A dispute over a familiar Arabic phrase has erupted in Malaysia’s parliament this week after an opposition MP challenged a Malaysian Chinese minister over his repeated use of “Alhamdulillah” (“praise be to God”) in a debate.
The row flared during Nga Kor Ming’s speech in response to the king’s address for the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, when Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, an MP from the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), took issue with his use of phrases associated with Muslims, including “Alhamdulillah”, “bersyukur” (grateful) and “sujud syukur” (a prostration of thanks).
The exchange on Wednesday blazed across social media in a country where religious language is often treated as political territory, and where debates over what counts as respectful use of Islamic terms can quickly spill into “royalty, religion and race” terrain, most commonly known as 3R.
“You keep using Muslim terms, but do you believe in Allah? Do not make light of these terms as it could confuse Muslims,” Siti Zailah said in parliament, warning it risked touching on “3R” issues.
Nga, a senior figure in the Democratic Action Party (DAP), urged Siti Zailah not to turn language into an accusation of faith.
“Don’t get emotional, let’s be rational. Your identity card code is 03, mine is 03 too. I’m also a Kelantan kid,” he replied, referring to the Kelantan state code on their identity cards. “We are Malaysians. We respect Islam as the religion of the federation. There is no question of making fun of it.”
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