Malaysia PM defends Allah statements, seeks Rulers’ Council audience

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has defended his recent statements in Parliament regarding the usage of the word “Allah” and his government’s request for an audience with the Conference of Rulers on the matter. This comes after an Opposition MP accused him of misleading Parliament and attempted to refer him for disciplinary action.

Anwar clarified that there was no confusion in his statements, explaining that he had contacted the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) twice before the Cabinet made a decision on the issue. The first time was on February 7, in front of Cabinet ministers, and during the Cabinet meeting, he called the YDPA to discuss the new decision to refer the matter to the Rulers’ Council.

“There are two things, firstly the statement that was referred to the appeal to the court which was withdrawn, secondly about the amendment, which we referred to the Rulers’ Council about the amendment, which we confirmed was the decision of the previous Rulers,” Anwar explained in Parliament.

He further added that efforts were being made to streamline and abolish the rule in question. The Sultan of Selangor, who agrees with this move, suggested that the matter should be carefully examined by the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI). The Sultan of Selangor also stated that there should not be any problem, as the decision would confirm the previous Rulers’ Council’s decision and streamline the process to avoid confusion and ease enforcement work.

Anwar’s response came after Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Tanjong Karang MP Datuk Zulkafperi Hanapi raised a motion to refer the prime minister to the Rights and Privileges Committee for allegedly misleading the Dewan Rakyat in his reply last week regarding the usage of the word “Allah”.