KUCHING, March 18 — Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan today slammed the initiator of a bipartisan Borneo petition asking the federal government to discontinue its appeal against the High Court’s quashing of a decades-old government ban on the word “Allah” in Christian publications.
She said the petition started by Sabah Opposition MP Datuk Wilfred Madius from United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) had left out the names of many leaders in the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“That leaves me to wonder why start a petition that claims to represent the voice of political leaders in Sarawak and Sabah, yet left out the signatures of all the prominent political leaders of Sarawak ruling parties?” she asked in a statement.
Kho said she had checked with some GPS leaders who told her they were unaware of the purported bipartisan petition as they had not received it.
She said initially she felt proud of the bipartisan petition from Sabah and Sarawak political leaders to the federal government to withdraw the appeal against the High Court’s ruling declaring the ban of using Allah by non-Muslims as unconstitutional, but was disappointed at the exclusion of many GPS leaders.
“It is then apparent to me that the bipartisan petition wasn’t for the fight of freedom to use the word Allah but to discredit GPS leaders,” she said.
Kho said a Sarawak DAP leader Michael Kong took the omission to accuse GPS and SUPP leaders of being non-supportive.
She added that racial and religious harmony is precious and unique to Sarawak, and that all Sarawakians have a responsibility to protect it.
Among the prominent GPS leaders whose names are missing from the petition are Deputy Chief Ministers Datuk Douglas Uggah and Tan Sri James Masing, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Assistant Ministers Datuk Dr Pengguang Mangil, Datuk John Sikie, Datuk Liwan Lagang, Datuk Francis Harden and Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
None of Sarawak’s Muslim ministers, assemblymen, and MPs were on the bipartisan petition list.
SUPP was also not named as among the political parties from Sarawak and Sabah supporting the petition, but its deputy president Datuk Seri Richard Riot and Senator Robert Lau were on the list.
In a joint statement on March 16, a total of 54 federal and state lawmakers from Sabah and Sarawak banded together in a bipartisan effort to ask the federal government to discontinue its appeal against the High Court’s quashing of a decades-old government ban on the word “Allah” in Christian publications.
They also urged for national reconciliation and for the government to let the High Court’s decision stand in order to see an end to the pain felt by the local Christian community — especially in Sabah and Sarawak — who mainly speak Bahasa Malaysia and their indigenous languages — languages which use the word “Allah” to refer to God.
The statement was signed by 18 members of the Dewan Rakyat and four members of Dewan Negara who are all from Sabah and Sarawak, nine Sabah assemblymen and 23 Sarawak assemblymen, and several independent lawmakers.
Ten political parties named in the petition too. They are: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Sarawak’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak’s Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), SUPP, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Parti Warisan Sabah, Upko, DAP and PKR.
