According to Herald editor Fr Lawrence Andrew, around 2,000 copies of the weekly publication were seized at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Thursday, apparently on order of the Home Ministry.
“The consignment arrived at 2.54pm on Thursday, and it was checked by KDN officials as the usual practice,” he told The Malay Mail Online, referring to the Home Ministry’s Malay acronym.
“The forwarding company were however told not to release the consignment. The company checked again on Friday at 10am, and were told that the consignment has been withheld. No reason was given,” Lawrence added.
The priest said that as of now, there is still no news as to the status of the consignment, which was supposed to have been distributed to churches in the Kota Kinabalu and Keningau dioceses.
When contacted, however, deputy home minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said he had no knowledge of the seizure.
The ban on distribution is the latest incident to hit the controversial tussle between the Catholic Church and the government over the use of the word “Allah”.
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Home Ministry’s decision to ban the use of the word in the Herald was justified, as the use of the word “Allah” was not integral to the practice of the Christian faith.
The ruling — which overturned an earlier High Court decision that the ban was unconstitutional — has since sparked confusion over the use of the word by Christians in their worship, especially with conflicting opinions within the government itself on how far the ruling would affect practising Christians.
Churches in Sabah and Sarawak, however, have said they will continue their age-old practice of referring to God as “Allah” in their worship and in their holy scriptures.
Several ministers also said recently that the 10-point solution issued by Putrajaya in 2011 — which allows the printing, importation and distribution of the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Christian bible, containing the word “Allah” — should stand, despite the appellate court ruling.
According to a 2010 census, Muslims are Malaysia’s largest religious group, followed by Buddhists. Christians are the third-largest at 2.6 million, which comes up to about 10 per cent of the Malaysian population.
Bumiputera Christians, who form about 64 per cent or close to two-thirds of the Christian community in Malaysia, have used the word “Allah” when praying and speaking in the national language and their native tongues for centuries.
jangan api2kan rakyat menggunakan isu agama ini..
ReplyDeletejika rakyat sabah tidak puas hati, tunjukkan saja rasa tidak puas hati itu melalui peti undi..
ReplyDeletesegelintir ahli politik yang mengeruhkan usaha perpaduan nasional dengan mengeksploitasi hal agama dan isu sensitif untuk kepentingan mereka sendiri membahayakan negara.
ReplyDeletetanggungjawab dan peranan pemimpin politik sewajarnya menjernihkan keadaan namun apa yang berlaku adalah sebaliknya.
ReplyDeleteKeamanan Malaysia berasaskan perpaduan dalam amalan sistem demokrasi namun terdapat sebilangan pihak yang cuba membuat provokasi dengan membangkitkan isu agama yang begitu sensitif dalam masyarakat negara yang majmuk.
ReplyDeleteMenurut mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, setiap individu boleh mengamalkan agama masing-masing tetapi terdapat sesetengah pihak yang cuba memainkan isu sensitif berkaitan agama dengan mempertikaikan penggunaan kalimah Allah.
ReplyDeleteNegara ini aman kerana penganut pelbagai agama menahan diri daripada membuat sebarang komen yang sensitif terhadap agama lain.
ReplyDeleteBagaimanapun kebelakangan ini perkara itu semakin diabaikan sehingga ada yang mempertikai penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh umat Islam.
ReplyDeletePendakwah perlu menunjukkan kebaikan Islam dalam setiap dakwahnya dan tidak terburu-buru dalam membuat keputusan apabila membicarakan soal halal, haram serta syurga dan neraka.-Mahathir
ReplyDelete"Saya fikir banyak kesalahan yang dilakukan oleh kita bukan berpunca daripada Islam itu sendiri tetapi disebabkan kita hanya menggunakan agama Islam itu sebagai identiti sahaja dan tidak mengamalkan ajaran Islam yang sebenar," tegas Dr. Mahathir.
ReplyDeleteBeliau turut menyeru supaya umat Islam bersatu padu seperti mana rakyat Tanah Melayu menentang Malayan Union tanpa sebarang senjata canggih dan hanya berbekalkan perpaduan.
ReplyDeleteThe government has allocated RM2.4 billion for continuation of subsidies and incentives in the agricultural sector, according to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin.
ReplyDeleteThe allocation includes subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and rice prices, production incentives and increasing paddy rice price subsidies and incentives for fishermen,” he said at the closing and certificate presentation ceremony for basic agriculture course
ReplyDeleteagriculture had not only been viewed a very important element in the national economy growth but also rice planting which is to be used as a ‘National Food Security Crop’.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, according to the minister, to increase productivity and produce agricultural products of high demand, the government has allocated RM634 million under the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA).
ReplyDelete