Opposition losing Malay support in Perak

It was reported that Pakatan Rakyat has admitted to seeing a slight drop in Malay electoral support in Perak, almost a year after Barisan Nasional's controversial coup plunged the state into a crisis.

Ousted Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said that, based on a survey, Pakatan has lost about 7-8 percent of the Malay electorate in Perak.

He said, the decline has been particularly significant in rural areas which Pakatan has not been able to penetrate successfully.

“This is because the alternative media has not been able to challenge the traditional media like Utusan Malaysia and other newspapers.

"So we reverted to trying to maintain the status quo…but unfortunately, BN has menggula-gulakan (given sweeteners) to village folk.

During festive seasons, BN also made a concerted effort to meet the people in remote areas by giving a lot of goodies.

Conceding failure in luring back support, Nizar attributed this to two main issues that are “close to the Malay heart”.

The first was the allegation that Perak Pakatan had been 'giving face to the Chinese and has become a stooge of (Chinese-majority) DAP'.

“The second issue is that I had committed treased with regard to the palace, to the sultan.”

1Malaysia is better than middle path Malaysia

The eight values of 1Malaysia as articulated by Najib Razak are perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy.

It strongly emphasizes national unity, ethnic tolerance, and government efficiency.

The DAP’s “middle path” strategy, also named “Middle Malaysia”, was announced by party secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, at the party’s 15th national conference.

They wanted to show that the opposition was providing an alternative and fighting "for fair and equality for all Malaysians".

The strategy aim at projecting a collective image of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and broaden their common ground as they see slogans are not enough to draw support from people, instead the government must appeal to all communities.

In the past, DAP had found itself to be the target of those who branded the party as "a Chinese chauvinist establishment out to erode the special privileges of the Malays and undermine Islam, the national religion".

It is just like Information communication and culture minister Dr Rais Yatim said, DAP's "middle path" strategy being like “the owl pining for the moon” (Pungguk rindukan bulan) and the moon will not drop unless if Allah wills it."

Stop religious violence by banning the use of 'Allah' by Christians

Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz in an exclusive interview said, banning the use of 'Allah' by Christians was a pre-emptive move to stop outbreaks of religious violence in the nation.

However, he said, Christians in the two Malaysian Borneo states can continue to use the term 'Allah' for God in Malay print as they have done for the last 300 years.

“Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia cannot accept it as 'Allah' was never used in Christian preaching until recently and they questioned the motive behind the substitution of Tuhan for 'Allah'.”

He added that Christians should recognize that using 'Allah' in their worship and publications is sensitive to Muslims and that this issue was not going to be solved by going to court.

Muslim NGOs protect churches

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib quoting Quranic verses to stress that Islam forbids Muslims from insulting other religions and the desecration of places of worship.

It was reported that the 15-member Coalition of Muslim NGOs against the Misuse of the term 'Allah' has set up a 60-strong team of volunteers to protect churches in the Klang Valley.

Among the groups making up the coalition that issued the statement condemned the torching of churches by “irresponsible parties” are Teras, Perkasa, PPIM, Macma, Batas, PPM, PUM, JIM, Darussyifa, PKPIM, IRRIMM, AMB, and Kimma.

The coalition said that it would help the police to “ensure the safety of the Christian community and to protect their places of worship”.

The arson attacks on three churches in the Klang Valley were condemned as “un-Islamic” by Islamic leaders and the 60-strong team of volunteers to protect churches in the Klang Valley could be beneficial and believed can greatly help to reduce religious tensions.