Greetings in the name of our precious Lord and
Saviour, Christ Jesus.
We take counsel from
the ancient preacher that there is a time for everything, “a time to keep
silence and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 7). As the Body of Christ
seeking to live out his purpose and mission, we are mindful that the Church is
to be a blessing to the nation, to strive for what is true, honourable, just and
commendable in the interest of all people (Philippians 4:8).
But in the midst of this,
issues affecting the church and the use of our Holy Scriptures have arisen. We,
the native Christians of Sabah and Sarawak have kept silent for a considerable
length of time. Some have taken our silence to mean something else. Therefore,
the time has now come for us to speak. When the caretaker
Prime Minister first mooted the Global Movement of Moderates, we were
enthusiastic in extending our support for the initiative. But ironically, the
movement is being incessantly and blatantly distracted by unscrupulous elements
from within its own ranks, whose strange proclivity is leaning more towards
racism and extremism.
It is a grave mistake
to condone extremism even for a minor political exigency because to do so is to
expose our society to something so inherently base and so evil. It is like opening
ourselves to a kind of vile pervasion which could do untold, even irreparable
harm. Extremism feeds on human weakness and insecurity. If left unchecked it
could rob us of our true identity and eventually our soul.
A manifestation of
such extremism is the extent to which fringe groups within our midst would go
to advance their racism and religious bigotry over the controversy of the use
of the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God by non-Muslims. They have even suggested an
open season for burning Bibles (pesta membakar Alkitab). Nothing can be more seditious
and incendiary. Yet they were tolerated by the authorities.
Let us be clear that
the ‘Allah’ controversy is more than just about a word. Indeed, various States have passed legislation prohibiting more than
three dozen words from being used by non-Muslims. This legislation is
applicable and is indeed expressly directed at non-Muslims. For instance, a fatwa
which has the force of law was gazetted on 1 June 2003 in Sabah under the
Enakmen Pentadbiran Undang-Undang Islam 1992 whereby the use of 32 words is prohibited
to non-Muslims. These included “Allah” (God), “Ibadah” (Worship), “Iman”
(Faith), “Rasul” (Apostle), “Injil” (Gospel), “Nabi” (Prophet], “Wahyu”
(Revelation) and much more. This is done notwithstanding that Islamic syariah
law do not apply to non-Muslims.
The first of such
state legislation was introduced by the Terengganu state government in 1980.
The following year, the use of the Alkitab or the Malay language bible was
prohibited on grounds that it is a threat to national security. The ban has
since been modified to a restriction but the Alkitab is still considered a
threat to national security. In December 1986 the Ministry of Home Affairs issued
a circular prohibiting the use of the word Allah’ on the purported grounds that
such action was necessary for the purpose of maintaining public order and to
avoid misunderstanding between followers of Muslims and Christians. This
administrative decision was enforced using the draconian Printing Presses and
Publications Act 1984.
In 2003, the Bup Kudus
or the Iban language Bible was banned as it contains the word ‘Allah’. The ban was subsequently lifted following
protests by Christians. In Sarawak and Sabah,
the word ‘Allah’ has been used or spoken by the native communities of the state
for generations and long before the formation of Malaysia and is part of their
native language. Native Bumiputeras have always been using the term “Allah” in
all aspects of the profession and practice of their Christian faith from
baptism to final rites and these include in services, prayers, praise, liturgy,
worship, and religious education. The term “Allah” is also used in Christian publications
and multi-media resources. The right of the native Bumiputeras to use or speak
their own language and to practice their religion in the state is safeguarded
by the Federal Constitution.
The ‘Allah’
controversy is not really about religion as such but about unreasonable
government policies and laws. In the face of such unreasonableness we cannot
and should not remain silent. The time for us to speak has come. Two thirds of the
Church in Malaysia is made up of Bumiputera Christians in Sabah and Sarawak. In
this respect, we speak with pastoral and moral responsibility and authority
against religious bigotry, racism and extremism in any form. But we are not
alone as our non-Bumiputera brothers and sisters in Christ have also expressed
similar concern over the ‘Allah’ issue on other occasions. We, therefore, speak
as one voice.
We need more than just
a display ad hoc benevolence. We need a tangible commitment from the authorities
to respect and uphold the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Federal
Constitution – the supreme law of the nation. We believe non-Christians,
including Muslims, also share our concern. We also acknowledge
and uphold that according to Article 3 of the Federal Constitution that Islam
is the religion of the Federation. By the same token people of other faiths are
also accorded the constitutional guarantee of freedom to profess, to practise
and to propagate their respective religions in peace and harmony in any part of
the country. We are not asking for what is not already our constitutional right.
Surely the way forward
is no longer found in the status quo which expects the Bumiputera Church in
Sabah and Sarawak to remain silent. This year we celebrate
the fiftieth year of the formation of Malaysia. It is also fortuitous that this
is also the Year of Jubilee for Christians, a year where we wait in hope and
prayer for God to intervene and restore what has been ordained as rightfully
ours.
We have been praying
for long time now to see the righting of wrongs done to indigenous peoples in
the name of development and politics. We are also praying for full respect and
adherence to the Sabah 20-point and Sarawak 18-point Agreements signed with
Malaya upon the formation of Malaysia. The first of these is freedom of
religion. Sabah and Sarawak consented to form the greater Malaysian nation in
1963 with Islam as the religion of the federation on the express condition that
there will be complete freedom of religion without hindrance placed on other
religions. Thus the Government Paper “Malaysia and Sarawak published by
Authority of Government of Sarawak dated 4 Jan 1962 (and this is reflected in
the corresponding Government of North Borneo Paper) states unequivocally as can
be seen from the following text in the foundational constitutional documents:
“People have wondered whether the fact that
Islam is the official religion of the Federation of Malaya would affect
religious freedom in Sarawak as part of Malaysia. This has been clarified at
the recent Consultative Committee Meeting. Although Malaysia would have Islam
as the official religion of the enlarged Federation there would be no hindrance
placed on the practice of other religions. Complete freedom of religion would
be guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. Sarawak has at the present has no
established religion and it would not be required to accept Islam as its State
religions.”
There is an urgent
need for the authorities to acknowledge our frustration and to commit to come
up with a long term solution. The time has come for
us to speak but we do so in a manner of peace just as the Christ Jesus is the
Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). We harbour neither ill will nor malice toward
people of other faiths including our Muslim brothers and sisters.
Indeed, in speaking we
are mindful to extend love to those who may not agree with us. The essence of
God is love (1 John 4:8) thus we are compelled to love even our enemies
(Matthew 5:44). Therefore, it is
incumbent on Malaysians of every faith to tolerate and embrace one another in
love, in truth, and in humility.
Let us together seek
to build this beloved nation for the good of all peoples so that all can enjoy
the fruits of prosperity and goodness in this land the Almighty God has blessed
us with. May Almighty God bless
you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and give you peace.
God bless Malaysia.
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