YET again, in the tussle over “Allah” and Malay-language Bibles, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government shows how unclear it is about what it means to respect the religious rights of non-Muslims.

THE Christian Federation of Malaysia strongly and unreservedly condemns the violent attacks and attempted fire-bombing of several churches in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya in the early hours of 8 Jan 2010. We are against such actions that seek to intimidate people and also to rend the country’s peace and fabric of goodwill. Thus far [...]

THE cowardly and utterly senseless act of a group of misguided, chauvinistic bigots in torching at least three churches in the Klang Valley this morning must be condemned in no uncertain terms by all peace-loving Malaysians. This act of arson, committed presumably in the name of Islam, desecrates the very religion it purports to protect. [...]

(© Adrian Van Leen / sxc.hu) WHEN the Home Ministry forbids a non-Muslim group from saying “Allah”, then attempts to prevent it from publishing in Malay, the government is imposing more than a ban. In both instances, the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led government is forcefully applying exclusivity for both the pre-Islamic name for the Almighty and [...]