Seizing of Bibles, act of extremist minority, says Moderates movement chief

The actions of minority extremists in the country would not affect the pulse of stability in Malaysia, Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) Foundation chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail (pic) said today.

He said this was because their actions did not llustrate the mainstream issues of Malaysians.

"Malaysians do not have to be embarrassed by the opinions drawn by some extreme people or agency because they are in the midst of our society, and it is an issue that Malaysia and Malaysians have to deal with.

"It is a small dimension in the Malaysian context, but eventually, we have to try to solve this.

"People from outside may not understand the situation, but we (Malaysians) have to get used to this kind of psycho-drama manifestation of people who want to push their minority opinion in a very extreme fashion," added Razali.

He was commenting on last Thursday's seizure of Bahasa Melayu and Iban language versions of the Bible by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).

The former Malaysian permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) said this in a press conference at the three-day, 27th Academy of Latinity Conference, which began today.

The conference themed, Post-Regionalism in the Global Age: Multiculturalism and Culture Circulation in Southeast Asia and Latin America, was officiated by United Nations High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC), Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser at University Malaya (UM) in Kuala Lumpur today.  

Also present were Brazilian Ambassador to Malaysia, Maria Auxiliadora Figueiredo, secretary-general of Academy of Latinity, Candido Mendes and director of the Centre for Latin American Studies in UM, Evelyn Syamala Paul Devadason.

The academy which was mooted in 1998, has since extended its aim in promoting dialogue between the West and Islamic heritage, as well as cultures and civilisations, notably those from the East.

Earlier, Razali said one way to counter extremism and clashes of civilisation was by fostering an environment which promoted moderation, mutual respect, tolerance and cultural understanding.

"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is also looking at bridging the gap with Latin America which saw Brazil, being the first Latin America country to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia at the Asean Summit in Cambodia last year," he said when reading out the speech of Foreign Deputy Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin.

Meanwhile, Nassir Abdulaziz said, following the 9/11 tragedy, the Academy of Latinity had been making a smart move by organising its conferences in countries of Islamic culture to send the right signal on how to unite and defuse cultural misunderstanding, through responsible leadership.

"...Malaysia is an example of a diverse culture and moderate country. This is what the world needs to bring peace and prosperity to our world," he said. – Bernama