The Malaysian Insider : The Selangor Islamic Religious Department seized copies of the Alkitab and Bup Kudus from the Bible Society of Malaysia yesterday and Putrajaya's only response has been to call for calm. – Reuters pic, January 3, 2014.Some things we learned from the latest spat over the “Allah” issue.

Well, there are no peacemakers in the Najib administration. None whatsoever. In decades gone by, either the chief executive of the country or some politician with gravitas would have moved to keep Jais in check or would have ensured that some form of peace summit between Putrajaya and non-Muslim religious leaders was held. Not any more.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad have either kept silent or encouraged the thugs at Jais and Umno. The Umno politicians believe that they will score major points with Malays by playing hardball on the “Allah” issue. To hell with constitutional guarantees.

2) Umno's need to change the news cycle

A recent survey carried out by a local university shows that support for Umno from the Malay community has dropped by some 5% since GE13. The main reason for the drop in support: the spike in the cost of living. There is little doubt that Najib and his ministers are in a tight spot over the backlash from the public over the government's decision to cut subsidies and approve price increases.

In Putrajaya, there appears to be a belief that there is a need for an emotional issue to swing attention away from the pain of everyday living and Umno's role in it. Is there a more emotional issue in Malaysia today than religion?

3) Where are thou, Brothers?

Here is a personal message for Datuk Seri Idris Jala, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup and other Christian leaders in Barisan Nasional. You either are stand up for your faith or you join forces with the BN government on the “Allah” issue.

There is no such thing as straddling the fence. There’s nothing more disgusting than Kurup coming out and asking for calm. This message should be directed at Najib and the cabinet who have allowed the 10-point agreement with Christians on outstanding religious issues to be shredded by Jais. How so? A key component of the agreement allows the import of Malay-language Bibles.

By raiding the Bible Society of Malaysia and seizing the Alkitab, Jais has performed an illegal act. And by saying nothing and doing nothing, the BN government has abetted this illegal act. Guess where that puts Messrs Idris and gang?

4) Err, where is Najib?

It does seem that whenever a hot-button issue blows up in Malaysia, the prime minister is conspicuous by his absence and silence. Apparently, there was a threat to overthrow the BN government through people power. At least that is what the aces in Bukit Aman have alleged.