Malaysiakini.com (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
Give interfaith committee a chance: SIS, 16 April 2010
Sisters in Islam (SIS) said today that the interfaith committee should be given a chance to deliberate on issues pertaining to religious differences in the country.
Its board member Marina Mahathir regards the controversies surrounding the committee as bewildering as the committee is not a body that decides on policy matters.
"It is not a committee that compares which religions are better among the others but is in fact a mechanism to discuss and solve any problems plaguing all the religions in the country," she said after giving a talk on leadership at SM (P) Sultan Ibrahim in Johor Bahru.
Marina said it was timely for such a committee to be formed before any sensitive issues worsened.
The government must be firm with its decision in forming the committee as it would lead towards improving racial and religious tolerance among the people, she said.
Asked on the increased incidence of child abuse in the county, Marina, who is also a social activist, urged the government to conduct a thorough study on the matter.
She felt that in most abuse cases, the parents were quite young and lacked the skills to take care of their children.
(Bernama)
(End)
