KUCHING: A 1Malaysia dinner held at the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) hall has drawn mixed reactions from various quarters still reeling from the contensious Al-Kitab issue.
Just two weeks ago the ACS pulsated with a massive prayer rally for religious freedom in the state.
And last night the same ACS was a hive of activity but this time from a 1Malaysia dinner allegedly hosted by Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition partner Sarawak United Peoples’ Part (SUPP).
Close to 70 tables were packed into the association’s hall where the predominantly Chinese crowd were treated to a six-course dinner and entertainment. A lucky draw was held mid-way through the dinner which saw many walking away with small electrical items.
All guests were clad in 1Malaysia T-shirts although no politician was present and no political speeches were made.
A young observer named Andy told FMT that such dinners had been a regular occurrence for the past few weeks.
“I heard that this dinner is organised by SUPP,” he said.
“It’s free, you know. Election time… time to make voters. And the lucky draw prizes are really good. At the last dinner someone apparently won a washing machine!”
Andy, who wasn’t wearing a 1Malaysia T-shirt, didn’t see any issue with a political party hosting a dinner in a building that housed a religious association.
“Even weddings are held here sometimes,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having this dinner here. At least the church gets to make some money.”
Not church event
In ordinary times such a dinner would have probably attracted scant attention from Sarawakians.
But during an election that has come hot on the heels of the Al-Kitab controversy, such an event leaves the situation wide open to interpretation.
A member of a church group in Sarawak reacted with dismay to news of the dinner.
“It is not a church event,” he said. “It is a 1Malaysia event and has nothing to do with any church in Sarawak.
“No Christian or anyone from the church leadership will be attending it so please don’t link it to the churches in any way.”
He wanted to know why the ACS had allowed an event of that nature to take place on its premises.
“People will think that churches are supporting political parties,” he said.
ACS secretary-general, Ambrose Limbang, however, said that the association had already verified the intent of the dinner and was satisfied that it was not serving as a political platform.
He also clarified that the venue had not been booked by SUPP but a group of people under the 1Malaysia programme.
“We are very strict about granting permission for events on our premises,” he told FMT.
“And we have our people on site to ensure that no political speeches are made during the events.”
No politicians
According to Ambrose, this was the third 1Malaysia dinner to be held at the ACS over the past month and that the organisers had abided by the terms and conditions.
“We have turned down booking requests before after finding out that the events were political in nature or being booked by a political party.
“In fact, we just turned down a request last week because we were suspicious of the event agenda.
“I can assure you that we will not allow the ACS building to be used for political means,” he said.
While Ambrose confirmed that no politicians had graced this dinner or the one before it, he also said that he couldn’t stop them from showing up as guests.
“We applied the same practice at the prayer rally when opposition party members joined us after word spread about it.
“We didn’t invite these politicians but we couldn’t chase them away either.” - FMT
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