YOURSAY 'The constitution has made it clear, so has the courts, so has Pakatan Rakyat. PAS wants to differ, let them.'

PAS: No second thoughts on 'Allah' issue

Black Mamba: I don't see the rationale why DAP chairman Karpal Singh should appeal to PAS on the use the word ‘Allah'. PAS is being true to its calling as a Islamic party and a defender of its own doctrine.

Its syura council can decide on anything it wants. But its decisions are not binding on non-Muslims.

It's the courts in our secular system that decide if non-Muslims can use the word ‘Allah' and so far the courts have ruled in the non-exclusive use by all stakeholders of other faiths.

Just leave it as that and not make a big issue out of a non-issue that has been around for centuries.

The Mask: I fully agree and endorse the view that we should leave the ‘Allah' issue alone. The PAS syura council has every right to make the decision.

On the other hand, we Christians will continue to call our God any way we like, including Allah in Bahasa Malaysia.

TimeForChange: Why beg PAS to reconsider? If there was a previous agreement with the other partners in the coalition to allow ‘Allah' to be used by non-Muslims, then we have to ask ourselves whether PAS has kept faith with its partners. Why the 180-degree turn?

Jiminy Qrikert: PAS' strategy is simple. It is playing to the gallery of Malays in the super Malay-majority states/seats. These seats have very small numbers of non-Malay voters.

Moreover, it is very likely that within these groups of non-Malays in the super majority-Malay seats, there are only a very small number of Christians.

So, the gamble is to appeal to the Umno Malay fence-sitters and undecided Malays via religion. It wants to come across as champions of Islam while pissing off only a few Christians.

It is a fine knife-edge gamble, but PAS did not account for a majority of non-Muslims being pissed-off.

So, the simple clarion call to all non-Muslims is vote PKR or DAP. Just remember to cross out the PAS symbol as your vote of protest.

There must be sufficient numbers of protest votes for PAS to realise that they cannot back stab non-Muslims and get away with it.

If they can do this when they are fighting to get into Putrajaya, imagine what PAS will do when they get in. There might be Malays too who will protest.

Shanandoah: Pakatan must divorce itself from PAS. If that is not possible, DAP should quit the Pakatan coalition and go it alone if necessary.

Malaysia is a secular country. Do not let theocracy creep in slowly under any circumstances. It's religion that brought in all the illegal immigrants into the country.

How could any word be exclusive only to a certain religion? That's ridiculous. If so, then it has to be patented.

Rahman: Either PAS abandons Pakatan or Pakatan ejects PAS. The one taking the initiative will have more credibility.

Pemuda Tua: I've two Christian friends who are still committed to vote for Pakatan. I don't see any much impact from this issue on Pakatan and PAS.

Both of them understand that the PAS syura council decision is based on Islamic beliefs. It is the words of the Holy Quran and the hadith that led to such a decision and no one can change that, even if PAS has to lose votes for this.

PAS respects other religious beliefs and we expect the same thing from others. Again, if the majority in Pakatan decide otherwise, then what can PAS say? Remember that PAS has agreed that any implementation of Pakatan policies must be based on majority vote.

We're making a decision based on our own religious beliefs. To go against it, Allah will damn us to hell. That is a risk that we don't want to take. We're not hypocrites like Umno-BN.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Just right at the 11th hour, Pakatan leaders screw up. Now, when BN gets its two-thirds majority, Pakatan has an excuse - its stand on 'Allah' has done it in.

ABBN: Can our East Malaysian Christian brothers and sisters call their God ‘Allah' while they are in West Malaysia?

MA: So at the end of the day, we Christians and like-minded people should not be voting any PAS fellows either to the state or parliament seats.

They have proven once too many times that they are all wolves in sheep's clothing.

Apa Ini?: The constitution has made it clear, so have the courts and so has Pakatan. PAS wants to differ, let it. In any case, don't vote BN. Get off the issue, Karpal.

Human Being: The syura council has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims. Period. Non-Muslims can call their gods or God by whatever names they like.

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