TR EMERITUS

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani from The Malaysian Insider Datuk Zaid Ibrahim today condemned Umno and urged the government to take full responsibility for the church attacks. “It has to take full responsibility for the worsening of relations between people of different faiths in this country in its handling of the use of the word Allah. "The irresponsible conduct of fanning the emotions by Umno leaders has brought about this dangerous situation. What we see today confirms that this country is being governed not by engagement consultation, sophistication or persuasion but by brute and mob force,” he said in a press statement. Early this morning, a Protestant church was torched while homemade explosives were thrown at a Catholic church next to the Assunta Hospital. “The Umno-led government has the penchant to use force or flexing of authority in dealing with delicate issues. Take the case of the ban imposed on the Herald. They could easily have engaged in consultation with the church in Sabah and Sarawak. They should try to understand why the need to use the word Allah without any preconceived notions or prejudice. After all, they have been using the word Allah for many years before BN government acted to ban the Herald. "They could easily have also engaged in discussions with the various Muslim groups about their legitimate concerns on whether the church are surreptitiously converting Muslims and explore ways to address these concerns in spirit of dialogue and peaceful deliberations,” he said. He explained that there are already laws against converting Muslims but Umno instead chose to politicise the sensitive issue. “There is already a law against converting Muslims anyway. They could have done a lot more. But because of their lack of maturity and sophistication banning is the obvious choice. “They want instant popularity so fanning the emotions of Muslims becomes legitimate... and when the court ruled otherwise they then fan the Muslims to oppose the ruling. The people of this country will not escape the scourge of Umno-led rule until they decide once and for all to dislodge this government in the next available opportunity.” PAS has also reminded and warned its members not to engage in any demonstrations organised in the Kampung Baru Mosque, Shah Alam Mosque and the National Mosque after Friday prayers. The protest is being orchestrated by several Muslim NGOs in retaliation against the High Court's ruling on Dec 31 allowing the Catholic Church to use the word "Allah" in its weekly publication the Herald. PAS vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had said that the demonstration on the use of the word “Allah” is Umno’s position and not the party’s. "We call on all members of PAS in order not to be dragged in the same demonstration sponsored by Umno," he told party’s newspaper. PAS backs the use of the word Allah by Catholics because it is consistent with the federal Constitution and Islamic principles. Tuan Ibrahim instead asked the members to join the protest against the Egyptian government's unjust action that prevents entry of the Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza from the country. The demonstration organised by PAS Youth and other NGOs are expected to protest in front of the Egyptian Embassy after Friday prayers. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has also defended his government’s decision to allow angry Muslim groups to hold a nationwide protest against the “Allah” ruling, saying they have every right to do so. However, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan yesterday warned that action will taken against groups planning to stage protest rallies against the use of the word “Allah”. - The Malaysian Insider  Read More →

Malaysiakini, 8 January 2010 A church has been fire-bombed in an attack that gutted its ground floor, church officials said, escalating a dispute over the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Al least two other churches are also believed to have been attacked in the last 12 hours in the Klang Valley - the Assumption Church in Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya and the Life Chapel Church in Section 17, Petaling Jaya. A fire department official said all stations were on alert for more blazes at religious buildings, ahead of planned nationwide protests today by Muslim groups angry over the use of the word as a translation for 'God' by Christians. The three-storey Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, part of the Assemblies of God movement, was set ablaze in the attack which took place around midnight, said church leader Peter Yeow, 62. "Witnesses saw four people smash the glass and throw incendiaries into the church building. They came on two motorcycles," he told AFP at the scene as fire department forensic officers picked through the wreckage. There were no casualties in the attack on the church, which occupies the corner lot of a row of shop houses and which Yeow said draws some 1,500 people weekly. "The fire destroyed the administrative part of the church. We do not know if the prayer hall on the third floor suffered any damage," he said, warning all other churches to "double their guard" against any attacks. Anuar Harun, who headed the fire department operation, said that forensic experts were working with the police and a canine unit to probe the blaze. "We are investigating the cause of fire. We cannot provide any more details. It is a sensitive issue," he said when asked if it was a case of arson. "We have asked all our fire stations to be on alert for such fires on religious premises," he told AFP. Meanwhile Kuala Lumpur police chief Sabtu Othman said the police found one spanner and a kerosene container at the scene, along with two scorched helmets.He said that the police were investigating the matter under Section 436 of the Penal Code which can punish an offender to 20 years' jail and a fine. Meanwhile the Assumption church, which is located next to the Assunta Hospital, is believed to have come under attack at about 4am today. Church officials said that homemade firebombs were thrown into the Catholic church but fortunately they did not explode. A third church, in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, was also attacked last night, causing some damage to the outer building of the Life Chapel Church. Read rest of the article on Malaysiakini  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Dr Silviu Ionescu, the Romanian diplomat implicated in a double hit-and-run accident at Bukit Panjang on 15 December 2009 which had already claimed the life of an innocent young man has made an amazing U-turn and told Romanian journalists that he will not be returning to Singapore after all. Three days after the accident, Dr Silviu flew back to Romania seeking medical treatment for his diabetes. He had initially told the media that he will return to Singapore at the end of January to assist the Singapore police in its investigations. He also repeatedly denied that he was involved in the accident. Speaking to Romanian online news daily hotnews.ro, he said: “The press is free to report on anything it wants. I do not have any comment and it is not important anyway. All that matters is to establish the truth. The fact remains that the embassy car was stolen and I was not in it at the time of the accident.” On the decision of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the accident in Singapore, Dr Silviu said it is a normal procedure in such cases. “We are all ready to support the investigations carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office,” he added. Dr Silviu has since been recalled from his diplomatic position in Singapore by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aid in the investigations. He now says he would "assist" in the accident investigations from Romania. It is not known how the Romanian authorities are going to "investigate" the case when all the evidence and witnesses remain in Singapore. The Singapore police is still "investigating" the matter while there are no official statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs though Foreign Minister George Yeo did comment briefly that "what happened was very bad". Ms Yenny Young, the widow of Mr Tong Kok Wai, who was killed in the accident had expressed her disappointment that Dr Silviu Ionescu has been recalled back to Romania. In an email reply to us, Ms Young said that a staff from the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called her yesterday afternoon to express his condolences. He told her that the accident is a "big" case in Romania right now and that Romania's Prosecutor Office will conduct proper investigations to solve it. However, contrary to earlier reports by Romanian online newspaper click.ro, nobody from the Romanian embassy in Singapore has contacted Ms Young or her family yet. Despite all the evidence pointing towards Dr Silviu Ionescu as the key suspect in the case, he was allowed by the Singapore police to leave the country three days after the accident. Neither did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs applied for a waiver of his diplomatic immunity. It appears that the Singapore authorities are contented to let their Romanian counterparts deal with their own citizen, but according to lawyer Shashi Nathan, Romanian law may not have a provision for the prosecution of traffic offences committed by a Romanian citizen abroad. It has been almost a month after the accident and the Singapore police, as usual, is still "investigating" the matter. Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review (If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours) Related articles: 1. Email interview with Yenny Young, wife of Mr Tong Kok Wai 2. Dr Silviu Ionescu: fact remains that I was not in the car at the time of the accident 3. Investigating or procrastinating: Dr Silviu Ionescu still holidaying in Romania 4. George Yeo on Romanian embassy car crash: What happened is “very bad” 5. Online petition calls on Romanian govt to make ex gratias payment 6. Dr Silviu Ionescu: I took cab to notify car theft 7. Eye witness saw driver quarreling with a young girl in the car 8. Dr Silviu Ionescu: I have no connection with the case 9. Dr Silviu Ionescu flagged taxi at Sungei Kadut 10. From Romania with love: The Great Singapore escape of Dr Silviu Ionescu 11. Singapore police has not ruled out Dr Silviu Ionescu as a suspect in its investigations 12. Romanian diplomat suspected to be driver of Audi in hit and run accident at Bukit Panjang  Read More →