NECF (http://www.necf.org.my)
1．
Majlis Perundingan Malaysia Agama Buddha, Kristian, Hindu, Sikh dan Tao/Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism
7th July, 2011
MCCBCHST: Calls Upon All Malaysians to Pray for Peace, Unity and Harmony
Over the last few weeks we have been inundated with events pertaining to the proposed Bersih 2.0 Rally to be held on 9 July 2011. Not one day has passed without some reference to the Bersih Rally by both those for and against it. This has created unwelcome tension in the country.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) calls upon all parties to heed the advice of our DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Agung.
We as Religious Leaders in this multi religious nation of ours Malaysia, call upon people of all faiths to hold special prayers beginning 8 July in our respective places of worship for peace, unity and harmony to prevail in our beloved country once again.
Reverend Dr. Thomas Philips
President, MCCBCHST
Daozhang Tan Bon Sin
Deputy President, MCCBCHST
Sardar V. Harcharan Singh
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Venerable Ming Ji
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Mr. RS. Mohan Shan
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Mr. Prematilaka KD Serisena
Honorary Secretary General, MCCBCHST
2.
Majlis Perundingan Malaysia Agama Buddha, Kristian, Hindu, Sikh dan Tao/Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism
12th July, 2011
MCCBCHST: Engage with Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) calls upon all concerned Malaysian citizens to hold Thanksgiving Prayers in their respective places of worship for the relatively orderly "rally" held last Saturday. They may have broken the unjust and uncalled for ban but they did so in a peaceful manner to exercise their right of assembly as enshrined in our Constitution, the inviolate supreme law of our nation.
MCCBCHST is confident that the untoward events of 9th July 2011 could have been prevented if the authorities had dealt with the issues raised by Bersih from the outset at the negotiation table with Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect as required in all our great religious teachings.
MCCBCHST re-iterates its strong support for every Malaysian's right to peaceful assembly as enshrined in our Federal Constitution under Article 10 (1) (b) and in Article 20 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and remind the authorities that freedom of opinion and expression too is provided for under Article 19 of the UDHR.
The most important lesson to be learnt from the 9th July 2011 event is that the authorities must transform their mindset and recognise that Malaysians today are much more learned, informed, matured and sophisticated beings than they are made out to be.
MCCBCHST fully endorses the statement by Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Malaysia (Proham):
"The core matter of the Bersih rally must be addressed namely to address the concerns in the election system and the call for a free and fair election. Proham calls for the government to establish an independent mechanism to review these concerns either through a Royal Commission or a Parliamentary Select Committee...'.
MCCBCHST supports the call for the Federal Government to immediately sit with all concerned parties to find an appropriate, just and equitable solution. We reiterate that all dialogue must be based on the principles of Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect as required in all our great religious teachings.
Reverend Dr. Thomas Philips
President, MCCBCHST
Daozhang Tan Bon Sin
Deputy President, MCCBCHST
Sardar V. Harcharan Singh
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Venerable Ming Ji
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Mr. RS. Mohan Shan
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Mr. Prematilaka KD Serisena
Honorary Secretary General, MCCBCHST
3．
Pastoral Letter Post-Bersih 2.0 with MCCBCHST Statement
13 July 2011
Dear Pastor/ Elder/ Leader,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus!
Praise the Lord that His peace and sovereignty ruled over the rally on 9 July 2011. Other than the incidents of confrontation by the authorities and one regrettable death of an elderly man, Malaysian citizens who participated did so in a civil and orderly manner. As we read the many personal accounts of what transpired, we are encouraged to note that Malaysians have begun to bridge their racial differences to see each other as equals in experiencing the rally together.
As we move forward, NECF Malaysia upholds the call by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) issued on 12 July 2011 for Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect in continued engagement between the authorities and civil society:
Engage with Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) calls upon all concerned Malaysian citizens to hold Thanksgiving Prayers in their respective places of worship for the relatively orderly "rally" held last Saturday. They may have broken the unjust and uncalled for ban but they did so in a peaceful manner to exercise their right of assembly as enshrined in our Constitution, the inviolate supreme law of our nation.
MCCBCHST is confident that the untoward events of 9th July 2011 could have been prevented if the authorities had dealt with the issues raised by Bersih from the outset at the negotiation table with Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect as required in all our great religious teachings.
MCCBCHST re-iterates its strong support for every Malaysian's right to peaceful assembly as enshrined in our Federal Constitution under Article 10 (1) (b) and in Article 20 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and remind the authorities that freedom of opinion and expression too is provided for under Article 19 of the UDHR.
The most important lesson to be learnt from the 9th July 2011 event is that the authorities must transform their mindset and recognise that Malaysians today are much more learned, informed, matured and sophisticated beings than they are made out to be.
MCCBCHST fully endorses the statement by Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Malaysia (Proham):
"The core matter of the Bersih rally must be addressed namely to address the concerns in the election system and the call for a free and fair election. Proham calls for the government to establish an independent mechanism to review these concerns either through a Royal Commission or a Parliamentary Select Committee..."
MCCBCHST supports the call for the Federal Government to immediately sit with all concerned parties to find an appropriate, just and equitable solution.
We reiterate that all dialogue must be based on the principles of Understanding, Compassion, Honesty and Respect as required in all our great religious teachings.
In echoing this call, we urge churches to collectively pray for the following:
For God's sovereign hand to guide the on-going journey towards national transformation in electoral reform and against abuses of power and the law. Pray for continued dialogue and discussion between civil society and the authorities, and for genuine mutual respect and sincerity to guide this process.
Against exploitation of such efforts for political and communal ends. Pray against selfish lust for power and greed which blind many to the true reforms Malaysia needs.
That God may bring about transformation of individuals first, as part of nation-building, so that all citizens may desire Godly values such as compassion, mercy, justice and righteousness.
That the rights of all citizens as enshrined in the various provisions of the Federal Constitution as the Supreme Law of the land be upheld by those in authority. We pray for the authorities to interpret these provisions in the spirit of fairness and in accordance to standards upheld by matured democracies and the universal standards of human rights.
In the coming days as Malaysia heads for its next general election, for courage for the Church to be an effective witness in speaking boldly on principles, yet with wisdom to remain blameless before men.
We worship a God of the impossible and we know He cares for and loves every citizen of this country. May His will be done and may all glory and honour be given to Him.
Blessings,
Samuel Ang
Secretary-General
NECF Malaysia
4．
Movement of the Moderates
13 July 2011
MALAYSIA continues to face some of her darkest moments as a nation. Over the past months, the lack of political will to mitigate racial and religious intolerance has naturally given rise to ideologues, extremists, and radicals. All these are no different in essence from the keris-wavers and cow-head trampling demonstrators we saw a few years ago.
How one can rant and rave and threaten bloodshed and yet walk the streets a free man, whilst those who merely wear yellow T-shirts can be arrested, is most incomprehensible and unfortunate.
Last week's Bersih2.0 rally is a culmination of frustrations of the nation's citizenry, and I suspect this marks the beginning of a movement of the moderates.
There is some truth in the government's reasoning that rallying "is not our culture." But when tens of thousands of ordinary peace-loving people persist to take to the streets, besides the many thousands more who could not go due to the blockades and gridlock in the capital city, then it is incumbent on all of us to do some soul-searching.
The arguments for the legitimacy or otherwise of the Bersih2.0 rally reminds me of the famous "Lady Justice". This iconic figure wears a blindfold over her eyes while lifting a sword in one hand and carrying a pair of scales on the other. Symbolically, she represents fair and equal administration of the law - without prejudice, avarice, corruption, fear or favor.
If our leaders had likewise worn a blindfold 1 and were asked to objectively judge the calls of concerned citizens and assess their conduct at the rally, their response would not have been so immature.
In many parts of the world, any group or government espousing to "clean the electoral roll," "stop corruption," "use indelible ink" - would have been praised as being proactive, decent, fair-minded, honest, rational. Strangely in Malaysia, when some people ask for these very same practices, they are "demonized", simply because they are "not government". What we witnessed on 9 July 2011 was the epitome of crude partisan politics.
Personally, I think the demands of Bersih2.0 - for electoral reforms and the right to have a peaceful march - were not only reasonable, but impartial as well. Bersih2.0 was not pro-opposition but pro-democracy.
The people of Malaysia are maturing in democracy and we can no longer tolerate unfair practices, corruption, vote-buying and otherwise. Being "blindfolded" like Lady Justice also means we are color blind, i.e. it does not matter if you wear red T-shirts or have green banners, nor does it matter if you are yellow, black or brown-skinned.
A right is a right. A wrong is a wrong regardless of whether it is committed by the government or the opposition or whomsoever.
I know the Church in this nation to be a peace-loving people. But more importantly, we are a people of the Book and our Book teaches us principles and values, rights and wrongs.
We remember Christ's mandate to love our neighbors as ourselves and not conduct ourselves in an un-Christian manner. At all times, we want to be conciliatory and be agents of peace to ensure harmony.
We must resist the temptation to say and do things that are escalatory and antagonistic. When highly confrontational tactics begin to replace more co-operative approaches, conflicts escalate and more extreme personalities maneuver to become leaders of the conflict groups.
And when this polarization degenerates till so much that is said and done makes no sense, we then need to remind ourselves that Lady Justice, though blindfolded, is "not gagged." This is where the silent majority and the Church must speak up. Scriptures mandate us to open our mouth.2
Moderates must speak up to check the damage intended by hard-liners and ensure that democracy is not hijacked.
We do not subscribe to "political subversion" but the Church has the responsibility to stand up against the fanatics and hypocrites bent on corrupting the moral fiber of our people and destroying our democratic nation.
There is nobody to save Malaysia except Malaysians. It is time for the moderates to speak up, be heard and play their role in this nation.
Rev Eu Hong Seng
NECF Malaysia, Chairman
This article is written to guide members of NECF in their prayers and in their journey as responsible non-partisan Christian citizens.
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1 Remember, the blindfold on Lady Justice represents objectivity, not blindness i.e. she is blindfolded, not blind.
Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Central_Statue_Square_Legislative_Council_Building_n_Themis_s.jpg2 Proverbs 31:8 - Open your mouth for the speechless, .... 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy. NKJV
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