AG Finally Speaks Up, BSM calls for forgiveness

After six months of agonizing tiptoeing by various parties on the confiscation of BSM bibles by JAIS in January, the matter of national interest has finally come to an end. The general public has said their minds for and against the matter and the Menteri Besar of Selangor defaulted back to the Attorney General for the final decision.

That drew flak from many quarters that MB Khalid is passing the buck but little did they realise is that the matter became a police case based on how JAIS proceeded. Investigation papers (IP) went back and forth from the police to the AG and now the AG has spoken.

On Wednesday, 11 June 2014, the AG came out with a statement that JAIS has erred in their action of confiscating the BSM bibles and that those Malay bibles do not present a national security threat (read here). It appeared that the Home Ministry officials also stated that the bibles did not fall under their purview and was purely a JAIS action. It does cause the appearance that nobody wants this hot potato on their lap and everything bounced back on JAIS.

Malaysia drew a breath of sigh as this fiasco comes to a close.  BSM former President Lee Min Choon called for Christians in Malaysia to forgive JAIS for the unfortunate incident and move on (read here). Saying that they were just doing their job and that everybody makes mistakes, his actions certainly trumped JAIS with magnamity and love.

Pahang Bans Bibles in Hotel Rooms

The State of Pahang bans the placement of bibles and other non-Islamic materials in hotel rooms. The Pahang Islamic and Malay Customs Council (MAIP) has prohibited hotel proprietors in the state from placing religious reading materials of other religions other than Islam in their rooms (read here). The rationale given was that such placement is construed as propagation. This follows hot on the heels of what JAIS did in Selangor by confiscating bibles stored inside Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) premises, also on the reason of propagation.

What on earth is happening in Malaysia now? We get the rise of Islamic agencies in various states using the propagation enactments to curb expressions and practices of non-Islamic religions under the broadest interpretation of propagation.

Legal professionals debate the opinions whether such actions flies in the face of the interpretation of our Federal Constitution allowing for all religions to govern their own affairs and that actions done by JAIS and MAIP are unconstitutional.

But until the Supreme Court rules, the rest of the noise is more coffee shop talk amongst concerned Malaysians.

Why are our leaders remaining silent? In Malaysia, silence do mean consent and not that our country leaders are mulling over the how to respond either.

Wake Up, Malaysia!

In the midst of utter confusion amongst comments raised by various groups regarding the recent JAIS action on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) with the confiscation of over 300 Bibles in the Malay and Iban languages, Malaysians certainly need such a wakeup call on a better understanding of our laws of Malaysia. And no matter if we like it or not, the legal understanding of laws that applies to muslims and non-muslims in Malaysia must be accepted as fact of law. If there is contention on them being unfair or unconstitutional, only the Supreme Court can ultimately rule. This case, amongst a few others, are making Malaysians more aware of conflicts between Federal Laws, State Laws and Syariah.

Najib’s 10-Point Solution
The 10-point solution letter from PM Najib to Bishop Ng Moon Hing on 11 April 2011 is an Executive Order, if we can even use that word for the Malaysian Cabinet decision. It represented a Cabinet desire to defuse a sensitive situation in allowing the confiscated bibles to be retrieved by BSM but it does not represent an edict that can override the State Laws, Syariah or Federal Laws in the event it conflicts with them. Hence, to lean on the argument that what JAIS did was against the 10-point solution, so what?

Hidden Agenda to DUMC Raid?

In the course of the days following the raid on DUMC by Jais and the police, the general focus has shifted somewhat from the Bersih 2.0 electoral reform demands. Perhaps there is a hidden agenda for this action. There may be conspiracy theories in the midst of this chaos.

Theory #1

One possible theory may be that Umno needs to rally PAS to their side in view of the impending General Election which may take place in November this year. In order to do that, Umno needs to drive a wedge between PAS and DAP. That wedge may be a religious tension stirred to cause the perception of rift between Muslims and Christians. If that be successful by using the DUMC bogey, Umno will have a more than realistic chance of not only winning the General Election but by a much bigger majority. When PAS and DAP fights, Umno will win the day. Unfortunately, PAS has not only distanced themselves and condemned the raid, they are seen to take a more positive stance to handle the delicate situation very carefully and investigate first. PKR Khalid also treaded very carefully to ensure that there is no fallout in this strawman situation caused by Jais and supported by Hasan Ali of PAS.

Result: Umno failed to put a wedge between PAS and DAP.

Theory #2

Another theory may be that given the fallout of the BN Government on the handling of Bersih 2.0, there is a need to stir up something of similar magnitude to distract the attention away from electoral reforms. Umno and BN will not make any changes to the electoral shortcomings regardless of what Najib may say. To divert attention, there is a need of something equivalent that can attract Malaysians and that other strawman is religion. Drive a wedge between Muslims and Christians and there can be something explosive in the making. Hence, the DUMC raid and that action should amount to something that can stir the emotions of Malaysians away from their complaints of election frauds.

Result: Umno succeeded to generate some level of distraction

Theory #3

Finally, a last thought on this conspiracy theory. Can it be that Umno in general wasn’t involved and Jais operated on their own as influenced by some hidden hand inside Umno that wanted to further discredit Najib and further weaken his position within Umno? Our PM has been exceptionally quiet on this and implies that he wasn’t aware of such an action to further complicate his already very complicated position. As for PKR, it is acceptable to leave it to MB Khalid to handle to its natural conclusion for all parties to have clarity as to why this was done and if it had any basis at all.

Result: Hidden hands may not have succeeded but the attempt to discredit 1Malaysia certainly has caused some ripples.

So what can we Malaysians conclude then? Was it merely an overzealous Jais and police acting on a complaint that they can’t even verify first? Was it a genuine oversight of the Jais and police leadership? Or there was a solid basis for Jais and the police to act on?

For now, Malaysians can’t believe that it’s a genuine oversight. The conspiracy theories appear more acceptable given the course of what have transpired in Malaysia over the past months and building towards the potential downfall of Najib as well as the impending elections to secure more voters confidence in Umno.

This is food for thought, something to chew on and for Malaysians to decide for themselves what is really happening in our beloved country.

Out of Control in DUMC Raid by Jais and Police

Seems like it’s PAS turn to rein in mavericks like Hasan Ali or shut him down before he burns the party and ruin the hardwork done in Selangor.

PAS maverick Hasan Ali is at it again. Long accused of being more comfortable with his UMNO friends, the former Selangor PAS chief acted on his own, without the knowledge of his party, the Mentri Besar or the Selangor state government, over the Damansara Utama church raid.

“This is why we have asked for a full explanation from him because what has happened is very serious. We hope he understand this. He should have consulted the party, the other Muslim leaders in Selangor Pakatan but it looks like for some reason or other, he took it upon himself to handle the matter,” Khalid Samad, the Shah Alam MP, told Malaysia Chronicle.

(Read here)

In the zeal of enforcing anti-proselyting of muslims, Jais and the police have lost all sense of decency, protocol and respect. Is this the spirit of multi-religious harmony? Absolutely not!

Their latest act being a raid (although Hasan Ali says otherwise) of DUMC Thanksgiving Dinner where 30 people from Jais and the police barged in without a warrant, without telling what the complaint was and without any decency to act professionally.

MCA Gan Ping Sieu as well as Umno Khairy tried to deflect the problem to Khalid and DAP Teresa Kok blaming them for not making a public apology.

Jais and the police do not report to the Selangor MB but to the Sultan of Selangor. Jais appointees are mostly from Umno. But MB Khalid did the right thing to apologize and find out on what basis Jais acted. Although not Khalid’s fault, this happened in his state.

Instead, MCA shot themselves again and their rhetorics showed their foolishness not knowing how Jais and the police work under Umno instructions. MCA and especially Umno should make the same public apology.

In a nutshell
So, Hasan Ali should be canned. MCA should do better homework before pointing their finger and shooting their mouths. Umno should do well to check their slide in causing more uproar against themselves through sheer silliness.

Malaysia is fast losing the liberty to assemble, freedom to worship, and freedom to vote – all enshrined in the Federal Constitution. When the Constitution itself is not respected or manipulated or misinterpreted, the country will spin into chaos fast.

Either the BN Government must check the slide or Malaysians will check in Pakatan Rakyat in the next General Election. There won’t be any other options left.