JAN 24 — Sabah churches want the government to act decisively against the latest round of anti-Christian frenzy.
“We see the increasingly provocative attacks against the Malay-language bible — Alkitab — by certain quarters as a direct attack on the rights of Bumiputera Christians in Sabah to religious freedom as enshrined in both the Sabah and the Federal Constitution,” Rev Datuk Jerry Dusing, chairman of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Commission of Sabah Affairs (NECF COSA) said.
“We, therefore, urge the authorities to act immediately against such groups and individuals to the full extent of the law before the anti-Christian frenzy gets out of hand,” he said in a statement.
Dusing said it must be remembered that Sabah has always enjoyed complete religious freedom since time immemorial. Sabah was guaranteed certain safeguards known as the 20-points as a condition for the formation of Malaysia. It is no coincidence that the first of these twenty points pertains to religious freedom.
He also said the majority of Christians in Malaysia are Malay speaking Bumiputeras mainly in Sabah and Sarawak whose use the Alkitab as their Bible for their liturgy and devotional reading.
As many East Malaysians are working or studying Peninsular Malaysia, the Alkitab is also extensively used by them over there. Any attack on the Alkitab is an affront to their faith and religious liberty.
“We now see our religious freedom yet again under threat as the anti-Christian frenzy threatens to get out of hand. A right wing Malay group has even called for bibles, including the Alkitab, to be seized and burned. This is irresponsible and incendiary hate speech,” said.
Although he did not name the group, he was referring to Perkasa which made the threat three days ago.
The statement also said another Muslim group (Pembela) has also called for the halt to the printing of the Alkitab. It added that indeed, it was the Cabinet itself that decided in 2011 to allow for the continued printing and distribution of the Alkitab as part of its so-called 10-point solution to the Allah controversy.
“This is another attempt to deprive Bumiputera Christians of their Holy Scriptures,” the statement said.
NECF COSA also highlighted the call for a ban on the distribution of the Alkitab in public universities and said it must be remembered there are many Bumiputera Christians from East Malaysia studying and teaching in such universities.
“They use the Alkitab as their personal Bibles. This Alkitab ban only serves to deprive Bumiputera Christians their right to their Holy Scriptures. This very right is fundamental to religious freedom,” it said.
The statement said if such unwarranted provocation against Bumiputera Christians are left unchecked it militates against the very concept of 1 Malaysia of putting people first.
“It is time for such promises to be fulfilled. Otherwise, we may to turn out to be a nation divided by religious hatred perpetrated by irresponsible elements. There is no place for such extremists in our beloved homeland,” it added. — mysinchew.com
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
Sabah menikmati keharmonian beragama dan tidak pernah dilanda sebarang konflik atau ketegangan berkaitan agama sepanjang berada di bawah pentadbiran kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN), kata naib presiden Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) Cyril Yansalang.
ReplyDeleteBeliau berkata walaupun mempunyai penduduk pelbagai kaum dan agama, Sabah sentiasa aman. "Di Sabah, kami tak ada masalah berkaitan agama. Sebagai rakyat Sabah, kami berbangga kerana boleh hidup dengan harmoni, walaupun berbeza agama, bangsa dan bahasa.
ReplyDelete"Perpaduan yang tidak ternilai harganya ini perlu dikekalkan dengan apa jua cara sekali pun," katanya
ReplyDeleteCyril berkata senario itu terpamer melalui kenyataan ketua biskop yang akan bersara Datuk John Lee ketika melakukan kunjungan hormat terhadap Ketua Menteri Datuk Seri Musa Aman di Sri Gaya di sini pada Isnin.
ReplyDeleteLee dipetik sebagai berkata bahawa kerajaan negeri sentiasa memberi sokongan kepada Gereja Katolik serta aktivitinya dan menyifatkan Musa sebagai pemimpin yang bertimbang rasa serta adil kepada semua pertubuhan agama di negeri ini.
ReplyDeleteLee juga dikatakan memberi penghormatan kepada Ketua Menteri itu kerana meluluskan tanah seluas dua hektar untuk pembinaan gereja di Kampung Nagasiba.
ReplyDeleteSabah yang Aman. In the middle of a recycled Allah controversy sparked by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in his reckless attempt to win Christian votes in Sabah and Sarawak from BN come the General Election, the outgoing Archbishop John Lee of the Catholic Church openly pays tribute to Musa Aman, the Chief Minister of Sabah.
ReplyDeleteThe state government has been very supportive of the Catholic Church and its activities, said outgoing archbishop Datuk John Lee.
ReplyDelete“And I wish to thank the Chief Minister and the state government for the support given to the Catholic Church during my tenure,” he said
ReplyDeleteLee, who was accompanied by his successor Bishop John Wong and the Sacred Heart Cathedral delegation, said the Chief Minister has been considerate and fair to all religious organisations.
ReplyDeletethey also paid a special tribute to the Chief Minister for the approval of a five-acre plot of land in Kampung Nagasiba where a church would be built.
ReplyDeleteA senior church leader, Thomas Fong said that the Nagasiba community had been asking for a church to be built in the village for the past 20 years as the nearby church, Queen of Peace in Kg Kobusak, no longer could accommodate the needs of the growing community.
ReplyDelete“We are here today to meet our Chief Minister to thank him personally and the state government for the approval of the land. “The whole Kg Nagasiba community would like to thank the state government for this wonderful gift,” he said.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Musa said the state government would continue to support the religious development in Sabah as spiritual growth was important in the overall development of a well-rounded society.
ReplyDeleteThis, he said, was clearly demonstrated by the yearly allocation for non-Muslim religious organisations. “I also wish to thank Archbishop Lee for his sacrifices and hard work during his term of office,” he added.
ReplyDeleteMalaysians must reject any internal attempts to disrupt the unity of the country and its people, United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (UPKO) president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.
ReplyDeleteAsked to comment on Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s alleged Bible-burning remark, Dompok said that all right thinking Malaysians must condemn this type of threat.
ReplyDelete“This should not exist in Malaysia,” he said.
Ibrahim was said to have made his controversial statement a couple of weeks ago and he was reported as allegedly calling on Muslims to unite to protect their religion. .
ReplyDelete“I think Perkasa has now realized its folly. I understand today that they said they do not recommend that anymore. How can you burn other people’s religious book? I mean you burn a book that contains that particular word you don’t like but you don’t burn it out of the heart of the people who use it so it doesn’t make sense for anybody to do it,”-Dompok
ReplyDeleteDompok said that he was of the opinion that PAS wants to change Malaysia into an Islamic state.
ReplyDelete“That is PAS’ true intention. It wants to change Malaysia into an Islamic state, just like what had happened in Pakistan. He wants religious laws throughout the country, this is what hurts my feelings the most.
“PAS’ intention is not a good one, it wants to expedite the process so that secular state in Malaysia which we practise now becomes an Islamic state. Islamic religious laws will be practised, hudud law will be implemented and more fatwas will be issued.
ReplyDelete“Even though fatwa cannot be imposed on non-Muslims, they (PAS) want this to be included in the constitution. So now PAS is only waiting for a two-thirds majority so that it can amend the constitution and to make way for religious laws to be used in our country.
ReplyDelete“This is what PAS wants and it passed it in the Kelantan state assembly to amend the law so that hudud law is practised,” Dompok opined.
ReplyDeleteOne of the examples of the BN government’s efforts is the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the presence of illegal immigrants in the Sabah as this is a prolonged problem for the state.
ReplyDelete“We must therefore support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak because he is brave enough to find ways to resolve problems affecting the rakyat,” he stressed.
ReplyDelete