# Malaysia: Islamic fundamentalism vs secularism, etc



## CougarKing (30 Aug 2009)

More ethnic tensions that will eventually lead to civil war?  

http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/ap/20090830/tap-as-malaysia-independence-b3c65ae.html



> *Malaysia's National Day soured by new racial woes*
> Updated August 30, 2009 03:00 PM
> 
> KUALA LUMPUR (AP) — *Malaysia's National Day celebrations this week have been soured by new racial troubles as minority ethnic Chinese and Indians fear Muslim Malay nationalists are gaining power.
> ...


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## Colin Parkinson (30 Aug 2009)

Part of the problem is that the Malay's have grown up with a sense of entitlement, there is a major affirmative action program for Malays only that gets them hired and provides low interest loans, schooling, every board must have a Malay on it. Well educated Malays may sit on numerous boards collecting a salary and not required to show up, just to meet the law. That was fine when Malays represented about 40% of the population, but as their numbers grow, the state is running out of money to support these programs, along with having to pay for price controls of gas and flour. As the reality is starting to hit home, there is a lot of discontented youth. large gangs on scooters are becoming a serious problem and some of them are used by the politicans as mechanized storm troopers to intimidate areas that vote incorrectly. Another issue is that the ruling party is starting to lose grip on it's power and are openly screwing the other side. This does not sit well with a population that have been led to believe they lived in a "Democratic country" (More like a benevolent dictatorship)
The Chinese are screwed with by limiting the number of Chinese schools and language training in mandarin, but the politicans are a tad careful with them as they represent the wealth making machine of the country. The Indians are fair game as far as the Malay trouble makers are concerned, limited economic and political status makes them weak. In January was drinking with a bunch of well to do Indian and Chinese that are friends of my wife. They are deeply worried about the future and expect to have to flee at some point and are preparing for the worst case scenario. 
The only saving grace is that the Malays are easy going by nature and I suspect must require a significant investment to keep them radicalized. They are also used to a higher standard of living then other countries like Indonesia and won't be happy with people that interfere with the gravy train.
Malaysia also suffers a significant illegal immigration issue from Indonesia, Thailand and Burma. This creates large unemployment when there are downturns and crimewaves which is what is happening now. Ironic that Malays cry a great deal over there Muslim brothers in Palestine, but have few kind words for their brothers in Indonesia, I guess distance makes the heart grow fonder.


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## CougarKing (10 Nov 2009)

A related update:

To think that a language as complex as Malaysia's _Bahasa_ (Not to be confused with the _Bahasa_ used in Indonesia) didn't have a word for "God" before the arrival of the first Middle/Near Eastern traders who brought Islam with them and thus the word "Allah". But then again, even the people of the Malay peninsula weren't exactly a united society back then so there was little chance for standardization of language. 



> http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/29/malaysia.bibles.seized/
> 
> (CNN) -- *Authorities in Malaysia have seized more than 20,000 Bibles in recent months because they refer to God as "Allah," Christian leaders said Thursday.*
> The seizures have fed fears among minority groups, which see signs of encroaching Islamic fundamentalism in the predominantly Muslim but multi-racial country.
> ...


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## Colin Parkinson (10 Nov 2009)

In theory the Malaysian constitution allows freedom of religion and that people can convert to the religion of their choice, this of course flies in the face of Sharia law that also has legal standing there. Everyone has a national ID card and that card states their religion. People have applied to have their religion changed from Islam to other and then have the change refused. When the people take their case to court, the courts avoid the fundamental issues by denying the case on technicalities, thereby avoiding making a ruling.


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## CougarKing (4 Jan 2010)

The Malaysian government's precarious balance between religious fundamentalism and secularism seems in question with this development.



> * Malaysians are flocking online to debate a contentious court ruling that allows local Roman Catholics to use the word Allah as a translation for God*.
> The Internet is one of the few means of expression that isn't tightly controlled by the state in Malaysia, and ethnic-Malay Muslims as well as minority ethnic-Chinese and Indian Malaysians have been logging on in droves to comment on the New Year's Eve high court ruling. The deluge underscores the importance of the Internet to political debate in Malaysia, as well as the depth of feeling that the verdict has provoked in the Muslim-majority country.
> 
> *The ruling overturned a three-year-old government ban on the Catholic Church using the Arabic word Allah as a translation for God. The government Sunday said it would file an appeal.
> ...





http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126259010522914545.html


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## Colin Parkinson (8 Jan 2010)

Malaysia has kept the lid on it's radicals for sometime, but there has been trouble brewing under the surface for awhile. While scooters are common in Malaysia, the various hardcore elements in he political parties have been known to use gangs of youths on scooters to do their dirty work and to intimidate opponents.




Three Malaysian churches have been targeted with fire-bombs, leaving one badly damaged, in an escalating dispute over the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

As Muslim groups prepared to hold nationwide protests, police stepped up security around churches after one in suburban Kuala Lumpur was set ablaze in a midnight attack that gutted its ground floor.

Molotov cocktails were thrown into the compounds of two other churches but did not cause serious damage.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein appealed for calm amid the conflict over the use of Allah as a translation for God by Christians, and moved to assure minorities in Malay-dominated Malaysia that "they are safe".

"I take the events that happened last night very seriously," he told a press conference.

"We want to assure the public that this was not a coordinated and well-planned action."

"Let's hope for the best in a few hours' time," he said of the protests planned for after Friday prayers, centred on the national mosque in the capital.

Police chief Musa Hassan said officers had been deployed to protect churches around the country and to monitor protests at mosques, following the attacks and phone threats against churches.

Amid conflicting statements from the government and police over whether the protests would be allowed to go ahead, Musa said police would not enter mosque compounds but would advise crowds to disperse.

"If you try taking any action that will affect security, then we the police will take action," he said. Pribumi Perkasa, one of the groups organising the demonstrations, condemned the fire-bombings but warned that Muslim Malays, who dominate the population, were deeply concerned.

"We will continue to voice our feelings in protests today because you cannot stop the outflow of feelings on this issue," the group's president, Ibrahim Ali, told AFP.

"I think it may have been because of restricting Muslims from voicing their anger and fears that the church attacks took place.

You must understand that if Muslims are unhappy, I'm sure there will be no peace in this country."

The High Court last week ruled in favour of the Catholic Herald newspaper which has used Allah as a translation for God in its Malay-language section.

The government has said the word should be used only by Muslims.

The ruling was suspended on Wednesday pending an appeal, after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict in Malaysia, which is home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

The ground floor of the three-storey Metro Tabernacle church, part of the Assemblies of God movement, was destroyed in the fire-bombing.

"Witnesses saw four people smash the glass and throw incendiaries into the church building.

They came on two motorcycles," church leader Peter Yeow told AFP, warning other churches to "double their guard" against any attacks.

Several hours later, the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Kuala Lumpur's southwest was targeted, parish priest Philip Muthu said.

"I was awoken by men riding on motorcycles who threw a kerosene bomb into the church compound," he told AFP, adding that the fire damaged part of the grounds.

A Molotov cocktail was also thrown into the front porch of the nearby protestant Life Chapel church.

"The bomb damaged the wall and plants in the area but thankfully no one was injured," said church elder Wong Sai Wong.

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.

The row over the use of Allah is among a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".

More than half of Malaysia's Catholics are from indigenous groups, most of whom live in the Borneo island states and who mainly speak Malay.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1167437/Malaysia-church-fire-bombed-ahead-of-protests


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## CougarKing (8 Jan 2010)

More:

From TIME via Yahoo news



> Why are the Christians claiming Allah?" asks businessman Rahim Ismail, 47, his face contorted in rage and disbelief. He shakes his head and raises his voice while waiting for a taxi along Jalan Tun Razak, a main thoroughfare in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. "Everybody in the world knows Allah is the Muslim god and belong to Muslims. I cannot understand why the Christians want to claim Allah as their god," Rahim says as passers-by, mostly Muslims, gather around and nod in agreement.
> 
> 
> The reason for their anger is a recent judgment by Malaysia's High Court that the word Allah is not exclusive to Muslims. Judge Lau Bee Lan ruled that others, including Catholics who had been prohibited by the Home Ministry from using the word in their publications since 2007, can now use the term. She also rescinded the prohibition order freeing the Malay language–edition of the Catholic monthly The Herald to use Allah to denote the Christian god. After widespread protests, however, the judge granted a stay order on Jan. 7. The same day the government appealed to the higher court of appeal to overturn the ruling. The anger seemingly turned violent late Thursday night after masked men on motorcycles firebombed three churches in the city, gutting the ground floor of the Metro Tabernacle Church located in a commercial building in the Desa Melawati suburb of the capital. The attacks, which police said appeared uncoordinated, were condemned by the government, opposition MPs and Muslim clerics alike. On Friday Muslims demonstrated in scores of mosques across the country but the protest was peaceful. In the mosque in Kampung Baru, a Malay enclave in the city, Muslims held placards that read "Leave Islam Alone! Treat Us As You Would Treat Yourself! Don't Test Our Patience!" This, amid cries of "Allah is Great!" (See pictures of Islam's soft revolution in Cairo.)
> ...


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## CougarKing (10 Jan 2010)

More violence:

From the Associated Press via Yahoo News



> KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – *Eight churches have been attacked over three days amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims, sparking fresh political instability that is denting Malaysia's image as a moderate and stable Muslim-majority nation.
> 
> The unprecedented attacks have set off a wave of disquiet among Malaysia's minority Christians and strained their ties with the majority Malay Muslims. About 9 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Christian, most of whom are ethnic Chinese or Indian. Muslims make up 60 percent of the population and most are ethnic Malays.
> The attacks were a blow to racial unity espoused by Prime Minister Najib Razak under his "1Malaysia" slogan since taking power in April, and posed a headache for him as he seeks to strengthen his ruling coalition after its losses in 2008 general elections.*"It showed that, after 52 years of living together, nation building and national unity is in tatters," said Charles Santiago, an opposition Member of Parliament. "The church attacks shattered notions of Malaysia as a model secular Muslim nation in the eyes of the international community.
> ...


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## CougarKing (27 Jan 2010)

An update:someone sending a message that outrages the Muslims in Malaysia.

Associated Press link



> By SEAN YOONG, Associated Press Writer Sean Yoong, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 17 mins ago
> KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – *Worshippers found severed heads of pigs at two Malaysian mosques Wednesday following a spate of firebomb attacks on churches amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians, officials said. *
> It was the most serious incident to hit Islamic places of worship following vandalism and other assaults at 11 churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque and two Muslim prayer halls across the Muslim-majority country in the past three weeks. Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims.
> The attacks followed outrage among Muslims over a Dec. 31 court verdict that allowed non-Muslims to use "Allah" as a translation for "God" in the Malay language. Many Malaysian Muslims believe the word should be exclusive to their religion, and that its use by others could confuse some Muslims and even lure them to convert.
> ...


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## Edward Campbell (12 Feb 2010)

More on the current ‘crisis’ in Malaysia, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from the _Foreign Affairs_ web site:

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/65961/joseph-chinyong-liow/no-god-but-god?page=show


> No God but God
> *Malaysia's "Allah" Controversy*
> 
> Joseph Chinyong Liow
> ...



The Malay “ethno-religious primacy” is expressed in many ways, beyond religious matters – as has already been mentioned here. There is considerable ‘socio-economic preferment’ for ethnic Malays/Muslims (almost always one in the same) and this causes resentment in the large and highly _productive_ ethnic Chinese Malay minority. Malaysia 'buys' tolerance and social peace; productivity matters.


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## Colin Parkinson (12 Feb 2010)

Taken from Wiki
_The demographics of Malaysia is represented by the multiple ethnic groups that exist in this country. Malaysia's population, as of September 2008[update], is estimated to be 27,730,000, which makes it the 43rd most populated country in the world.[1] Of these, 5.44 million Malaysians live in East Malaysia and 21.2 million live in Peninsular Malaysia.[2] Malaysian population continues to grow at a rate of 2.4% per annum; about 34% of the population is under the age of 15. Malays and other Bumiputera groups make up 65% of the population, Chinese 26%, Indians 8% and other unlisted ethnic groups 1%. [3]

Population distribution is uneven, with some 20 million residents concentrated in the lowlands of Peninsular Malaysia, which has an area of 131,598 square kilometers and is slightly smaller than the State of Louisiana in the United States._

The three main problems facing Malaysia right now

1.	Is that the UMNO is losing it’s stranglehold on power and is getting nasty in it’s attempt to hold on. I think it hopes to use the “Allah” issue to split up the opposition.
2.	Malays now make up the majority of the population and have grown up with a “preferred status” in jobs, education and benefits. The government is running into difficulty in maintaining the payments to keep the status quo. If they fail to maintain this, they will lose power. The problem is that the main opposition group PAS is even more fundamental than the current government, going by state level experience they will quickly alienate non-Malays.
3.	Countries like Vietnam and Cambodia are cutting into the markets that Malaysian products are sold to. Malaysia cannot compete with the lower labour costs there. This means less money for the government and less jobs, see problem #2  

Some of the local issues to give you an idea. Ipoh is where my wife comes from.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/17309-perak-politics-in-disarray


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## Edward Campbell (17 Feb 2010)

And more, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s _Globe and Mail_:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/malaysia-breaks-gender-barrier-canes-three-women/article1470909/


> Malaysia breaks gender barrier, canes three women
> *Women whipped for having sex out of wedlock, the first time the Islamic punishment meted out to women in the Southeast Asian country*
> 
> Niluksi Koswanage
> ...



There is a huge fear, I think, amongst Malaysia’s large, highly productive Chinese minority that the ethnic Malays will try to extend _Sharia_ to the Chinese. Singapore doesn’t have room for millions of Chinese refugees so (a) violent separatist movement(s) is/are the more likely outcome IF that were to happen.


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## Colin Parkinson (18 Feb 2010)

My wife is a Malay/Indian Muslim, but her friends are all either Indian or Chinese. Sitting around drinking with them it is clear they feel their days in Malaysia are numbered and are planning for their kids future being elsewhere. They don’t want to leave as they love the land. But they are quietly afraid. UMNO is a wounded and dying beast, which makes them dangerous and unpredictable. If the Chinese leave in large numbers the industrial economy will fail, without that the rural economy will not be able to sustain the cost of the programs that offers perks to Malay’s.
To give an example, a Malay qualifies (based solely on race)  for a government bank account that is currently paying 8% interests, down from a high of 15%. The government will loan a Malay money at 4% to put into the 8% account. The government also pays to stabilize the price of gas, rice and flour. Every large business is required to have a % of Malays employed there and each board is required to have at least one Malay on them as well. Also they give major perks to their government employees such as paid/subsidized housing. Here is google map link to the area where my wife sister just got a house from the government. Just so you can get an idea how much they spend on this sort of stuff, the main centre of government is just to the west.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Kuala+Lumpur,+Selangor,+Malaysia&sll=54.392553,-126.643524&sspn=0.321427,0.946198&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FZpVMQAdGfIPBg&split=0&hq=&hnear=Kuala+Lumpur,+Selangor,+Malaysia&ll=2.947905,101.716232&spn=0.015708,0.027831&t=h&z=16


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## CougarKing (30 Jul 2016)

Crows circling as Najib's govt. falters in the wake of recent scandals?

Reuters



> *Long bitter enemies, Malaysia's Anwar and Mahathir join forces against premier Najib*
> By: Joseph Sipalan and Praveen Menon, Reuters
> July 21, 2016 7:04 PM
> 
> ...


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## Colin Parkinson (8 Aug 2016)

Adds new meaning that Anwar has Dr M's back.......(a Malaysian would get it)  [


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Ibrahim_sodomy_trials


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