Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 3.1.2014.
DAP condemns Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyidin Yassin’s provocative support for UMNO Selangor’s proposal to demonstrate outside Catholic churches during their prayers on Sunday. Muhyidin is fanning the fire of religious hatred by agreeing with Selangor Umno’s threat to demonstrate outside Catholic churches on Sunday unless Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew retracts his statement and apologises over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians in the state in their Bahasa Malaysia masses.
Never before has a governing political party been sanctioned to demonstrate outside a religious place of worship and our first three Prime Ministers of Malaysia would have reacted with utter horror at such an uncvilised act. Muhyiddin is behaving recklessly for political gain and irresponsible by stating that UMNO Selangor is acting under their own consideration and within their lawful rights by demonstrating outside Catholic churches on Sunday when such hostile acts would damage interfaith relations and destroy the religious harmony assiduously built up in Malaysia by the various communities since Merdeka in 1957.
Why is it okay to demonstrate against Catholic churches but not against price hikes on sugar, petrol, power tariffs and highway tolls imposed by BN? Such demonstrations by a racist anti non-Malay and anti non-Muslim UMNO would irreparably harm the harmonious relations in our multi-racial society which had existed peacefully until UMNO stirred up the Allah controversy.
The raid by Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s (Jais) on the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) is completely unacceptable. The Islamic authorities do not have the authority in law to enter the premises of non-Muslim religious establishments for inspection, search or raid, unless related to attempts to propagate non-Islamic religions to Muslims. This is the constitutional provision accepted by everyone that JAIS can only intrude on a non-Muslim premise in pursuit of Muslims that transgresses Islamic law or syariah but not against non-Muslims.
For JAIS to seize over 300 Bibles in Malay and Iban at the premise of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) without a search warrant and authorization cards as well as detain BSM President Lee Min Choon and BSM Manager Sinclair Wong, is a dangerous and wrongful extension of JAIS powers over non-Muslims that will be seen as an unprecedented attack and erosion of the fundamental right of freedom of religion as enshrined under the Federal Constitution.
The constitutional right of freedom of religion shall and must include the rights of religious communities in the country to freely profess and administer their affairs. The wild and blood-curdling remarks made by a state Mufti have only generated increased concern amongst non-Muslims not just of religious intolerance but of religious persecution. Are these latest acts of aggression and persecution against non-Muslims, the 1Malaysia dream that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is talking about?
DAP does not agree that with the application of Islamic laws on non-Muslims. The great irony is that BN and UMNO had been warning non-Muslims about the dangers of PAS imposing Islamic laws on non-Muslims, and yet BN has shown their true colours of hypocrisy and double-standard by using force and compulsion against non-Muslims in exactly what they had accused others of doing.
Even though BSM was wrongly persecuted, DAP fully endorses the call by BSM president Lee Min Choon to the Christian community to remain calm and not engage in any provocative acts. The Christian community must remain calm even if UMNO Selangor continues to bully and humiliate the Christian community by carrying out its wild and dangerous demonstrations in front of Catholic churches on Sundays.
LIM GUAN ENG
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民主行动党秘书长暨峇眼国会议员林冠英于2014年1月3日在吉隆坡发表的文告
谴责国阵尝试施加伊斯兰法在非穆斯林身上。丹斯里慕尤丁煽动性支持雪兰莪巫统企图于周日在天主教堂前示威，阻止非穆斯林使用“阿拉”。
民主行动党谴责副首相丹斯里慕尤丁煽动性支持雪兰莪巫统企图于周日做礼拜的时候，在天主教堂前示威。慕尤丁根本是在煽动宗教憎恨，同意雪兰莪巫统威胁将于周日在天主教堂前示威，除非《先锋报》编辑罗伦斯安德鲁神父收回其关于基督徒在该州的马来文弥撒当中可以使用“阿拉”的言论，并道歉。
我国从来未曾发生过一个执政党批准党员到人们祈祷的宗教场所前示威，即便我国首三任首相也会反对这么不文明的极度恐怖行为。慕尤丁声称雪兰莪巫统周日在天主教堂前示威是有他们自己的考量及在法律权力范围之下，这是只求获得政治资本的不负责任言论，因为这些行为将会破坏了自1957年独立以降，多元社会辛苦建立的宗教互信与摧毁宗教和谐。
为何在天主教堂前可以示威，但却不允许人们反对糖、汽油、电费及高速公路收费涨价？这种巫统反非马来人及非穆斯林的种族主义示威，将无法挽回地破坏长久以来的多元种族和谐关系。
这长久以来和平共处的关系在巫统制造“阿拉”冲突课题之后，截然而止。
雪兰莪伊斯兰宗教局擅自突击硬闯马来西亚圣经协会私人地的行动是完全让人无法接受的。伊斯兰教有关当局并没有权力擅闯非穆斯林宗教私人地侦查、搜索及突击检查，除非有非伊斯兰宗教向穆斯林传教的企图。大家所知道的是，宪法只允许伊斯兰宗教局在调查有穆斯林触犯伊斯兰法的时候，才可以进入非穆斯林的私人地，而不是对付非穆斯林。
雪兰莪伊斯兰宗教局在没有搜索准证及出示有关当局证件之下，擅闯马来西亚圣经协会，充公300本马来文及伊班文版圣经，并扣留马来西亚圣经协会会长李明春及马来西亚圣经协会经理黄亚财，是危险及错误地将伊斯兰宗教局的权力施加在非穆斯林身上，这将史无前例地攻击及侵蚀在联邦宪法之下，人们所应享有神圣的基本宗教自由权力。
宪法权力之下的宗教自由，应该及必须包括宗教团体能在国内自由的公开宣称自己的宗教及管理自己的宗教事务。州伊斯兰宗教司横蛮及令人毛骨悚然的言论，不只越来越让非穆斯林之间感觉到宗教的不宽容，更担忧遭到宗教迫害。这些最新的行为及对非穆斯林的迫害，是首相拿督斯里纳吉所说的1个马来西亚吗？
行动党反对把伊斯兰法施加在非穆斯林身上。更讽刺的是，国阵及巫统一直恐吓非穆斯林，声称伊斯兰党将会实施伊斯兰法在非穆斯林身上，可是如今国阵却反过来显露出其虚伪及双重标准的一面，利用他们常指责的所谓“伊斯兰党的手段”，强硬对付非穆斯林。
即使如今马来西亚圣经协会遭到迫害，民主行动党还是全力支持圣经协会会长李明春呼吁基督教徒必须继续保持冷静，不要做出任何煽动性的行为。因此，即使雪兰莪巫统要横蛮及危险的于周日在天主教堂前示威，继续欺凌及羞辱基督社群，基督社群仍然必须保持冷静。
林冠英