DAPSY against ‘Allah’ for East Malaysians only

By Clara Chooi

IPOH, Jan 16 — The DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) has slammed the idea that only East Malaysian Christians may use “Allah”, saying it went against the 1 Malaysia concept promoted by the ruling Barisan Nasional government.

It also criticised the string of attacks against houses of worships across the country, adding that it feared that if the government did not intervene quickly, the violence could very well worsen.

DAPSY chairman Anthony Loke Siew Fook said today that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’s statement that only Christians in East Malaysia would be allowed to use the word “Allah”, went against the fundamentals of the 1 Malaysia concept for it suggested two different systems in one country.

“How can you preach 1 Malaysia when you have two systems of practices in one country? Is Sabah and Sarawak not part of our country?

“We cannot have this if we are seriously seeking for a solution,” he said in a press conference after the DAPSY national special congress at the Syuen Hotel here this evening.

He added that the government and the police needed to seriously address the issue instead of downplaying it.

“We cannot agree with the home minister when he said that this was not a big deal and that the physical damages to the places of worship were not very big.

“What about the reputation of the country? It has been blemished by all these attacks. We are very disappointed that our home minister does not seem to be taking this seriously,” he said.

Loke said that even if the incidences were “isolated”, as the ministers claim, something still had to be done.

“It is not about the fact that the damages were small — glass broken or a door hit. These small damages can create big tensions.

“The implications can be huge as far as racial and religious harmony is concerned,” he said.

He added that that wing would stand in support and solidarity with the entire Christian community in the country over the attacks.

In just under two weeks, the country witnessed 10 attacks on churches, believed to be over the controversial “Allah” issue, and the dispute worsened today when a mosque — the first since the attacks started — was vandalised in Sarawak.

The attacks began soon after the High Cour