Jan 6, 10
6:27pm
That in Sabah the Catholics have been using the term 'Allah' during the pre-Malaysia period is blatantly untrue. Being a colonial state, the people of North Borneo then had no regards at all for the Malay language (Indonesian language included).
How could it be claimed that the Catholics then were using Indonesian literature with the term 'Allah' for their preaching material? Granted that the people spoke 'pasar' Malay then and the non-Muslim communities would refer to God as 'Tuan Ala'.
But this term would be used only when they spoke with the Malays or Muslims in reference to the Muslim God. Thus to claim that the term 'Allah' has been used by the Catholics or by Christian teachings is highly irresponsible and mischievous.
Unfortunately, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has fallen for this without getting his facts properly. In doing so, he has hurt
Once again, this reflects the typical attitude of the 'west' Malaysian leaders when dealing with Sabah. Even in the face of such a very important issue the Muslims in Sabah, for these leaders, as long as the 'west' is safe and comfortable, everything is okay and Sabah is not a factor at all.
Coming back to the issue of use of the term 'Allah' by the Catholics, there are so many terms that can be used without having to disregard the sacredness of the word to Muslims. Try the Kadazan or Chinese dictionary. Otherwise 'Tuan Ala' should suffice.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/121302