Can Sarawak's Christian god migrate to Peninsula?

Malay Mail Online - Are we immigrants or citizens? East Malaysian Christians ask amid differing rules on Bibles

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Bumiputra Christians living in peninsular Malaysia are feeling hard done by, as some of the rights they always had in Sabah and Sarawak have suddenly disappeared down the alleyways of regional rule-making.

Ending a standoff that started in January, Islamic religious authorities in Selangor recently returned over 300 Bibles they had seized but only after marking them in red with a warning against use in the state because the books refer to God by the Arabic word “Allah.”

That would not have happened in Sabah or Sarawak.

Although the Bibles were not meant to be used in Selangor, the situation has left many East Malaysian Christians feeling a little uneasy that the certainties of their home states are worth less across the South China Sea.

Forty something Sarawakian Oswald Bindin described the rules as problematic, forcing him to reflect on questions of identity, origin and citizenship after making Selangor his home for 22 years.

“We see a double standard. For example, I’m from Sarawak and there is no restriction there. I want to ask, what is my status now that I’m in the peninsula?

“I want to ask, am I an immigrant or am I a citizen, this is a question I want to ask, this is important,” the practising Iban Catholic told Malay Mail Online in Malay.

Malaysians “don’t have a choice” and are “ forced to follow” whatever the government, or the people in power decide, he added.

Oswald Bindin asked a very pertinent question on citizenship, where he felt (presumably still does) that the Selangor State prohibition on the use of the word 'Allah' for the Christian god has put a question mark over his citizenship as a Malaysian.

I have a lot to say, especially about citizens and migration*, and as a start I want to point out two things, namely:

[* immigration refers to relocation to a country, while migration refers to the movement from one region to another - either within a country or across national borders - from website http://www.diffen.com/]

(a) why should the prohibition raise questions on Oswald Bindin's citizenship because it is directed at all in Selangor, not just immigrants or migrants; Selangoreans of Peninsula extract have to comply as well.

Unlike Binin, his fellow Iban Matthew Jambon has not been ridiculously preposterous or merajuk-ish in his personal dissatisfaction but in fact very constructive-minded. Jambon has lived in Selangor for the past 19 years, and as quoted by TMI, said he accepts the rules here (ie. in Selangor) but insisted that it will not change the way he practises his faith.

“It’s alright, since we live in Selangor, we will just adhere to the rules in Selangor. If we are in Sarawak, we will follow the rules in Sarawak."

Well said, that 'when in Rome, ... etc etc etc'.

(b) it's also known, that is written in the Constitution, that the state Sultan is the head of Islam in his state and has within his purview all matters related to Islam and Muslims, including use of the word 'Allah', as already ruled by the Malaysian courts.

As background to (b) above, I quote the TMI report which states: The controversy over non-Muslim usage of the Arabic word for God erupted in 2007 when the federal government first banned the Catholic Church from publishing the word “Allah” in the Malay section of its weekly newspaper, Herald.

The Catholic Church retaliated by filing a legal suit against the government. A lengthy legal battle followed and Malaysia’s highest court ruled last year that the paper cannot use the word “Allah” as it is not integral to Christianity.

We are talking about Peninsula in general and Selangor in particular, and the Federal Court has been spot on in stating that in (Peninsula) Malaysia "the word 'Allah' ..... is not integral to Christianity".

I know Christians reading this will be outraged by kaytee's stand, and man, do I have many staunch Christian friends. But hey, my stand on the 'Allah' word has not been new as I, a Chinese Penangite from a Buddhist-Taoist-Confucian family (with a sprinkling of family members being Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and two distant cousins married to Muslims) but personally an atheist (wakakaka) have between 2010 to 2013, very much to the chagrin of my Christian mateys, posted the following, among many others on topic: 

(a) Allah, Elohim or Yahweh?

(b) Now, who are the Arab wannabes?

(c) The Church & Allah

wakakaka.

Incidentally, Yayasan Lentera Bangsa, a publishing house in Indonesia, published a direct-translated al Kitab for Indonesian use which drops the word 'Allah' completely, and uses in place the Hebraic words Elohim and Yahweh.

I wonder whether it's this same al Kitab that was rejected by Father Lawrence Andrew of the Catholic Church and editor of its news weekly The Herald four years ago?

In case you do not know who is Father Lawrence Andrew, just read through my 3 posts above, wakakaka. He's the bloke who started the furor over the use of the 'Allah' word by Christians to refer to their god in Malay language church services and documents.

Okay, it doesn't matter whether it was the al Kitab offered by Yayasan Lentera Bangsa or not, Father Andrew told AFP in April 2009 about the release of a new Malay language bible that does not use the word ‘Allah’. The news item was picked up by the Free Republic, a conservative American online news portal.

The new al Kitab or Malay-language Bible had referred to God as ‘Elohim’ rather than ‘Allah’. This displeased Father Lawrence Andrew who stated:

"The Catholic bible that the church uses has the word 'Allah' for God whereas in comparison, this one does not."

"The new Malay bible weakens the argument for using the word Allah because some groups are trying to substitute God with a foreign name, whereas Allah is the Malay word for God and has been the accepted translation for centuries."

So, according to Father Andrew, Elohim is a foreign name for God while Allah is not. I wonder where the word Allah originated from?

WHAT??! From the same region as Elohim? Surely not!

Wakakaka.

I wonder whether he would also argue that Nabi Isa (pbuh) is considered a name of foreign origin while Jesus Christ is a name in the Malay language?

But far more importantly, one just has to ask: Why consider the new Malay-language bible as ‘weakening’ the use of ‘Allah’ when it has actually reinforced reference to God’s name as per the original ‘Elohim’?

Yes, what did Father Andrew meant by that, which I believe to be a Freudian slip?

Then, who other than him says "Allah is the Malay word for God and has been the accepted translation for centuries", and who decides on "the accepted translation for centuries" and what are the criteria for that process?

Let's leave Father Lawrence Andrew to his Malay versus foreign language mulling, wakakaka, and move on to another (earlier) piece of news report, namely, TMI's Sarawak church pleads for right to use ‘Allah’ throughout Malaysia. The report stated (extract only):

A major Sarawak church has made an impassioned plea for the right to use the word “Allah” for worship throughout Malaysia, telling Datuk Seri Najib Razak that state Islamic prohibitions have taken away "the most important thing in our lives".

The Sarawak-based Borneo Evangelical Mission or the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) finally broke its silence over the burning issue, weeks after the Selangor Islamic authorities returned to the state churches some 300 Malay and Iban Bibles containing the word “Allah” seized in January from distributor Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM). [...]

SIB president Reverend Dr Justin Wan said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider ........ hundreds of Sarawak and Sabah Christian students attending universities and institutes of higher learning in the peninsula, saying "the majority of whom were educated completely in the Bahasa Malaysia medium, the product of the National Education Policy and with little exposure to English."

"These students would only be comfortable worshipping in Bahasa Malaysia," he said, adding that many Sarawak and Sabah Christians educated in Bahasa Malaysia have flocked to and settled in the Klang Valley and other parts of the peninsula for better prospects in life but use "Allah" in their worship, similar to their parents and ancestors.

"And naturally, they will continue to do so in Semenanjung Malaysia. Therefore, even if the prohibition were to apply only to the states in Semenanjung Malaysia and not to Sabah and Sarawak, the high mobility of people between Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula makes observance difficult, particularly for our members.

"This will have the overall effect of harming national integration and destroying all efforts at realising the country's 1Malaysia vision," said Wan.

I am sure you know what 'evangelistic' means, wakakaka, and what it holds for non-Christians, wakakaka again.

But rather dwell on the churches' evangelistic nature I am more interested in Reverend Dr Justin Wan's remarks that "many Sarawak and Sabah Christians educated in Bahasa Malaysia have flocked to and settled in the Klang Valley and other parts of the peninsula for better prospects in life" and "the high mobility of people between Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula makes observance difficult, particularly for our members."

I have many Sarawakian and Sabahan friends and always treasure their presence in Peninsula which they have every right to be in, because it's their own country, inasmuch as Malaysia is for Perakians, Kedahans, Malaccans, etc.

But I wonder whether Sarawakians and Sabahans like Oswald Bindin who has merajuk-ishly stated “We see a double standard. For example, I’m from Sarawak and there is no restriction there. I want to ask, what is my status now that I’m in the peninsula? I want to ask, am I an immigrant or am I a citizen, this is a question I want to ask, this is important,” know that Peninsula Malaysians have to have a travel document (based on KP or IC) as an alternative to the Malaysian Passport and Restricted Travel Document (in accordance with Part VII, Special Provisions For East Malaysia, Immigration Act 1959/63) to enter Sarawak and Sabah, as if they are foreigners, and worse, may even be denied entry or be deported, like Brother Haris Ibrahim, Ambiga Sreenevasan and many more.

Additionally the duration of their stay unlike that for Oswald Bindin in Selangor or any Peninsula state is limited to a maximum of 90 days, a duration I enjoy in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, the USA, Canada etc.

Oswald Bindin, you have been welcome in Peninsula Malaysia precisely because you're a Malaysian but are you aware that your state has not only limit Peninsula Malaysians to only a maximum of 90 days stay like many foreign countries but has also banned and denied entry to many Peninsula Malaysians, so think before you talked about who's a citizen and who's an immigrant.

Indeed, think about which state is practicing double standards in its treatment of Malaysian citizens.

Di Mana Bumi Dipijak, Di Situ Langit Dijunjung is a great Malay peribahasa but it shouldn't extend to barring citizens as if they are foreigners, and on this I include Alvin Tan's case, wakakaka.