KUALA LUMPUR – Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming is at risk of being arrested under Selangor’s Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988 over his recent post on X.
Nga’s original Bahasa Malaysia post on X, which he later deleted due to public backlash, read: “Happy Pongal to all friends celebrating this festival. Hope that (all) are always blessed by Ilahi.
The word “Ilahi” when published in writing or public speech or statement to express any fact, belief, idea, concept, act, activity, matter or thing of or about any non-Islamic religion is an offence under Sections 9(1) and (2) of the Selangor enactment, which would make the person, if convicted, be liable to a fine of up to RM1,000.
Part I of the Schedule in the enactment provides a list of words prohibited from association with non-Islamic religions in Selangor, including Allah, Firman Allah, Ulama, Hadith, Ibadah, Kaabah, Kadi, Injil, Qiblat, Wahyu, Rasul, Mufti, Khalifar, Nabi, and Imam, among others.
Part II includes expressions such as Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Lailahaillallah, Walalliahilham, Allahu Akbar, and Insyaallah, among others.
Section 12 of the enactment grants authorised officers the power to investigate and arrest without a warrant any person suspected of committing an offence under this enactment.
Following the backlash, Nga removed the X post today, two days after its initial publication.
Commenting on Nga’s controversial post, Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor advised non-Muslims in Malaysia to refrain from using the term “Ilah” when referring to any god of religions other than Islam.
“According to the fatwa issued by several fatwa agencies in the Middle East, it is haram (prohibited) to use the name ‘Ilah’ for god that is worshipped other than Allah Ta’ala – the one true God in Islam.
“This is because the word ‘Allah’ itself comes from the word ‘Ilah’ that is added with ‘al’ to become a proper noun,” Wan Salim told Scoop today.
“The concept of ‘the one true God’ in the perspective of Islam that was enshrined in the Quran is in the nature of ‘Esa’ (one and only) and it cannot be duplicated and there is nothing comparable to (Allah),”
He emphasised the importance of respecting the sensitivity of the Muslim community by refraining from using words associated with “Allah” when referring to gods of other religions to avoid controversy. – January 14, 2024