Ex-CM: Don’t be surprised to see Muslims at church weddings in Sabah

As religious and racial fault lines in Peninsular Malaysia widen, former Sabah chief minister Salleh Said Keruak reminds the people of his state to defend their harmonious culture against extremist elements.

In a Facebook posting, he said the existence of different houses of worship next to each other paints a clear picture of the high ethnic and religious tolerance in the East Malaysian state.

Salleh (above) said for the people of Sabah, racial and religious differences are not obstacles or impediments to living together harmoniously.

“In fact, don’t be surprised to find Muslims attending a Christian wedding in a church.

“This is not an issue in Sabah which has more than 30 different ethnic groups of various faiths,” he added.

Salleh pointed out that this culture of tolerance is one of the critical factors in successfully maintaining the unity of races in Sabah.

“Let us defend this agreement which is not easily influenced or disturbed by extremist elements,” he added.

Salleh’s call comes in the wake of the Selangor state government barring programmes involving Muslims at non-Muslim houses of worship.

“Such efforts (to encourage tolerance) are lauded by the state government, but programmes must follow guidelines set by the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) especially involving legal factors.

"The rules have been set that any programmes involving Muslims at houses of worship besides Muslim ones are prohibited altogether," said state religious affairs exco Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni.

This followed an uproar from the opposition claiming alleged "Christian evangelism" over Impact Malaysia’s “Projek Artikel 11” which involved youths visiting houses of worship as part of the agency’s efforts to increase awareness of the country’s diverse society.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh - whose ministry oversees Impact Malaysia - said no Muslim youths were involved in the programme. - Mkini