Learn from Sabah and accept diversity, says Yahya

KOTA KINABALU: A senior state leader said Malaysians in the peninsula have much to learn from Sabah about the high-level of acceptance among the diverse communities here.

Weighing in on the Allah issue, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin said there was no problem for non-Muslims in Sabah to use the word.

“To me it does not matter if non Muslims use the word Tuhan, God or Allah,” he said at a gathering at the Putatan People’s Development Leader office here on Thursday.

He said this acceptance should be emulated by Malaysians particularly those in the peninsula.

Yahya, the state Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, said any issue or problem could not be resolved through constant bickering or confrontation.

Last month, Housing and Local Government minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said Christians in Sabah and Sarawak had been using the Alkitab or Bahasa Melayu version of the Bible containing the word Allah before the formation of Malaysia.

 

He said this piece of the nation’s history should be respected.

Abdul Rahman, however, noted that the people of the two east Malaysian states should reciprocate and respect the sensitivities of Muslims in the peninsula as well.

“Our histories are different, and the kalimah Allah and Alkitab issue in the peninsula Malaysia emerged out of different sensitivities and historical background,” he had said.

Last October, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling resulting in the Catholic church weekly newspaper the Herald being banned from using the word Allah.

In November, the Sultan of Selangor issued an edict prohibiting non-Muslims in the state from using the Allah word.