COMMENT It’s most unfortunate that the ‘Allah’ controversy has reared its ugly head again. Come to think of it, it’s uglier this time because it erupted again from something so beautiful - a Christmas Day message.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng did the right thing by sending out the Christmas message of peace and joy to all men of goodwill. But he should have stopped there with the festive greetings.

That should suffice for a joyous, solemn occasion as is the birth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the Penang chief minister did not. He took another unnecessary step and stumbled.

In his message, Lim also took a swipe at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for the government appealing the Herald ruling. The court had ruled in favour of the Catholic newspaper, allowing it to continue using ‘Allah’.

Now, this was a 2009 case and it’s normal for people to have a short memory. Most of us would have forgotten about it and if we hadn’t, we would wisely avoid bringing it up particularly in the public domain.

The ‘Allah’ controversy is not something that will cause racial riots or civil unrest in the country. Whether we can call our god ‘Allah’ or not is not a matter of life or death. Why don’t we just bury it and move on? When the appeal comes up, let the court decide. We do have a court of law, don’t we?

Politicians greater than god?

Herein lies the trouble with politicians. They like to play god. Some even think they are greater than god.

Ho ho ho, Santa Claus must have a great time laughing at all our godly species who speak as if god has appointed them as his anointed one to guide and lead his peoples on earth.

Seriously, how often have we heard of politicians declaring that they would be prepared to die for their faith and love of god, but behind that veil of purity, they are the most corrupt people enriching themselves with what’s not theirs in the first place? They do not care a damn if their excessive greed causes untold misery and suffering to their fellow Malaysians.

This is the crux of the whole problem - politicians. They are people with an agenda and they have to play up issues for self-interest or glorification.

At times, we can’t really blame them. That’s their craft. It’s their bread and butter. But I would have thought that they could wise up when it comes to religious matters.

It’s the general consensus that Lim has done reasonably well as a chief minister. There have been changes for the better in the island state and there is all round approval from Penangites for their chief executive.

Lim has to step back from being a mere politician and move away from his ‘street fighter’ image. He holds the most powerful post in a political party which is riding high and is expected to perform very well in the upcoming elections.

He should now stay above petty political quarrels and he must definitely be extra cautious when commenting on religious issues. I think it’s best for him to stay out of religious disputes altogether. Assign another party leader to deal with it.

There is no end to a debate on religion and I think a politician of Lim’s stature should avoid being caught in a situation where he could likely be seen as a lousy loser at the end of it all.

Come the festive occasions and religious events, just send out the plain and simple greetings. Do not attempt to use these occasions to hit out at political opponents on differing religious fervours. It does nothing but dampen the happy occasion.

Politicians have no solutions

I’m quite perplexed at the response from Pakatan Rakyat on this latest eruption of the ‘Allah’ controversy. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said that he would call a meeting of top Pakatan leaders.

I have to ask what good would another meeting do when all these years, they have such strong, differing views and they had already disagreed on ways to resolve the ‘Allah’ stalemate.

Honestly, I don’t expect politicians to resolve religious disputes - not Anwar or Najib or PAS chief Hadi Awang or DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang or chairperson Karpal Singh or Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. No, not Barisan Nasional and not Pakatan Rakyat.

Who can really help to defuse religious tension, if not resolve religious disputes altogether? It’s you and I - ordinary folks with no self interest or ambition to protect. We make the better catalysts for change for the better, in any situation.

Early this week, I shared my thoughts with readers of a Sarawak daily about thinking out of the box in resolving religious disputes. I would like to share them with Malaysiakini readers as well for the purpose of reaching a wider audience.

I will start by conceding that I don’t think I’m a conformist by nature or by instinct. But there are times when one has to wake up to the realisation that one cannot play the rebel role all the time.

In life, there is always the necessity to make adjustments at the right time on the appropriate issues.

If we feel that taking a step backwards will help resolve a festering problem, then why not? It’s okay to chuck out our ego at times. What is a bruised ego if we can create peace and joy among men of goodwill? Isn’t this the message of Christmas?

Islamic nation, Christian state

Let’s look at one nagging issue - the contention by some that Malaysia is an Islamic state or PAS’ long ambition to turn the nation into one.

We have been debating, arguing and quarrelling over this for as long as I can remember.

At times, I like to look at the issue this way. Since the majority of Malaysians are Muslims and they practise the Islamic faith, it is not wrong to describe Malaysia as an Islamic nation.

Similarly, it is also not wrong to describe Sarawak as a Christian state because the majority of Sarawakians are Christians.

Islamic nation, Christian state - that sounds fine to me. Malaysians are people of great faith, aren’t they? They are men and women of god here. So let’s accept all that is good by viewing it from a positive angle.

If people ask me whether Malaysia is an Islamic country and Sarawak a Christian state, I will answer ‘yes’ to both.

I’m not wrong. All of you will have to agree with me on that, even if it’s only taking the demographic point of view.

That being the case, why are we still quarrelling over the issue? The demographics are proof enough.

Of course, there are other considerations. For one, non-Muslims are worried of the imposition of Islamic religious laws on them under an Islamic nation.

This is where the complications set in. This is why we have the endless debates and disputes. Not that they are totally invalid.

What's in a name?

What I wish to say here is that there is another way of looking at all these differences in religious views. We have to learn to give way and look at the whole issue from another perspective.

That is why I deliberately shut out the intrigues of religion from my mind. We know there will be no end to a religious debate.

If you ask me how I would resolve the ‘Allah’ issue, I would say that “my lord and god is not worried how I call him. He is probably more concerned about my faith in him than any term of address”.

If some people feel that I should not call my god ‘Allah’, that’s all right with me. I can still call him lord, god, father, yahweh, tuhan, saviour, messiah etc.

So what’s the big issue here? Oh, it’s about the written ‘Allah’ in the Bible! What, use ‘Tuhan’ lah - end of problem.

No, no, no - many of you will disagree with my stand. Call me stupid, reckless and idiotic if you wish.

That is my way of being a good Christian even if you think I’m an idiotic or a stupid follower of Christianity.

If it takes one to become stupid and an idiot to stop all those quarrels and rising tension over religious differences, then it’s all worth it.

Then again, in our private moment at home or in church, who cares if we whisper ‘Allah’ in our prayers? There you go!

Happy New Year, everyone. May Allah bless all of us.

FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a Catholic from Sarawak. He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com