VZCZCXRO4620
OO RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDH RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM RUEHJS
RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHNH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKL #0014/01 0111034
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111034Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3671
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2892
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0698
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000014 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR EAP/MTS AND INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA: UPDATE ON THE "ALLAH" ISSUE AND CHURCH ATTACKS 
 
REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 11 -- THREE CHURCHES ATTACKED 
        OVERNIGHT 
     ¶B. KUALA LUMPUR 03 -- COURT RULING ON THE USE OF 
        'ALLAH' 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Following three separate attacks on 
churches over the night of January 7-8 (ref A), unknown 
individuals made another nine attacks on churches and a 
mosque over the weekend, according to senior police officials 
at a special briefing for the diplomatic corps on January 11 
at the Ministry of Home Affairs.  Police briefers stressed 
that the incidents were sporadic and not planned, and that 
the Government was committed to protecting religious 
facilities across the country and to ensuring civil order. 
The police and senior Home Affairs officials clarified the 
government's position in the 'Allah' case (ref B) and 
stressed how sensitive the issue is to ethnic Malays.  They 
indicated investigations into the attacks are ongoing but 
that no concrete leads have been developed.  They also 
provided details of the church attacks but stressed that the 
actual damage, except in the first attack, was relatively 
minor.  Both the Prime Minister and Home Minister issued 
statements over the weekend committing the government to 
tough actions against perpetrators of these crimes.  The 
Prime Minister also promised assistance to rebuild and repair 
damaged churches, the Prime Minister's Department said 
interfaith dialogues would be held, and Muslim NGO groups 
offered help guarding churches. While many weekend editorials 
expressed dismay at the attacks, some continued to defend the 
right of Muslims to demonstrate and express anger about the 
High Court's December 31 ruling that the GOM's prohibition on 
the Catholic Herald's use of the word 'Allah' was 
unconstitutional.  End Summary. 
 
ATTACKS CONTINUE OVER THE WEEKEND 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) As of January 11, there have been eleven attacks on 
churches, and one on a small mosque, in Malaysia since the 
first three attacks overnight on January 7 (ref A).  Over the 
January 9-10 weekend, eight more churches and a small mosque 
were attacked, raising the total to twelve.  Unlike the first 
few attacks on January 8, which only took place in Kuala 
Lumpur and nearby Selangor, incidents over the weekend 
occurred in other parts of the country: in addition to one 
more in the KL area, there were three in Perak, one in 
Malacca, one in Penang, one in Negeri Sembilan, and one in 
Sarawak (on Malaysian Borneo).  According to police, most of 
the attacks involved hit-and-run tactics, whereby the 
attackers would throw poorly made Molotov cocktails, bricks, 
or plastic bags full of paint on the churches.  None of the 
additional attacks caused damage valued at over 1,000 
Malaysian Ringgit (RM) (approximately $300 USD), and only one 
person was lightly injured: a pastor, when confronting three 
attackers who stormed into his church, was pushed to the 
ground. 
 
BRIEFING THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Home Affairs Secretary General Mahmood Adam led a 
government briefing of the diplomatic corps on January 11 at 
the Home Ministry.  The DCM, Poloff, and RSO attended from 
the Mission.  SecGen Mahmood began by stressing that "things 
are under control", noting that no incidents had occurred 
over the last 12 hours.  (Note: There was another attack that 
took place during the previous night, but news of the attack 
was not released until after the briefing.  End Note.)  He 
emphasized the government's commitment to protect religious 
facilities.  Mahmood and the briefing team devoted a 
significant amount of time to laying out the background and 
government's position with regard to the 'Allah' case and its 
appeal to the Court.  Mahmood commented that the government's 
case was focused on "publication" of the word Allah by 
non-Muslim groups and not on the casual oral use of the word. 
 He asserted that this is a very sensitive issue among Muslim 
Malays that foreigners would find difficult to comprehend. 
He downplayed the damage of the attacks, noting that with the 
exception of the very first attack which gutted a church in 
Kuala Lumpur, none of the incidents resulted in damage 
greater than 1,000 RM ($300 USD).  A police inspector 
provided details of each incident, noting that most of the 
attacks had no witnesses, and very little forensic evidence 
that was usable in identifying the perpetrators.  With one 
exception, the police think that all of the incidents were 
carried out by different parties, commenting "these attacks 
were not planned or organized.  There were no big groups 
involved.  They are expressions of dissatisfaction." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Following the briefing, several questions were posed 
by members of the diplomatic corps.  Most notable was a query 
posed by the French Ambassador as to why use of the world 
"Allah" by non-Muslim groups in Malaysia was such a 
controversial issue, when in Indonesia and several Middle 
Eastern countries it is not. SecGen Mahmood replied that 
Malaysia was different and that "to be fair, you have to 
compare an apple with an apple."    Mahmood went on to say 
that just like Christianity has different branches such as 
Catholicism, Protestants, etc., so does Islam, and that 
Malays follow "Ahli Sunnah wal Jamaah".  (Comment: "Ahli 
Sunnah wal Jamaah," is simply the Arabic term for Sunni 
Islam, which is not different from Islam as practiced widely 
in the Middle East nor neighboring Indonesia.  End Comment.) 
 
GOVERNMENT WORDS AND ACTIONS OVER THE WEEKEND 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Prime Minister Najib visited the site of the most 
serious church attack on January 8 and pledged RM 500,000 
(about USD $130,000) in government funds to repair the 
affected churches.  A chorus of ministers joined Najib in 
condemning the attacks.  Home Affairs Minister Hishamuddin 
Hussein (PM Najib's nephew) was quoted on the front page of 
the January 11 Malay-language Utusan Malaysia saying that he 
would not hesitate to implement the Internal Security Act 
(ISA), because if these incidents were left unchecked it 
"could disrupt peace and harmony" in Malaysia.  (Comment: 
Hishamuddin also stressed that other laws -- arson, 
vandalism, etc. -- would be used to charge anyone involved 
with these attacks, implying that the Najib administration 
could selectively arrest people whose statements might 
otherwise provoke discontent.  His mention of the ISA is seen 
by some as a thinly-veiled warning to the opposition to cease 
accusing the ruling United Malays National Organization 
(UMNO) party of being the root of the problem.  End Comment.) 
 
MEDIA RESPONSE 
-------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Parallel with this law-and-order approach to the 
church attacks has been another narrative in the vernacular 
papers suggesting that Catholic/Christian use of the word 
'Allah' is the root of the problem, and that the Catholic 
Herald and others -- mainly Christians in Sarawak and Sabah 
-- should gracefully stop using the word.  The front page 
editorial cartoon in the January 11 edition of Utusan 
Malaysia (the ruling party's Malay language mouthpiece) cites 
a statement from the Christian head of the Sabah Development 
Institute, Clarence Bongkos, who suggested over the weekend 
that Christians voluntarily stop using Allah, which he said 
would be no problem.  "That would be the best solution," the 
cartoon's straight man concludes.  Other articles have made 
clear that the Allah controversy feeds into national 
politics.  Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim commented "Much of 
the blame for the recent attacks can be placed at the 
doorstep of the UMNO-led BN (National Front) ruling party. 
Its incessant racist propaganda over the Allah issue and the 
inflammatory rhetoric issued by government-controlled 
mainstream media, especially Utusan Malaysia, are 
reprehensible."  Citing opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's 
charge, an op-ed writer counterattacked in Utusan's weekend 
edition, saying that it was Anwar who was trying to "burn up 
the masses" by accusing UMNO of racism.  The ironies include 
the fact that in the 1980s Anwar was instrumental in forming 
one of the Malay student organizations, ABIM, that is now 
vocally asserting that non-Muslims may not use "Allah." 
 
NO REPORTS OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING AMCITS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) As of January 11, 2010, American Citizen Services 
(ACS) has not received any reports of Americans who have been 
hurt or effected as a result of these religiously motivated 
attacks. 
 
KEITH