Language should be constantly evolving, and not stuck in a rut or forever set in a mould, said Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat today.

Elaborating on the " Tuhan samseng " (God is a thug) controversy which is now being relentlessly used in attacks against him in the mainstream media, Nik Aziz argued that what he did was merely provide a modern translation of the words Al-Mutakabbir and Al-Jabbar as contained in the Quran.

" Samseng (thug) was how I interpreted those words to mean in Malay, and I did not insult Islam in doing so. If the words are in the Quran, then it is a perfectly valid thing for a translation or interpretation to go along with them,'' he told reporters after chairing a state exco meeting.

Nik Aziz, who is also PAS spiritual leader, was responding to the latest salvo fired against him by former Supreme Court judge Harun Hashim, as reported in today's Utusan Malaysia .

The front page report quoted Harun as saying that Nik Aziz can be charged under the Penal Code for insulting Allah for describing one of the attributes of God as " samseng ".

Last week, the PAS leader when speaking at the state-level National Women's Day celebration in Kota Baru said that "language is something which is alive, and translations of such must be relevant to the present-day generation. Language must move with the times''.

On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that a fatwa (edict) to prohibit the name of Allah being linked to crude words will be issued soon.

Intellectual approach

Nik Aziz claims that he has employed an "intellectual approach" towards interpreting, and he is ready to defend his approach in any court should he be hauled up on any charge of insulting Islam.

"In fact, I welcome that opportunity to share Islam, as well as to explain myself. However, in the event I am actually charged, I will also bring to court those who declare that there must be separation between religion and politics, and that Malaysia cannot be an Islamic state because it is heterogenous in composition.''

According to him, there are six pillars in the Islamic faith, and one of them demands its adherents to have confidence in the Holy Scriptures (the Quran), as well as execute the commandments contained in them.

"What I have done is merely to interpret the Quran, whereas the promulgation of the divide between faith and politics, as well as assertions of the 'impossibility' of an Islamic state in Malaysia, are actually insulting Islam.

"These people merely expressed their opinion without consulting the Quran. They are only trumpeting the west and their Christian missionaries.''

Nik Aziz also defended the validity of his interpretation of Al-Mutakabbir and Al-Jabbar , the two names or attributes of Allah as contained in the Quran.

" Samseng is not my own creation,'' he maintained.

According to one of Nik Aziz's aide, some government religious scholars have actually translated Al-Mutakabbir as proud, haughty, contemptuous, while Al-Jabbar has been given meanings ranging from cruel to ruthless.

"The point is, you (a person) can behave like a thug, but Almighty God can prove to be a bigger thug than you are. Whatever bad things you dish out to others, God can also dish out to you, perhaps in even greater measure. In that sense, God can be a thug [to the evildoers],'' said the aide.

Exasperated by journalists

On the apparent silence of other senior PAS leaders in defending him over the controversy, as suggested by Information Ministry parliamentary secretary Zainuddin Maidin in today's newspaper reports, Nik Aziz replied that it is not the culture of PAS members to liberally express their views to journalists.

"In that regard, I'm also sometimes exasperated by the conduct of journalists who only present half of what I say. For example, on Tuesday, I said that as long as the Quran contains the words Al-Mutakabbir and Al-Jabbar , there must also be an interpretation of those verses.

"I also contended that if Tan Sri Hamid Othman (the Prime Minister's religious advisor) does not agree with my interpretations, then it is better for him to remove these verses from the Quran, given that he represents the almighty government.

"However, only half [of what I said] came out, and that is the weakness of Malaysian journalism. But praise God, I'm not alone. May those who disparage the name of Allah disappear from the face of the earth, just like the Pharaohs and others.''

Nik Aziz also maintained that he is ever interested to sit down to discuss the controversy in a gentlemanly manner. "I want to dialogue, but he (Hamid) is asking me to repent, while others want to bring me to court.

"That is not the way of dakwah (spreading Islam) and muzakarah (consultation). As religious advisor, Hamid should use the approaches of dakwah and conduct discussions with an intellectual approach.

"They are not sincere. Instead, they are using the ways of the unenlightened ( jahiliyah ), and Hamid himself is resorting to threats. It is like one person performing the silat all by himself ( silat bersendirian ).''

MOHD IRFAN ISA is a malaysiakini stringer in the East Coast.