If Christians in Malaysia win the right to use the word ‘Allah’, will it make much of a difference to the practice of Christianity in Malaysia? I honestly do not know the answer. My take, as native of Sarawak who is a Christian in the Roman Catholic Church: The ratio of priests to the faithful they served in Sarawak and else where in Malaysia is very low. The ratio of indigenous Sarawakian priest is even lower. There have and there will always be times when priests who are not yet conversant with the many native languages and dialects are sent to celebrate the sacraments in churches and village chapels for the Christian natives of Sarawak.The celebration of the sacrament of confirmation for example require a bishop to celebrate it and our bishops (only 3 serving full time, the other 3 are bishops emeritus in Sarawak) cannot be expected to know ALL the languages and dialects of native Sarawakians.Inevitably the sacraments are celebrated in the national language; bahasa melayu. Under these circumstances not only is the bible (lectionary actually) used in bahasa melayu but all the other books used in the service are also in bahasa melayu and these publications are peppered with Allah. The situation in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia is no different. The celebration of the sacraments for the Christian Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia and for Sarawakians and Sabahans residing there by necessity are in bahasa melayu. For the uninitiated, the Roman Catholics regard their Sacrament of the Eucharist as the source and the summit of their Christian life. Our life comes from GOD and to GOD our life aspire. If we are prevented from celebrating this sacrament then for all intent and purpose we are prevented from celebrating our belief and our faith. It is therefore not so much of the history and theology in Allah but of the basic fundamental rights of Christians to freely practice their faith and this right is enshrined in our constitution.The government of the day is attempting to deprive us of this right. Therefore it makes a huge difference for us. As I see it, this issue is not going to be fully and properly resolved in court. The national leaders of Pakatan Raykat have indicated that they have no issue with the non-muslims, in particular the Christians using Allah provided that Allah is not misused. Under the circumstances, the resolution could very well be in the ballot box.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:30:41 +0000
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