Bernama.

Lim Kit Siang has since denied the allegations, and has many credible alibis and witnesses to prove that he was not at the place where such words were uttered.

However what is interesting here is what Mohd Hisamudin said to the press regarding his police report against Lim Kit Siang according to Bernama. He said "It was clearly an act of provocation and against the constitution, which states that people of other religions cannot interfere with a community's religious faith".

In that case this Mohd Hisamudin should ask, why then did the Home Ministry interfered in the affairs of the Christian faith when it decided to ban the usage of "Allah" by The Herald, a Catholic weekly which is circulated only among Catholics? And why did the Home Ministry confiscate Christian books containing that same word, which were intended for use within the church?

Now, where was Mohd Hisamudin when all these interferences took place? There are also some states which issued decrees against usage of many terms by non-Islamic religions. One of the word which was prohibited in these decrees was "iman" which means faith. It is rather strange to ban that word from religious usage. It is as though as non-Muslims have no faith in their religion.

Why did Mohd Hisamudin not speak against those decrees? This blog is not asking him to speak against those decrees, but should we not be wondering where is his principle of being against interference of other religions? More so, when those interfering belong to the same faith as him.

It is hoped that Mohd Hisamudin will do unto others what he expects others to do unto him and his community.

*Malaysia's administrative capital located in Malaya