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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Vatican envoy: Najib declines comment while Paul Low calls for govt to be "more accommodating"

Vatican envoy: Najib declines comment while Paul Low calls for govt to be "more accommodating"
UPDATED VIDEOS INSERTED KUALA LUMPUR -  Amid calls from right-wing Muslim groups and even members of his own Cabinet, Prime Minister Najib Razak kept his lips zipped on whether he would take any action against the Vatican's envoy to Malaysia for expressing his views on Christians' right to use the word Allah to describe God.
Najib was stony-faced when door-stopped by Malaysia Chronicle.
However, this is not surprising given that the issue is a highly sensitive one in predominantly Muslim Malaysia, especially during the Ramadan fasting month, with the conservative in Najib's Umno party quick to sabre-rattle in defense of their religion.
Not only would Najib wish to avoid getting 'hit' in their crossfire with Vatican envoy to Malaysia Archbishop Joseph Marino, he might want to score brownie points by using his silence to signal sympathy for their calls to censure and even deport Marino.
However, keeping mum is also a double-edged sword as it could encourage fringe groups like Perkasa and Jati to become more extreme in their demands, and awaken global alarm at the signs of simmering fundamentalism in Malaysia, which critics have been warning are the result of decades of race-based and religion-based politicking.
It could also prompt a query from the Vatican, which would be a gross embarrassment to Najib as he was the prime minister who had initiated diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 2011 to redeem Malaysia's image as a moderate nation after a spate of church arson attacks that was condemned worldwide.
Be more "accomodating", Vatican has right to its viewpoints -  Paul Low
So far, within Najib's Cabinet, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, Sports Minister Khairy jamaluddin and Islamic Affairs Minister Jamli Baharom have been among those who have criticized Marino. More are expected to jump on the bandwagon.
Marino, who presented his credentials to the Malaysian King in May, was recently reported to have said that the Catholic church had the right to pursue through the courts the right to use Allah to describe God, a claim that many Muslims in Malaysia have rejected as to them, Allah is only for Muslims.
So far, only a few of the Christian leaders in Najib's government have expressed their views on the latest outburst. There is little doubt that many do not wish to antagonize Najib or his Umno party.
Senator Paul Low, a Christian and newly-appointed minister in Najib's Cabinet, however does not expect the issue to boil over. He believes that "we should be more accommodating" to the Vatican's viewpoints.
"It is up to them, I can't comment on them. Each of them has their own reason. As for me, I see it objectively," Paul told Malaysia Chronicle, when asked why did Najib and the Christian ministers in the Cabinet not speak up on the matter and allay the concerns of the Christians who form some 10% of Malaysia's 28 million population.
"The Vatican is a sovereign state. We have relations with many other sovereign nations, we speak about trade, we speak about investment, even politics. So as far as the Vatican is concerned, it is a sovereign state that deals with religion and with God. These are issues that they can speak about and we should be more accommodating to accept the viewpoints from the outside and after all as they look after the practice of religion especially of the Roman Catholics in any country."
Malaysia Chronicle

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