1. Micah mandate(http://www.themicahmandate.org)
CHRISTIAN FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA
MERDEKA 2009 MESSAGE, 28 August 2009
Together with all Malaysians we celebrate our 52nd National Day with the theme of 1Malaysia : People First. Performance Now. We invite Christians throughout the country to join their fellow Malaysians in offering prayers of thanksgiving to Almighty God for His kind mercies upon us throughout these 52 years of nationhood and pray that He may continue to shower His blessings upon us as we forge ahead in building a 1Malaysia.
Our founding fathers worked hard to bequeath to us a nation which respected and accepted all peoples as Malaysians. They gave us a constitutional democratic framework to undergird our nation and to enable us to build a country that is for all irrespective of race, language, religion or creed.
Today we stand at the crossroads of change for our nation. We cannot take for granted what we have so long enjoyed. It is our responsibility to re-double our efforts to ensure that Malaysia develops in the way we desire for the sake of our children, our children’s children and for the generations of Malaysians to come.
Malaysians uphold the Federal Constitution as the foundational document of our nation and have embraced the principles of the Rukunegara to live in peace and harmony with one another and to seek the welfare and well-being of everyone.
Our new Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib bin Razak has shown the way and brought a new and fresh direction as he begins his term of office. His hope and desire of a 1Malaysia : People First. Performance Now speaks to us of his vision and determination to see a united Malaysia with a renewed and revitalised set of standards for what it is to be Malaysia. His National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) tell us of his resolve to focus on matters of concern to Malaysians and to raise the bar in doing things well for our nation.
Together with our Prime Minister and our government, may we move forward to build a 1Malaysia free of the preoccupation with race, language, quotas and religion. It is a vision of 1Malaysia where all of us are Malaysians and treated equally as such. May we pray and work alongside him to do things the right way for the benefit of all Malaysians for “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29 : 18, KJV).
Today, more than ever, we need renewal and rejuvenation in our government, our political parties, and all our public institutions so that they may fulfill the aspirations of all Malaysians with honour and integrity the trust placed upon them by all Malaysians. We pray that all men and women in positions of responsibility and power will see to it that they themselves and these institutions they belong to act justly and in accordance with their mandate especially in promoting, protecting and defending the rights, welfare and well-being of all who call Malaysia home including minorities and foreigners in our midst.
As Christians let us continue to pray for the Prime Minister and the government in accordance with Psalm 72 that the Prime Minister be endowed with justice and righteousness from Almighty God so that he may govern in righteousness and justice and bring about prosperity for the people, defend the afflicted and save the children of the needy.
We pledge to work with the government to further the cause of national unity, sincere and mutual respect for all peoples of different religious faiths, a caring and compassionate society, a vibrant democracy, a strong economy for the prosperity of all and good, transparent and accountable public institutions to serve the people.
The churches join all Malaysians in praying for the good health and well-being of our beloved King and Queen, the various Sultans, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers of the states, our parliamentarians and all members of the state assemblies.
Our desire is to see continued prosperity with peace, justice and stability and the strengthening of the bonds of friendship and harmony among all peoples and religions in Malaysia.
Dated this 27th August 2009
Bishop Ng Moon Hing, Chairman
Rev. Dr. Thomas Philips, Vice-Chairman
Elder Kong Yeng Phooi, Vice-Chairman
Bishop Julius Dusin Gitom, Vice Chairman
for the Christian Federation of Malaysia
2. My Sin Chew (http://www.mysinchew.com.my)
No double standards un religion, MCCBCHST, 7 September 2009
LETTER
MCCBCHST (Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism) notes with deep concern that the cowhead incident in Shah Alam is not an isolated case. Another recent example of this kind of insensitivity was when the Holy Eucharist was desecrated when certain persons went to a church, took the consecrated bread and spewed it out.
Such irreverent and sacrilegious conduct should not be condoned and allowed to be repeated with impunity. In seating the organisers of the recent demonstration in Shah Alam to his right and left during his press conference, the home affairs minister seemed to have bestowed honour to the perpetrators of a gravely offensive and dangerous event whereby seditious speeches accompanied by the stepping on the severed head of the cow were made. What signals would this send to the people?
Not surprisingly, therefore, the same disrespectful, unruly and unwilling to listen behaviour on the part of some rendered the town hall meeting between the Menteri Besar and Section 23 residents to discuss the issue on September 5 2009 unmanageable and unproductive.
The same rules must apply to all.
MCCBCHST is concerned that wheareas in the August 28 2009 Shah Alam incident the police had stood by while the demonstrators desecrated the cow head and made seditious speeches, the police acted strongly against would-be candlelight vigilers in the vicinity of Dataran Merdeka on September 5 2009. Also, Malaysiakini has now been warned by MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) not to make the video showing the terrible acts in the Shah Alam incident available for viewing to their readers. Thinking Malaysians will rightly raise the question: Which comes first- the act or the video which exposes the act? How do we as a country go about resolving our problems? In this case, stopping the video of the act will not unmake the act. We must surely first prevent the act and the video would not have existed.
For the sake and good of all Malaysians and peace and order in Malaysia, consistent, fair, just and rational measures should be applied regardless of religion, ethnicity, culture, gender or political connection.
There must be one rule for all Malaysians.
All who incite ill feelings amongst religious communities, denigrate any religion, desecrate the religious symbols of any religion or threaten to commit violence against others must be promptly deterred and held accountable. They must face charges and given a fair trial in a court of law.
Sacrilegious acts committed by adherents of any one religion upon another religion must never be condoned. We hold to the principle that all human beings and communities have a sacred right of freedom of choice as far as their religious belief and practice is concerned.
We stand with Malaysians of all religious and political persuasions who were outraged by the flagrant disregard for the sensitivities of others shown by the Shah Alam demonstrators.
We welcome the partnership of all Malaysians of goodwill. Together we can weather the mischief and bigotry of those who seek to drive a wedge between us and divide rather than unite the people of this land.
We Malaysians live in a pluralistic society and accordingly we must respect our neighbours and endeavour to learn about their beliefs, customs and sentiments. It is upon such understanding of others and what is dear to them that our nation can be firmly rooted and grow strong and united.
The way to manage our differences is not by creating enclaves whereby Malaysians will be segregated and separated from one another but through understanding and respect. Let us live together next to one another rather than to live apart. Each succeeding generation of Malaysians should grow closer rather than to be pulled apart.
The site chosen in Section 23 of Shah Alam for the Hindu temple to be relocated to complies with local government conditions. It is over 300 meters away from any housing area, six times more than the 50-meter requirement. If the authorities accept the objection to it by certain quarters, the social dynamics of Malaysian life will be affected and the consequence on national integration will be very serious indeed.
We must not subscribe to the view of thinking about Malaysians as majorities and minorities, and majorities versus minorities.
MCCBCHST therefore calls upon all Malaysians of goodwill to be in earnest prayer for the peaceful and just resolution of the issue. Those in authority at the community, religious and governmental level must be firm to unequivocally reject unreasonable, unfair and anti-social behaviour and demand.
Win free calls with Happy 1,000,000 free minutes.
Rev. Dr Thomas Philips
MCCBCHST President
Petaling Jaya
September 7 2009
(End)
