IN SABAH THE 1MALAYSIA CONCEPT DEVELOPED A LONG TIME AGO, EVEN IN MATTERS RELATED TO RELIGION, INCLUDING THE USE OF THE WORD "ALLAH".

The word was widely used by followers of Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), a large Christian denomination, since before independence and there was no problem.

Many SIB followers use the Bahasa Melayu translated word of God that is "Allah Bapa" in their prayers,

"Most of us in Sabah have family members who are of different religions.

I have so many Muslims in my own family, especially in Ranau and other places as far as in Kuala Lumpur.

"One of them is even married to an Ustaz in the peninsula and we do not have any problem,"

"So we have to respect what we have already enjoyed since long time ago.

It is just unfortunate that this suddenly became an issue in the country last year,"

Ranau MP, Datuk Siringan Gubat