Thesun 2009-01-22 Page06 Govt Regrets Heralds Defiance On Use Of Allah

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theSun

| THURSDAY JANUARY 22 2009

news without borders

Govt regrets Herald’s defiance on use of ‘Allah’ by Husna Yusop [email protected]

PUTRAJAYA: The government yesterday expressed regret that Catholic weekly Herald has defied the ban on the use of the word “Allah” as a translation for “God” in its Jan 18 publication. While calling for a stop on public debates on the matter, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said he will ask the ministry’s legal division to see “what can be done” against the weekly. “Usually, we will study what happens when there is no compliance. Religious issues are very sensitive. That’s why I avoid debating about it. But if one religion decides to show its

strength and all sort of things, it is a bit dangerous,” he told a press conference after the ministry’s monthly assembly. “To me, it is best we sort it out in an environment which is non-confrontational, an environment of goodwill and understanding. That’s why we have taken this approach. “We did not take action, (but) we gave conditions so that they would not create problems.” Syed Hamid said Herald should have waited for the court’s decision, scheduled for Feb 27, instead of acting according to its own judgment and defying the cabinet’s decision to lift the ban imposed on its Malay edition. The ministry’s Publication and Quranic Text Control Division secre-

Mayor pledges good governance, transparency by Karen Arukesamy [email protected] KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad has promised good governance, transparency and accountability in fulfilling City Hall’s responsibility. “Good governance should be followed by regulations and enforcement. City Hall is working towards obtaining ISO in nine months time for quality management system,” he told a press conference after a meeting with the MPs in the Federal Territory yesterday. Nine MPs, except Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (MP for Bandar Tun Razak) and Federal Territory Minister Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique (Setiawangsa), were present. However, Ahmad said, City Hall could not promise it could solve all the problems raise by the MPs but would work based on priority and proper timing. Among the other aspects it be paying close attention to are cleanliness, safety and drainage in the residential areas. “We also expect participation from all the MPs and the public. We will work out a mechanism where

the public can meet City Hall to discuss various issues,” he said. Previously, there had been three proposals by the MPs: to have at least two representatives on the City Hall advisory board, to allow the MPs to be present at City Hall’s Management Committee meeting, and to have a combined service centre between City Hall and the MPs. Ahmad said these were outside his decision-making powers. He said meetings similar to the one yesterday would be held once every three or four months. “Minor issues involving their constituencies can be brought in writing or discussed with my officers. I prefer to discuss the bigger matters in the meetings,” he said. He said the meeting went well, with the MPs showing support and willingness to cooperate. Most of the MPs said they were satisfied with the meeting and were glad that their questions were responded to. Batu MP Tian Chua, Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said they hoped to have a closer working relationship with City Hall, and Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong felt the mayor was sincere in addressing the issues.

tary, Che Din Yusoh, was reported as saying on Jan 8 that the government had lifted the ban but maintained its decision to stop it from using the word “Allah” as it would confuse Muslims. Herald had last year challenged the ban on the word “Allah” in court, saying the translation has been used for centuries and the Arabic word is a common reference to God that predates Islam. On Tuesday, Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew said this week’s edition used the banned word and he intended to continue doing so until the court rules on the issue as “we find the restriction unacceptable”. “They should have waited for the court’s decision,” said Syed Hamid. “If they continue acting this way,

they are inciting conflict. In Malaysia, we have to avoid conflicts. Don’t think we are the only ones that are strong, that have rights. “If everyone wanted to show its own strength, there would be conflicts and it would create problems. We have been really flexible in this matter. We respect others and their religions.” . On certain weblogs still allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad and Islam in their postings, Syed Hamid said the police had investigated the matter and it was now up to the AttorneyGeneral’s (A-G) Chambers to act. “Any reports said to insult the Prophet will be investigated by the police,” he said. “Once investigation has been completed under the Sedition Act,

we will leave it to the A-G’s Chambers to decide whether to take action or not.” Syed Hamid said no arrests had been made. On another matter, he said retrenchment exercises by certain companiesshould start first with the foreigners as during this time of economic crisis, “there is no reason for us, legally or illegally, to bring in foreign workers”. “Don’t request for foreign workers and give all sorts of excuses that Malaysians cannot work,” he said. “We will discuss with the Human Resources Ministry so that in certain sectors like the manufacturing and services industries, we should not have foreign workers.”

Rare dengue symptoms puzzling, says expert by Karen Arukesamy [email protected]

Singapore facing worst-ever recession pg 17

PETALING JAYA: Researchers are racing against time to find out why some dengue patients are showing unusually severe health symptoms, a microbiologist told theSun on Tuesday. “The cases are rare but it has been happening. They look like isolated cases and the symptoms are different among such patients,” said University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Microbiology Department head, Prof Dr Suzaly Abu Bakar. Among the “rare” symptoms recorded to date are epilepsy, hepatitis or organ failures. “We do not know the reasons for such occurrences but medical researches have found that people who have had dengue before are at a higher risk of developing such life threatening symptoms,” he said. Suzaly said it may be due to the high virus load or because of the patients’ other underlying illnesses like diabetes, obesity

or old age. “I am not saying all these categories of people will develop the (dengue) virus but they are at a higher risk,” he said. “And for those who have had dengue before, they face a higher risk of severe fever if they catch the virus a second or third time. “We at the Tropical Infectious Disease Research and Education Centre in Universiti Malaya are trying to find out who among the people are prone to develop these severe and unusual symptoms,” said Suzaly. He said Brazil had more than one million dengue cases last year but they had very few deaths. Therefore, he said, research is being conducted to find out whether it is due to the genetic predisposition among Malaysians or other reasons. Suzaly also explained why early detection of the dengue virus is important because “many cases of people who have had ordinary fever for a

day or two may not realise that they are asymptomatic (without symptoms) and the virus is still in their blood. “Normally, people would do the serology test to check if they have dengue but that test can only be done if one has fever for five days or more. If the virus is still in their blood, they would not know it till the fever becomes severe because they do not have the usual symptoms or are asymptomatic,” he stressed. He advised the public to make efforts to go to reference hospitals like Kuala Lumpur Hospital, UMMC or Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia where the Polymrase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests are conducted for early detection. Suzaly also pointed out that Malaysia’s strategy to check the spread of dengue “has always been wrong”. “The mosquito is the sole target. It’s not just the mosquito, but it’s about detecting the virus in people who are asymptomatic,” he said.

Stranded rare blue whale dies KUALA TERENGGANU: The blue whale that beached on Batu Buruk is said to be a Kogia Breviceps (Pygmy Sperm Whale), a species rarely found in Malaysian waters, Terengganu Fisheries director Munir Mohd Nawi said yesterday. He said the 3.14m female blue whale, weighing an estimated 150kg, had critical injuries with scratches on its body and pectoral fins. “The whale was still alive when it was washed ashore at about 9.30pm on Tuesday but died an hour later because of the injuries,” he told reporters. Munir said the carcass would be preserved and kept in the fisheries gallery in Dungun for display and student research. The whale was found alive on the Batu Buruk beach but died after attempts to drag it back into the water failed because of strong waves. – Bernama