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Monday, August 8, 2011

Upset, Christians tell each other to pray for a change in government

Upset, Christians tell each other to pray for a change in government

As Jais enforcement officers conducted a raid at Damansara Utama Methodist Church in Selangor and disrupted a function there last week, Christians in Sarawak watched with bated breath and wondered when the next wave of persecutions would come.s

Although a number prayed for an amicable ending to the senseless attacks against their faith, many held the view that only a change in government would stop the nonsense. The DU raid was not the first but the umpteenth since Prime Minister Najib Razak took power in April 2009, with the first serious one launched in January 2010 in the aftermath of the High Court's decision on the use of the word Allah in its publications.

Don't let it come to Sarawak shores

Christians in Sarawak are praying hard that such over-zealous actions from Jais would not taint the existing multi-racial closeness in Sarawak. It is a closeness one can never find in any other part of Malaysia, where Muslims, Christians or Buddhist and other faths can sit, eat, work or make merry together.

A Head Elder, Senior Pastor Ambrouse Linang who is also the Secretary-General of the Association of Churches in Sarawak expressed shock at the continuation of the Christian attacks, commenting that it made nonsense of Najib's recent high-profile visit to the Vatican.

Linang had just enjoyed a few days working with some 40 Muslims from the Islamic Information Centre who came to pay a courtesy visit to his church. The two religious groups enjoyed sharing and exchanging views. The churches had also sent delegates to the Islamic Information centre before joining Muslim activities held there, all part of a goodwill gesture which is so common here.

He has also entertained a group of Imam from China who paid a visit to several churches in Sarawak last week, all part of an interfaith harmony. Linang suggested that it would be a good idea for the over-zealous group to come to Sarawak to learn a thing or two about unity amongst the races and religion.

“I am just shocked beyond words at what is happening over in West Malaysia. It is a social function and one should not get too sensitive over it. Over here, we hold so many interfaith dialogues annually with both Buddhists and Muslims. We take turns to use each other's venues. We go to their mosques or they came to our churches or we ended up in one of the temple meeting rooms," said Linang.

"We discuss welfare, charity, unity and diversity for all races and religion. Is it not good for a Christian to lend a helping hand to our Muslim friends or a Muslim to help out a Christian or Buddhist? What is so sensitive about Muslims and Christians sharing and being seen together? I think it is healthy for all races to work, eat and fast together. Muslim fast, so do Christians.”

Worsening reality despite Vatican public relations

A Christian parish council member, Ding worried about the Christians' freedom of worship in Malaysia. “It appears to be getting worst by the year. A wise government unites its entire people, not divide them. It is time for Christian to rise and pray together for a better government and for a better country, not a government which is so bent on making the races suspicious and scared of each other,” she said.

Aten Nicholas, a Christian from Serian said the recent raid is again based on hearsay. “This group of people seems to be scared of their own shadow and make themselves seem so weak in their faith. I am saying so as my Muslim neighbours are embarrassed by what has ocurred and told me they are not like that. I know they are not. They are very aware of their belief and respect the others in what they want to believe. We do gotong-royong (communtiy service) together at the mosque, at the church. So what if the Muslims walk into the DU church compound, it does not mean that they are walking out as Christians. What is all this fear?" said Aten.

Still recalling the Penang Church incident, where two Muslim journalists took the Holy Communion and spat it out to have it photographed, Aten finds it hard to forget. “Paranoid is the word. It has become a norm for some Muslim to over-react over rumors or hearsay. This government used to say Muslims all over the world are being persecuted. Look at us Christian, are we not being persecuted in our own country?"

Recalling a sad incident that had occurred a couple of years ago, Aten attended a colleague’s funeral in a church in Kuching. He was not surprised at the number of Muslim colleagues paying their last respects to their friend. The females clad in Tudong sat the church pew and cried silently as they bid their Chinese colleague a last farewell. “I wonder what would have happened if it were in West Malaysia, they would have flipped, go completely berserk” he said.

Going berserk and having some conscience

When Assistant Minister, Dr Judson Tagal died in a helicopter crash, a funeral service was held at the Kuching Evangelical Church attended by the Governor, Chief Minister and other Muslim ministers and leaders. Observers from Semenanjung (the peninsula) would be quite shocked to see several senior Muslim government servants who turned up and paid their respects inside a church.

There is a strong religious-cultural belief amongst Muslims that in whatever one does in life, one's “pure intention” must be justifiable not only to God, but also to one's self. Only then can a person's action be labeled clean and well intentioned.

One can only wonder if any flash of conscience passed through the hearts of the Jais team when they raided DU church even though the instruction came from higher-ups and they were only doing what they had been ordered to do by their political masters?

- Malaysia Chronicle

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