Umno Baru seems to be spooked by the Holy Bible and finds no reason for the rakyat to be alarmed over the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia recently.
The Herald’s editor Reverend Lawrence Andrew is being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 for insisting that “Allah’ will continue to be used in Bahasa Malaysia services in churches in Selangor.
Umno’s vendetta against the non-Malays did not stop there. The Herald and Rev Andrew aside, the ‘powers that be’ have now ‘attacked’ Comango, a coalition of 54 human rights organisations.
Yesterday, the Home Ministry labelled Comango (Coalition on Malaysian NGOs in the Universal Periodic Review Process) as unIslamic and unregistered and banned the pro- human rights group.
Persecuting marginalised groups in Malaysia is what the BN-led federal government does best.
In 1998, the ‘People’s Anti-Homosexual Voluntary Movement’, was created to lobby for stricter criminal laws against homosexuality and went on to become a member of Umno.
Then in 2001, prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared his dislike for the LGBT groups when he stated that the country would deport any visiting foreign cabinet ministers or diplomats who are gay.
Mahathir also warned gay ministers from abroad from bringing their partners while visiting the nation.
In 2005, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor stated that the Navy would never accept homosexuals.
In 2010, the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia announced it would only allow depiction of homosexual characters as long as the characters “repent” or die.
Now with Comango coming on board to fight for sexual freedom, it has given Umno Baru sleepless nights.
What’s Umno’s real fear?
Umno, the main stakeholder of the BN coalition government, is bent on getting rid of all those it considers ‘enemies’ of Islam.
That is how it appears to be, going by the racial hostility displayed by Selangor Liaison Committee chairman Noh Omar.
Unable to accept Rev Andrew’s refusal to bow down to ‘Umno’ pressure and put a stop to the use of ‘Allah’ in churches in Selangor, Noh and Selangor Umno threatened to ptotest outside a church in Klang last Sunday.
However, at the last minute Selangor Umno changed its mind, saying it wanted to avoid a “religious war”.
But Noh could not care less when he spewed uncouth warnings to Rev Andrew.
“Father Lawrence, don’t be rude (biadap)… if you want to show besar kepala (big-headed), don’t be shocked if the Malay NGOs carry out a mega demonstration.
“He was the one who started it…the culprit here is Father Lawrence… not the Christians in general,” Noh said. “We do not want this to spiral into a heated religious war and create unwanted tension.”
Noh added: “Why must we disturb other Christians and priest because of one man who does not understand the law?”
Rights of minorities
The fear tactics used by Umno Baru to silence Rev Andrew and the Catholic church is proof that the well-being of minority communities in the country is far from Umno’s concern.
Using the sanctity of Islam as a pretext to punish defenders of the truth, the Umno-government is desperately looking for ‘excuses’ to quash the existence of entities that dare challenge the government over the latter’s refusal to recognise the fundamental rights of the rakyat.
But the federal government’s ‘concerns’ to punish fighters of truth are far from convincing. Now, with Comango the latest casualty, the government seems appeased that is has finally got home the message that Islam is no religion to be messed with.
Comango had in the past come under fire from Muslim activists in the country who claim the group’s human rights recommendations to the United Nations ran counter to the “true” teachings of Islam and the sovereignty of the Federal Constitution.
Comango clarified that their report was merely an effort to encourage the Malaysian government to uphold its commitment towards improving the welfare of all Malaysians via the UPR.
The Home Ministry justified the ban on Comango under the guise that the coalition propagates values contrary to Islam due to its support for the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) communities.
“Comango is an illegal organisation as an unregistered society. Those who wish to run legitimate activities must be registered with Registrar of Societies under Section 7 of the Societies Act 1966.
“We can take action against them or any group which fails to fulfill the requirements of Section 7,” said Home Ministry secretary-general Mohamad Khalid Shariff.
What really is troubling the Najib Razak administation about Comango? Is it the fact that the coalition refuses to cower to political pressure and stop defending the rights of the minority and marginalised communities?
How does Comango’s battle against a homophobic government end up mocking the image of Islam, the nation’s dominant religion and one that professes ‘hatred for none’?
Outlawing Comango soon after the BSM raid and persecuting Rev Andrew tells of something foul at work.
What took the Home Ministry so long to ‘put an end’ to Comango if indeed the coalition was a threat to Islam?
The real problem is not the Herald or Rev Andrew or Comango. Rather, it is Umno and its racist agenda, for which Umno Baru is willing to stoop as low, even at the expense of the country’s peace and security.
by Jeswan Kaur, a freelance writer and a FMT columnist
No comments:
Post a Comment