People who crave for power are the worse.

In Malaysia, we have politicians who crave for power to the extent of turning against the ones they were friends with so as to overthrow them as leaders and, hopefully, gain the leadership position for themselves. They instigated other leaders to resign in order that a fresh election be held so that they stand another chance to be elected into a better position. They would be willing to lie and blacken the good names of others to fulfill their desires as they crave for power.

We also have politicians who are willing to risk the peace and harmony of the country by stirring up feelings. They claim to ban a certain word because they wanted to remove confusion among a certain group of people when, in actual fact, the word has been in use without confusion or disharmony among the people for more than four hundred years. Proof that such a word had been in use for more than 400 years was produced by an online news.

It is indeed sad as the ordinary citizens know that they are not confused or disturbed by the use of such a word as the word was even used by Prophet Muhammad's father during his time and is an ordinary word for God in the Middle East. In order to give excuse for their cause, certain leaders have given the word more meaning than it actually has.

Unfortunately, the stakes are high, as it can mean the turning of the tides of political power. The issue can be used to garner as well as recapture the votes given to the opposition during the last election. I believe a political party see it as an opportunity to gain popularity through this religious issue.

It is becoming obvious that this issue is of great importance in securing votes. The people can see the opposition political leaders giving views that the word is a coomon word meaning God in Arab countries; even in Indonesia where for many. many years, up to this day, Christians and Muslims have used the word in their Bible and their Koran without any problem arising among the people as there was nobody who needed to make an issue of it.

It looks like this issue may not only divide the Christians from the Muslims; it may also create a division among the Muslims themselves. Those who do not belong to the party which hopes to use the issue to gain votes would not be agreeable to any kind of violence as most of the better educated Muslims who are also the financially better off ones would understand and desire peace as a peaceful environment brings progress and true civilisation to the country.

As I see it, the ordinary people are peace-loving and united. I have lots of Muslim friends and we can mix very well, discuss things properly and enjoy walks, exercise and work harmoniously. The heat of the issue is only read in newspapers. The confusion comes from those who hope to gain from the issue. The politicians and their small group of supporters are going into the internet to hope cook up the issue sufficiently to achieve their own goals.

God is for everyone. He creates the whole world. All of us are his creations. He loves us all. Some people ought to understand that He would not want anyone to usurp his power and say, "This is my God and we give Him this name which makes Him different from another God, for there is actually no other God. The Christian God and the Muslim God (I am neither Christian nor Muslim.) are the same as it has already been acknowledged that Jesus was the first of the prophet and Muhammad is the last of the prophet. Unless this part which I had been told by a Muslim, is untrue, then, they are one and the same. Buddha never claims to know anything about God.

Yet, Man wants to use God to achieve their own ends, knowing that religion is a powerful tool to achieve whatever ends he wishes. And it is ironic that religion in which God wants peace and good to permeate this earth would beget so much violence in so many parts of the world today. Peace is indeed the most difficult to achieve.