Stupid country!

I didn't say that. I am merely quoting what people elsewhere are saying. International medias have (naturally) reported the churches attacks. Read the comments left by their online readers and you will know how people who bothered to read anything about this tiny-country-who-thinks-way-too-highly-of-themselves think of us.

We are now close to being labeled a terrorist nation. Or have we not? The west have always suspected that we are a terrorist-harbouring-nation with endless supply of terrorist wannabes. After all, our past records of Malaysians linked with the likes of Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Sayyaf, Bali bombing and what-is-and what-not along with a company of the son of a certain former prime minister who helped shipped nuclear weapon parts aren't exactly traits of an angel nation. And now this.

The damage has been done. How are we going to move forward? Honestly, I do not know. The elections are still far away. Anger is burning. Malaysians are living in disbelief yet helpless and desperate for a change. Bite the bullet for now I say.

UMNO (and Zaid Ibrahim) want to have some interfaith dialogue. A dialogue as far as I know means discussion or conversation between 2 parties or more. But our Malaysian version is always 1 party telling the others what to do. That is not called a dialogue. As such, what is being proposed by UMNO is an UMNO Briefing.

We know what UMNO is going to do. You Christians - for the 'sake of the nation' and 'in the spirit of preserving the harmony and god-knows-what-other-bullshit built by our fore-fathers' - drop the demand for use of that A word. Many ignorant and chicken shit Malaysians are asking for this as well. But why should anyone give in?

First, we do not negotiate with terrorists. Yup! Picked up a thing or two from the many American movies I watched. If the Christians give in to the demands of UMNO, then whenever some other 'hot' matters come up, the minorities in this country will always be bullied into submitting to the whims and fancies of the majority. This is not harmonious living. This is living at the mercy of someone else. This is 2010. Days of tyranny and ruling by fear should have ended with King Henry VIII. We rakyat Malaysia should learn to fight for what is right and reject what is wrong.

Second, accepting that the Malaysian version of Islam having the absolute rights to the A word is a violation of the human rights of Christians in Malaysia - and in particular, the Malay speaking Christians.

We have Peninsular Christians asking that the Sabahan and Sarawakian Christians to drop the use of the A word. But these Peninsular Christians are living in a cocoon. Your Bible in the Peninsular is in English (and some Chinese). (Got Tamil version?) You speak English (or Chinese). So, you are very comfortable with English (or Chinese). But the Sabahans and Sarawakians speak Malay. The Malay language is the lingua franca to many of them. And that A word is the word that they have been brought up with. Why should they drop the use of it when no one in this world can claim the absolute use of any word in this world?

The Malays do not have copyright to this A word. It is not even a Malay word to begin with. It is an Arabic word. Why don't the Arabs come resolve this matter. Lets ask the Arabs what their Christians call their god. If you are surprise that there are Christians in the Middle East, then get out of your blardie cocoon.

Does it not surprise you that the major Islamic nations in the world have never made any noise on this issue? Indonesia has more than 200 million Muslims. And yet they have no problems with the A word printed all over the Bible written in Bahasa Indonesia. China has more Muslims than Malaysia. And the Chinese Muslims have no issue with that. Why? Because they understand that the A word means god. It does not mean the Muslim version of god. It is not even the name of god. Jesus is a name. Abdullah is a name. Ishmael is a name. Abraham is a name. But Allah is not a name. It is a reference to god - in Arabic! Just like 'god' is the reference to god in English.

Claiming absolute right to use of a word is as foolish as it gets. Are we then expecting that the Portuguese demand that the word 'bola' be dropped from the Malay language. 'Agama' is Sanskrit. 'Almari' is Tamil. And a whole lot of words borrowed from the Chinese, Persians, English, Dutch etc. Is this A word brouhaha not a joke? It definitely is anywhere out of Malaysia.

Today, UMNO wants the Christians to stop using the A word. Tomorrow the Chinese will have to stop eating pork. Next week, UMNO will demand that the Indians sell only halal beef. Are we going to submit to these nonsense? Are we going to set a precedent today and send UMNO a message that they can scare us into anything they want? Are we telling UMNO that human rights exist only in the western world we watch in the movies?

Do not set a precedent. Do not give in. Your actions today will dictate the lives of your following generations. Choose to secure your selfish motives today and your descendents will curse you when they are forced to live in fear and mercy of the government.

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