Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak
KOTA BELUD: State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak yesterday called for an immediate stop to debates over the use of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims, for fear that the prolonged open debate may give room to extremists in all religions to take advantage of the situation.
In making the call, the former Chief Minister said the prevailing peace, unity and stability in the country should be maintained at all costs.
“Don’t politicise it (the use of Allah) and score points. Keep sensitive issues aside. We must maintain harmony and respect each other.
“In Sabah, we don’t have this problem and it should not be turned into a polemic. If any issue which is considerd to be sensitive arises, it must be debated in closed door and not openly in the media,” he said in his speech
in conjunction with the presentation of a RM10,000 contribution from Kota Belud Foundation to Lok Yuk Kindergarden owned by Basel Church, here today.
Salleh, who is the chairman of the foundation, said politicians must be careful in their comments in respect of the hotly debated issues which could cause hatred and mistrust.
Later Salleh, who is also Sabah Umno deputy liaison chief, told reporters that the interests and welfare of the Chinese community in Sabah, were well taken care of under the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Citing the government’s spending of about RM30 million to provide financial aid to Chinese schools and for the construction of temples in the state over the past few years, he said this reflected the BN’s earnestness in looking after the needs of the community.
Salleh said apart from that, the Sabah government had given out about RM150 million in grants to non-Islamic religious bodies and schools including Chinese independent and mission schools since 2004. — Bernama