State Spot: Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), is the capital of and the largest city in Malaysia with a population of 1.89 million. It houses the Malaysiam Parliament on which the country depends for cultural, economic, political and major transportation needs.
In 1952, election was introduced and it began with the KL municipal election. The idea of an alliance between UMNO and MCA evolved. On 8 Jan, the KL UMNO branch and the Selangor MCA branch made an official announcement that they would jointly contest the KL election. They won 9 out of 12 seats. When UMNO and MCA saw the pact as a workable formula to gain cross-communal support,, they moved towards closer cooperation in the pursuit of self-government. An Alliance was formalised in Feb. 1953.
After gaining independence from the British, KL remained as capital through the formation of Malaysia on 16 Sept 1963.
In Oct 1957, the Alliance Party - a coalition of UMNO, MIC and MCA - was registered as a political entity.
In 1969, racial tension broke out when the Alliance encountered a major setback albeit a simple parliamentary majority in the general elections. The May 13 incident took place in Kuala Lumpur. This resulted in many deaths and led to a state of emergency and suspension of Parliament until 1971 and eventually a reform in economic policy.
The recent March 2008 general elections saw the opposition parties, for the first time, dominating the majority of the constituencies. Barisan Nasional (BN, formerly Alliance) was left with only one representative, i.e. Federal Territories (FT) Minister Zulhasnan Rafique in the Setiawangsa seat.
Religious Overzealousness
Last year, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail suggested that the country's legal system be changed to take Islamic legal reference rather than English common law as its basis (Bernama, Aug. 26).
In June, two restaurants (owned by a Hindu and a Muslim) in Bangsar were raided by officers from the Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM), DBKL and the Domestic Trade and Industry Ministry. Religious pictures from both restaurants were confiscated.
In June, JAKIM declared the Celcom SMS contest un-Islamic as it was tantamount to betting, "and betting is a form of gambling which is forbidden in Islam" (Bernama, June 18).
In July, FT PAS Youth presented a memorandum to the KL mayor to cancel a concert by Inul Daratista, an Indonesian dangdut singer, because her dance movement was 'too sexy and immoral.'
In August, FT PAS Youth called for a ban on Avril Lavigne's concert. Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal subsequently rejected the application to hold concert on grounds that it coincided with the Merdeka period and religious programmes. However, the cabinet allowed the concert with certain conditions. On the 29th, a Muslim NGO organised a peaceful rally from Masjid Negara to Dataran Mederka in the afternoon, while PAS Youth distributed flyers in the evening at the stadium to show their disapproval.
In June 2007, the then Internal Security banned 37 books titles and publication on Islamic teachings on grounds that they contained 'twisted fact' that could undermine Muslims' faith. In November, the ministry banned another seven books fearing they would create confusion and anxiety among Muslims and harm public peace. In Jan 2008, 11 books were banned because the contents deviated from mainstream religious teaching. Recently in August, two books were banned for giving misleading view on Islam. One of the books, 'Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism,' had been distributed since 2005.
Body-snatching
Last Dec. 30, 54-year-old Wong Sau Lan died at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her husband was told that the body would be released only for the purpose of performing Christian rituals and must be returned to the FT Islamic Council for a Muslim burial. A certificate of conversion dated Dec. 31 stated that Wong converted to Islam on Dec. 24 at a flat in Cheras. Finally on Jan. 18, the KL High Court ordered Wong's body to be released for Christian funeral after the Islamic council retracted its claim that she had converted to Islam.
In April, Prime Minister Datuk Abdullah Badawi (Pak Lah) suggested a notice-to-convert requirement to prevent problems caused by disputed religious status of a deceased person. The announcement, lauded by some, was heavily criticised by many.
Conversion, apostasy & intolerance
The Bar Council forum on "Conversion to Islam: Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini and Shamala Revisited," held on Aug. 9, demonstrated not only deep distrust among religious groups but a close-mindset on dialogues related to religious matters.
The federal government had, in its various responses, been too quick to predict the consequence and discourage open dialogues, arousing unwanted sentiments among the people. Ironically, two days before the forum, Pak Lah had called for more interfaith dialogues in his address at the MCCBCHST dinner.
In response to calls for resolving marital problems involving conversion of one party Islam, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim (who has resigned from the position) said several amendments had been proposed.
Meanwhile the joint committee comprising Syariah and civil lawyers formed in April would be reactivated to solve inter-religious and other related issues, according to the Minister in charge of Islamic Matters in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. At the Dewan Rakyat in May, there was a call for an Act on apostasy.
"The questions we need to clarify are whether permission can be given for a Muslim to renounce Islam, how to stop Muslims from becoming an apostate, the issue of faith rehabilitation and the status of a Muslim convert who wish to return to his (or her) original religion," said Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, a BN member of Parliament from Batu Pahat (theSun, 6/5/08). There is no provision in the Federal Territories Islamic laws to convert out of Islam, nor is there any stipulation for apostasy.
Places of worship
In February 2007, KL City Hall (DBKL) identified 20 Hindu temples for relocation or demolition to make way for various development projects. At a meeting on Feb. 14 at DBKL, 20 Hindu temples were identified for relocation or demolition to make way for various development projects.
In March, a suit was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against five local authority officials for contempt of court. Apparently in February, the authorities had demolished Sri Maja Nageswari Temple in Ampang despite a court injunction prohibiting them from doing so.
Recently, the Malaysia Hindu Sangam was outraged when temples were left out in the KL Draft City Plan 2020. It asked if the move was part of a hidden agenda to remove religious sites (malaysiakini.com, 21/8/08).
In April 2008, Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal revealed that the government had planned to streamline the existing policies on construction and demolition of places of worship to be acceptable to all religious groups.
Freedom of expression
Recently, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) ordered all Internet service providers (ISPs) to block Malaysia Today website citing "insensitive, bordering on incitement" articles as the reason (the ban has been lifted).
Under the Multimedia Super Corridor's 10-Point Bill of Guarantees, the Government has promised to "ensure no Internet censorship."
Earlier in July, Catholic weekly Herald and Catholic Asian News received show-cause letters from the Home Ministry for reporting political issues on Anwar Ibrahim. Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit senior officer Che Din Yusof claimed they had violated permit conditions.
In May, Pak Lah called on the authorities to take action against Karpal Singh for saying that Sultan of Perak did not have jurisdiction over civil administration, a remark deemed seditious by UMNO politicians.
In April, the Home Ministry refused to renew the publishing permit of Tamil newspaper Makkai Osai for breaching licensing guidelines. The areas of violation were not specified. Permit was renewed after an appeal.
Corruption
Newly-elected Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali remarked that "… corruption is synonymous with City Hall (DBKL)" (malaysiakini.com, 7/4/08). On Sept 3, 15 residents from Medan Damansara lodged a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency against DBKL and its mayor for giving approval to hill development. A week before the report, a landslide occurred due to soil erosion from the hill (The Star, 3/9/08).
Pray
- For a stop to racial and religious exploitation by political parties and individuals;
- Clean and transparent civil administration, just and righteous governance;
- Sensible and fair-minded local authorities and religious bodies which uphold freedom of religion for all and respect all religions;
- The people to respect one another, are open-minded and willing to dialogue, do not easily succumb to the agenda of unscrupulous politicians or religious extremists; and
- Against the spirit behind materialism, extremism and apathy.
- The Church : to be salt and light, Christlike in all our ways, bearing witness and presenting ourselves as role models in the society for the sake of God’s glory; unity of all churches, particularly the larger and more self-sufficient churches.
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