Pak Lah condemns church attacks

Malaysian Insider By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today added his voice to a small but growing section of leaders straddling the political divide who have come out to openly condemn the anonymous attacks on several churches in the Klang Valley.

"Two incidents happened last night, which were attempts to burn a church in Taman Melawati and Petaling Jaya, are very regretful. The act to pollute and desecrate any houses of worship must be strongly condemned by all parties," he said in a statement.

"The police and all levels of society must jointly take responsibility and work together so that such incidents do not spread and jeopardise the stability and security of the country," he added.

Abdullah, who is better known by his moniker Pak Lah, urged all citizens to work together and "protect and preserve freedom of religion as it is stated in the Federal Constitution."

"We must always safeguard the harmony and good relations among the races and religions," he said.

The former premier, whose father-in-law was Catholic and whose funeral service had taken place at the Church of the Assumption next to the Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya barely a week ago, was very upset with the spate of attacks.

A Molotov cocktail was lobbed into the Assumption grounds at about 4am today but failed to explode, police officials confirmed.

Two other churches were not as fortunate. The Metro Tabernacle in Desa Melawati here and the Live Chapel in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, were torched.

Use of the word ‘Allah’ must be clearly defined, says Pak Lah

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 (Bernama) — The issue of the use of the word “Allah” in the Catholic church’s weekly publication, the Herald, must be clearly explained immediately to the people, including non-Muslims, to avoid tension and confusion, said former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Abdullah, who is the chairman of the Institute of Islamic Understanding of Malaysia (Ikim), said the stand was made by the institute at its three-hour meeting chaired by him today.

“The issue must be well understood, so it must be clearly explained with the facts,” Abdullah told Bernama here.

He said Ikim has the religious experts or scholars who could provide the explanations on the issue through articles or forums.

“We can do this almost immediately. If non-Muslims want explanations on the issue, Ikim officials are prepared to meet them,” he added.

On Thursday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed the Herald to use the word “Allah”.

Last Feb 16, Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, as the publisher of the weekly, filed for a judicial review on the use of the word “Allah” in the church’s publication, seeking a declaration that the Home Minister’s decision to prohibit the use of the word in the publication was wrong and that the word “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.
Abdullah said he was worried that if the issue was not explained clearly, it could bring harm to the country in the form of racial tension and conflict.
He also hoped the people would show restraint so as not to confuse the situation that could result in undesirable actions and reactions.

“Be careful about this issue. Acting on emotions cannot resolve it, but understanding based on facts can, God willing,” he said.
Abdullah said as the issue would again be brought to court, the legal process should not be disturbed, while it was the government’s right to appeal against the High Court’s decision.
The Home Ministry today filed the appeal against the High Court’s decision. Tomorrow, it will apply for a stay of execution of the court order made on Dec 31. — Bernama