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Ministry dares to censure Nanyang, not Utusan
Published:  Jan 1, 2012 10:30 AM
Updated: 3:42 AM

YOURSAY 'It is crystal clear that they only know how to bully the Chinese papers. How about Utusan Malaysia and the other extremists?'

Nanyang reprimand in keeping with PPPA reform

your say Bob Teoh: Under the Police Act, the police are authorised to use the words ‘Allah' and ‘Muhammad' in its coat of arms which appears in all police stations, uniforms, vehicles and official documents.

This is not restricted to Muslims only. Non-Muslim police personnel also wear the same coat of arms. When a non-Muslim is issued with a police summons, it bears the ‘Allah' and ‘Muhammad' words on the piece of paper too.

So Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam, tell us where's the threat to public order? You should be happy that Nanyang Siang Pau is trying to explain ‘hudud' to its readers.

Mahmood, please show cause why you should be more careful in issuing newspapers with show-cause letters or you may find yourself out of a job post-GE13.

Cannon: 'Allah' is not the personal name of a deity. The word prefigures Islam and had been used by the ancient peoples in the Middle East to refer to 'God'.

The use of the name has never been a bone of contention among citizens in other Islamic countries. In Indonesia, for instance, the name of Allah is used in the Al-Kitab, the Bible in Bahasa Indonesia.

Only in Malaysia is religion, including ‘Allah', as with almost everything else that Malaysians once used to share in common, politicised by self-seeking and self-serving politicians to divide the people.

The selfishness of our politicians knows no bounds. Malaysians are waiting for the outcome of the Court of Appeal hearing filed by the Home Ministry on the use of the name by Christians in this country.

Anonymous: It is crystal clear that they only know how to bully the Chinese papers. How about Utusan Malaysia and the other extremists?

Cala: By Mahmood's insistence that Nanyang should take the rap for using an inappropriate logo with the word 'Allah' in the two articles concerning hudud law, he is saying the ministry has been kind by not taking a more punitive action on the daily, while at the same time, the signal sent is that the ministry remains the final arbiter of what is deemed right or wrong.

But I am only interested on the consequence arising from his action. By his conduct, Mahmood raises the issue of democracy. Why is the said logo so sensitive? Was there a previous briefing/warning given to the media forewarning them from doing this act?

In the international political economy literature, many researchers are correct to question the compatibility of Islam/Confucianism/Catholics and democracy, and hence economic development. Mahmood's latest act may have ramification on Malaysia's economic growth and development.

Kee Thuan Chye: The Nanyang reprimand has nothing to do with the spirit of reform. This is the same old way the Home Ministry has been doing things. If it doesn't like something a newspaper does, it issues a show-cause letter. It's been doing it for decades.

A few months ago, it issued The Star a show-cause letter for the ‘Ramadan Delights' heading in its non-halal supplement. Same thing!

So what does the action against Nanyang have to do with reforming the PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act)? Just because it doesn't resort to suspending the newspaper's licence, it is to be taken as the new spirit?

I burst out laughing when I read what Mahmood said. What rubbish! I've been in the newspaper business for more than 30 years and I know this is the same old, same old.

Mahmood is desperately trying to make the ministry's deed smell good when it actually stinks.

Awg Damit: I'm waiting to see what action Mahmood Adam will take against Utusan's racists articles, particularly their creative lies and the antogonistic speeches by former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali.

Fair And Open: I say ‘Allah' all the time in front of my Malay friends. They don't have a problem with it. Umno is trying to show its ‘ketuanan' character, so this must be the real intention of Mahmood's action.

The Christians in East Malaysia and Indonesia refers to Allah as their God. It just shows how ignorant Mahmood is or how the BN propaganda create racial discord intentionally while stealing the nation's wealth for themselves.

Gen2: Besides the PPPA that needs to be amended, the mentality of the Home Ministry people also needs to be amended. It's only a logo, for Christ's sake!

Manjit Bhatia: Look at the Muslims in the Middle East, who have woken up to Islamic regimes that quash basic human rights in the most violent ways, who stand ready to drag their countries back from the Stone Age into the 21st century with the face of a more moderate, compassionate and liberal Islam.

It's you, Mahmood, and your crock-infested Umno regime, in conjunction with the turd-infested racist Perkasa and others like it who are imbuing Islam in Malaysia with a hugely discredited and immoral radical fundamentalism.

Jedi_Who: Beyond words. With so much stupidity and indignity in the ruling Umno government, can fairness and common decency prevail? I think not.

 


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