Sabah's Catholic Archbishop Rev John Wong
today weighs on the fast growing 'mamangkis' revival movement of
bumiputera Christians in the state.
Reading from prepared text at the conclusion of the mamangkis gathering
in Papar on the west coast south of Kota Kinabalu he said, "We implore
upon Putrajaya to do all and everything to return our religious freedom
and the peace and harmony."
Wong also asked Putrajaya to honour and respect the Malaysia Agreement and the Federal Constitution.
Only 46 years of age, he is the most senior clergyman in the state to
support the native revival movement. Although he is officially the
Metropolitan Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu, Wong is effectively the
Catholic Archbishop of the whole of Sabah. He is also the youngest
Catholic bishop in Malaysia.
His support comes in the wake of other Christian denominations in Sabah
backing the mamangkis revival movement helmed solely by native
leadership alarmed by the increasingly aggressive Islamisation, erosion
of native rights and the massive entry of illegal Muslim emigrants
particularly from southern Philippines.
Wong said, "Let us pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this
land of ours, especially upon our national leaders in making the right
and courageous move of championing the rights of each and every
community, irrespective of race, belief or social status. Let us pray
that we will once again enjoy the harmony, peace and freedom among the
peoples in this land."
In an apparent call to bumiputera Christians to redeem their heritage he
said, "May the glory of God in our land to be restored!"
He went on to quote from the Bible, "You shall not remove your
neighbour's landmark, which the men of old time have set, in your
inheritance which you shall inherit in the land that the Lord your God
gives you to possess it."
The eight-month-old mamangkis movement is contextualised from a pagan
Kadazandusun war ritual into a clarion call to return to God and for a
revival among natives.
The initiative is spearheaded by Perhimpunan Anak Negeri (Pan) Sabah or
Native Solidarity of Sabah. The first mamangkis gathering was held in
Penampang, the Kadazan heartland and has since moved to several towns.
Judiciary blasted
Wong also took the judiciary to task over the 'Allah' issue by saying,
"It is indeed sad that even the judiciary, to whom all the meek and
downtrodden look towards for justice and protection, declined by a
majority decision, to do justice."
"On June 23, 2014, the Federal Court rejected the Catholic Church's
application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment
which banned the word 'Allah' in the weekly Herald. "
"We
are deeply saddened that the Federal Court failed to recognise that
there is serious infringement of the Constitution, and more particularly
the blatant attack on the lawful entitlement of the citizens to
practise their religion without let or hindrance.
“It saddens us to see that our elected national leaders and the
judiciary have deliberately failed to uphold the constitution and above
all defend it."
Wong did not spare Putrajaya either: "Despite Putrajaya's assurance that
the restriction on the non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah' only applies
to (Catholic weekly) The Herald, there have been attempts by certain
groups to apply a blanket ban.
“The seizing of bibles by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department
(Jais) from the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia is a typical
example. Such action blatantly disregards the Putrajaya's assurance.
Till now the seized bibles have yet to be returned."
He said, "The attack now on our rights to practice our faith is a direct
attack on the nation's integrity and above all the Constitution."
Wong also said, "Aside from threats to religious freedom, we are aware
that many Anak Negeri (native) Christians have Muslim sounding names and
some even with "bin" or "binti" in their names.
“Some of these Anak Negeri Christians are wrongly categorised as Muslim
in their identity cards. These mistakes may be due to ignorance of the
JPN officers but the authorities must address these issues and take
every effort to rectify them."
"It is the legitimate right of every citizen and more so the anak negeri
of Sabah to have his or her identity card correctly issued by the JPN
(registration department). Nobody can take that right away from him or
her."
Aggressive Islamisation
On aggressive Islamisation in the state, the archbishop pointed out, "We
are also aware that subtle conversions of underage children are taking
place in our schools.
“Just over a year ago the Catholic Church in Sabah together with the
Sabah Council of Churches had made an official complaint to the
Education Ministry of a conversion ploy at Labuan Matriculation College.
"We regret that these young students are constantly subjected to various
forms of harassment, ridicule and pressure to change their religion.
“Should incidences like these prevail, we question whether the
institutes of higher learning in our country are conducive for studies?
We urge that religious freedom as enshrined in the constitution shall be
upheld at all cost."
Wong also highlighted security issues. "Threats from external forces
invading our borders and threats from the huge presence of illegal
immigrants have constantly reminded us of our vulnerability. However,
many a time, our fears and cries are not seriously taken heed of by
those in authorities."
"Internally, our nation is confronted with unprecedented threat to our
Christian faith. Attack on our religious beliefs and practices, even the
language we use in our Bible, literatures and worship are under siege."