KUALA LUMPUR, 4 Feb 2009: The action of the Catholic weekly Herald to continue to use the word “Allah” as a translation for “God” in its Malay edition is rude and can lead to racial tensions. Muslim Consumers Association Malaysia secretary general Datuk Dr Ma’mor Osman said use of the word which was sacred to […]
Allah
Dirty Malay phrasebook!
THIS gem was spotted on the blog of one Anthony Monteiro, the sadly underappreciated Malaysian art critic. He wrote it in November 2008, but recent events have made the subject more topical than ever, so he has consented to my reproducing his work here: (Source: Wikipedia) You probably know the British sextet Monty Python, whether […]
For Allah’s sake
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 the national language. The BN does […]
Hark: the Herald
Corrected on 29 Jan 2009 at 11.40am “The use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims may arouse sensitivity and create confusion amongst the Muslims in this country.” FORMER Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin, quoted on 4 Jan 2008. He was elaborating on a cabinet decision to hold as exclusive […]
Ministry to investigate Herald’s “Allah” use (Updated)
(Updated 6:10pm, 21 Jan 2009) PUTRAJAYA, 21 Jan 2009: The Home Ministry will investigate claims that the Herald — The Catholic Weekly was still using the word “Allah” despite the government’s decision prohibiting the publication from doing so. Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the decision to disallow the weekly from using the word […]
Let Catholic weekly run in Malay
EVEN though the Home Ministry recently approved the publication permit for the Herald – the Catholic Weekly, only publication in English, Tamil, and Chinese is allowed. Publication of the weekly’s Malay language version has been held back, pending a court decision on the use of the word “Allah”. While my Christian friends applaud the decision […]
