Surat Penganut Agama Kristian Malaysia Kepada Pope Vatican. Najib Bermuka-Muka
Najib visits Vatican; Malaysians write to Pope
A group of 365 Catholics and other Christians in Malaysia, including a string of priests and religious, have signed a joint letter to Pope Benedict XVI expressing their concern over Prime Minister Najib Razak’s official visit to the Vatican on 18 July 2011 in view of recent developments in the country.
The letter highlighted concerns about the lack of democratic rights and religious freedom in Malaysia to enable the Pope to “understand more critically and comprehensively the political and social realities” lest the pontiff is “presented with a one-sided view of developments” in the country.
The group said while it welcomed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See, and believes that Malaysia’s experience in inter-religious living and cooperation has lessons to offer to other multireligious multiethnic societies, they are wary about the timing of Najib’s visit to the Vatican.
They expressed concern that foreign governments and leaders who host Najib in his travels might be influenced by his pronouncements which extol the spirit of moderation, whereas in fact his government has used unnecessarily excessive force time and time again. The latest examples of this have been the undemocratic treatment of civil society groups in Bersih’s Walk for Democracy episode and the ongoing detention without trial of six political activists, including an opposition MP, under harsh security laws.
The letter also highlighted how Najib and other BN leaders, in trying to stem the popular support for Bersih’s call for clean and fair elections, have manipulated ethnoreligious sentiments irresponsibly and attempted to demonise Bersih leaders as anti-Islam.
The signatories pointed out that there had been curbs to freedom of religion despite this fundamental human right being guaranteed in the Malaysian Constitution.
The group also expressed their suspicion that there could be a hidden political agenda to win electoral support among the Christians of Sabah and Sarawak especially through this visit to the Vatican.
They ended the letter with the hope that the Holy See would consider their concerns seriously and be guided by the Holy Spirit in its dealings with the Malaysian government.
The letter in full:
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City
Via
His Grace Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli
Apostolic Delegate to Malaysia
55 Waterloo Street #06
Singapore 1877954
Your Holiness
Recent Political and Social Developments in Malaysia: Towards a More Comprehensive Understanding of the Realities in Malaysia
We are a group of Catholics and some from other Christian denominations in Malaysia. Malaysia, a Muslim-dominant country, has a population of 28 million people with 2.2 million registered as Christians, of whom an estimated 850,000 are Catholics.
We write to you with regards to our prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s official visit to the Vatican on 18 July 2011. We are anxious about recent developments concerning questions of democratic rights and religious freedom in Malaysia. In our letter we highlight these issues in order to help Your Holiness understand more critically and comprehensively the political and social realities in our country lest you are presented with a one-sided view of developments in Malaysia.
A watershed
The Malaysian media has reported that the visit of our prime minister to the Vatican is a ‘watershed’ that foreshadows the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See.
We believe that the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Malaysia is a good step forward; after all, Malaysia is one of only 17 countries in the world that does not yet have diplomatic ties with the Holy See. Our concern is that of the timing in establishing these ties, on which we elaborate below.
Christian-Muslim dialogue
Church sources in Malaysia inform us that the visit also has to do with the Holy Father’s desire to promote Christian-Muslim dialogue, an initiative that you wisely began to undertake beginning from 2005, shortly after you assumed the papacy. It might be that you find this sixth prime minister of Malaysia an attractive dialogue partner given that he goes around the globe promoting himself as the leader of a moderate Muslim country made up of various ethnic groups. As well, he has called for the formation of a ‘Global Movement of the Moderates’ and that it ought to take centre stage in the international arena.
We believe that there are lessons that one can draw from the Malaysian experience. For ordinary Malaysians of different races and faith are respectful of one another’s beliefs and customs, and have learnt to co-operate and live peacefully side-by-side. However, this is so in spite of the shameful conduct of some of our political leaders who have unabashedly manipulated ethno-religious sentiments all these years, and mobilized on ethno-religious grounds in order to stay in power.
Cakap tak serupa bikin
Indeed, the conduct of prime minister Najib and his Barisan Nasional (BN) government at home, at least recently, has been anything but moderate! In our Malaysian colloquialism, we might say of the prime minister that dia cakap tak serupa bikin, meaning that ‘he does not do what he preaches’, or that ‘he does not walk the talk’!
In this regard, we are very concerned about the timing of this official visit which follows immediately after recent repression of civil society groups which are fighting for clean and fair elections. We are also deeply concerned that some top leaders of this democratic initiative have been painted unjustly as ‘anti-Islam’ by the authorities without any basis whatsoever. Below we highlight a few recent events and episodes.
Najib’s heavy handed response to the Walk for Democracy
Just last week on July 9, 2011, there occurred the controversy-ridden ‘Walk for Democracy’ that was initiated by the coalition of 62 NGOs calling themselves Berish 2.0 (bersih meaning ‘clean’ in Malay, our national language). The coalition had wanted to hold a peaceful street walk in support of an 8-point program to institutionalize clean and fair elections. Numerous glaring incidences that have occurred in past elections as reported in the media, and recounted and confirmed in studies by major researchers, have indicated that Malaysia’s electoral system and the conduct of these elections have not been free and fair. Significantly, Malaysia has been ruled by a single party – the BN coalition dominated by Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) – since independence in 1957, more than 54 years ago!
It was on account of frustrations arising from these inadequacies in the electoral system that Bersih was formed. Among others, the respected Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, of which the Catholic church of Malaysia is a part, affirmed Bersih’s right to conduct this peaceful walk for what it considered ‘just demands’.
In deference to the king, who intervened to head off a potential confrontation between Bersih supporters and its extremist detractors including from UMNO Youths, Bersih opted to hold a rally in the Stadium Merdeka. Yet Najib’s BN government declared that Bersih was ‘an illegal organization’ and its proposal to hold the gathering in the Stadium was rejected by the authorities. On the eve of the gathering, a court order was obtained to ban 91 leaders of Bersih and the Opposition (and also those from anti-Bersih groups) from entering those parts of Kuala Lumpur around Stadium Merdeka under threat of ‘arrest on sight’.
Earlier, Najib’s government had even banned the wearing of yellow Bersih T-shirts. The Bersih office was raided and six of their office workers were arrested. Bersih supporters who participated in ‘roadshows’ to publicise the upcoming event were also arrested. Six of them, also members of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia, were subsequently detained under the Emergency Ordinance (a Detention without Trial law) and are now held under solitary confinement. A leading lawyer has described these developments as signifying Malaysia’s descent into ‘a police state’.
In the event, the police came down hard on Bersih supporters who turned up for the gathering in Kuala Lumpur on July 9. The police set up road blocks and barb-wire fences manned by hundreds of policemen thus creating huge traffic jams throughout the city. To disperse the Bersih supporters, the police resorted to use of water cannons and fired tear gas into the crowd, as though the people were the enemy. A total of 1,667 people including 151 women and 16 children were arrested. What was singularly laudable was that there was no incidence of violence on the part of the tens of thousands of Bersih supporters who came from all ethnoreligious backgrounds.
Yet, prime minister Najib has claimed that the police had acted professionally, and condemned Bersih and the Opposition for tarnishing the image of the country. We urge you Holy Father and your Vatican officials to view the video clips that were taken of the goings-on. Significantly, the Bar Council of Malaysia has commented that the police had ‘used force excessively’.
Manipulating ethnoreligious sentiments
Tellingly, two days before the July 9 event, Najib had addressed a gathering of Malay silat (martial arts) exponents whence, reportedly, he suggested that the silat groups could be mobilized as a third line of defence against enemies from within and outside the country.
More than this, on July 2 in a gathering of about 20,000 people in the town of Kota Baru, Najib, in a live
broadcast over Radio Malaysia, described Ambiga Sreenevasan, the chairperson of Bersih, as ‘a threat to Islam’ for the watching brief she held as the then president of the Bar Council in the Lina Joy case a few years earlier.
Freedom of religion
Lina Joy was a Muslim woman who converted to Catholicism before marrying a member of the faith. She filed against the Registration Department for registering her religion as ‘Islam’ in her MyKad (identity card) although she had converted out of the religion.
In spite of the dismissal of her case, it was popularly understood by many Malaysians, especially non-Muslims, that this was a violation of the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. Najib’s labeling Ambiga as a threat to Islam is a deliberate distortion of her professional role as legal counsel in the Lina Joy case.
In the event, this Lina Joy case arises from a conflict between two legal jurisdictions – the civil law versus shariah law – that have emerged in Malaysia. In recent years, a number of cases involving the conversion of minors to Islam without the knowledge of the other spouse; the custody of children and/or the question of maintenance following the conversion to Islam of one spouse; the question of inheritance and even funeral arrangements following the death of a spouse who had purportedly converted to Islam without his family’s knowledge, have been highly controversial. In these cases, the non-Muslim litigants often found themselves helplessly trapped between or confined to only one of concurrent jurisdictions since they do not have locus standi in the shariah court.
Mention should also be made of the Court case between the Catholic church and the Malaysian government regarding the church’s use of the word Allah in the Catholic weekly The Herald. The government had ruled that the word Allah should be confined to use among Muslims only. At this point, a final decision has yet to be made by the Court.
Related to the above was the controversy over the importation and distribution of the Malay bibles which contained the word Allah. One shipment of these Bibles was held back by the Home Ministry authorities for several years and the matter was taken to Court. Although the Bibles were released in early 2011, unnecessary conditions have been imposed on their importation into peninsula Malaysia, to the dissatisfaction of Christians.
We highlight these episodes to you Holy Father because you have made the defence of the freedom of religion an important plank of your papacy.
Visiting the Vatican to stay in power?
Finally, there is concern among us that Najib is also reaching out to the Holy See at this juncture in order to secure popular support in the forthcoming general election due by early 2013. In the previous 2008 election, the multiracial, multireligious Opposition coalition in Malaysia performed very well and succeeded in denying the BN government a two-thirds’ majority in parliament (which had previously allowed the BN government to freely amend the Federal Constitution at will). The Opposition coalition also won an unprecedented 5 out of the 13 state governments. In fact, the BN government lost the popular vote to the
Opposition in peninsula Malaysia.
The reason why the BN was returned to power in the 2008 election was because it had secured virtually all the parliamentary seats in the states of Sabah and Sarawak located on the island of Borneo. In other words, the victory of the BN (as well as for the Opposition) in the upcoming election will depend on how well it performs in those two states.
In this regard, it is significant to note that Christians constituted 43 per cent of the population in Sarawak in 2000, and 28 per cent of the population in Sabah as recorded in the 2000 Census. We are suspicious that this official visit by Najib and his BN colleagues to the Holy See will be used by the BN leaders politically i.e. to secure votes for the BN from the Christians in Sabah and Sarawak. It is not inconceivable that photographs of Najib standing alongside the Holy Father will be widely distributed throughout the two states, particularly in the rural areas where the Christian indigenous people predominate, in the run-up to the next election.
It is with the concerns described above that we submit this letter to you Holy Father.
While we welcome the establishment of diplomatic relations between our country Malaysia and the Holy See, and we do believe that Malaysia’s experience in inter-religious living and cooperation has lessons to offer to other multireligious multiethnic societies, nonetheless, we are wary about the timing of this visit by prime minister Najib to the Vatican.
We are concerned that foreign governments and leaders who host him in his travels might be influenced by his pronouncements which extol the spirit of moderation, whereas in fact his government has used unnecessarily excessive force time and time again, the latest being its undemocratic treatment of civil society groups in Bersih’s Walk for Democracy episode.
We wish to highlight, too, how prime minister Najib and other BN leaders, in trying to stem the popular support for Bersih’s call for clean and fair elections, have manipulated ethnoreligious sentiments irresponsibly and attempted to demonise Bersih leaders as anti-Islam.
We also highlight how there have been curbs to freedom of religion in fact, although this fundamental human right is guaranteed in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.
We are also suspicious that there is a hidden political agenda to win electoral support among the Christians of Sabah and Sarawak in this visit to the Vatican.
We pray therefore that the Holy See will consider these concerns seriously and be guided by the Holy Spirit in its dealings with the Malaysian government.
Signatories
Aeria, Dr Andrew
Aneel David K
Angus, Valerie
Anjimin, Esther
Anthony, David
Anthony, Nicholas
Anthony, Richard
Armin, Delsie
Arnold, Raymond
Augustin, Yolanda
Beh, Augustin
Beh, Brenda
Beh, Francis
Beh, Belinda
Beh, Bernadette
Beh, Briget
Bendict, Jeremy
Benedict, Amanda
Benedict, Felix
Benedict, Jeffri
Benedict,Helen
Benjamin, Dorothy S
Benjamin, Lourdes, S
Benjamin, Merician S
Benjamin, Ronald
Bhar, Bernard
Boey, Anna
Bon, Gloria
Bro Anthony Rogers fsc
Bro John D’Cruz fsc
Brodie, Christopher
Cardosa, Dr. Mary Suma
Carina, Joellyne
Chahil, Sharon
Chan, Eunice
Chan, Lillian
Chang, Agatha
Chang, Francis
Chang, Alice
Chang, Jacob
Chang, Anna
Chang, Kevin
Chang, Lilian
Chang, Vivian
Chang, Joseph
Cheah Eng Thiam
Cheah, Ruth
Chee Kha King, Andrew
Chee, Amanda
Chee, Audrey
Chee, Belinda
Chan Joon Phei
Chee, Peter
Cheng Joon Hau
Cheng Yoon Sen
Cheng Yuin Mei
Cheng, Jason
Cheow, Geraldine Anne
Chew Lip Yin, Issac
Chia Mia Wan, Cynthia
Chia, Sophia
Chin Kon Seng, John
Chin Poh Choo
Chin Yee Whah
Chin, Leonard
Chin, Leoretta
Chin, Pax Angelo
Choo Nyon Yew
Choong, Vincent
Chop Noon Yew
Chow, Bernie
Chua Juay Jin
Chua, Christopher
Chua, Helen
Chung Jingyee
Curzon, Juelle
de Silva, Edda
de Vries, Abigail
Delph, Amy J.
Doh Mee Yuen
Ethan, Joash
Fah Hon Leong, James
Fernandez, Angeline Bones
Fernandez, Catherine
Fernandez, S a
Ferns, Jenevieve
Fong Li Kwan
Fong, Peter
Foo Chit Wai, Edmund
Foo Tet Sim, Elizabeth
Foo Tet Sin, Theresa
Foo Tet Tsin, Joan
Foo Tet Yoong, Barbara
Foo Tze Hiung, Colin
Foo, Angela
Foo, Audrey
Foo, Bernadine
Foo, Damian
Foo, Leonard
Foo, Nicholas
Foo, Susan
Foo, Tet Sin, Agatha
Foo, Theresa
Foo, Valentine
Fr Edmund Woon
Fr Fabian Dicom
Fr Jude Miranda
Fr Julian Leow
Fr Marshall Fernandez
Fr Simon Labrooy
Francis, Caroline
Francis, Franklin
Francis, Jennifer
Francis, Julienna
Francis, Maria Christina
Gasper, Margaret
Goh Chee Beng, Johnny
Goh, Helena
Goh, Kiat
Goh, Peggy
Gomez, Dr Terence
Gumbok, Felinsia
Harben, Dr Nilufer
Hector, Charles
Hew, Theresa
Ho, Alfred
Ho, Enoch
How Si Khoon, Jocelyn
Isnin, Rachel
Jalleh, Martin
Johnraj, Davis
Joseph, James Ponniah
Juhari, James
Kam, Margaret
Kang Hian Beng, Paul
Kee, Francis
Khek, Linus
Khoi Hoay Ling
Khoo Ah Poh
Khoo, Cynthia
Khoo. Philip
Khor, Anne
Kim S Choo
Koh, Ashley
Koh, Daniel
Koh, Hugh
Koh, John
Koh, Mark
Kok, Joan Elizabeth
Kuan, Amy
Kwan, Hung Weng
Kwan, Susanna
Lai Chen Chiong
Lai Chew Yong, Lucia
Lai Kong Meng, Francis
Lambin, Jessica
Lanson, Jairin
Lau Beng Teck, Michael
Lau, Aileen
Chee, Alexcius
Law, Clare
Law, Stephen
Lawrence, Leong
Lazaroo, Mandy Joan
Lean, Cindy
Lee Mae Yin, Josephine
Lee, Gerald
Lee, Margaret
Lee, Patricia
Leong Kok Soon, Patrick
Leong Pooi Yin, Pauline
Leong, Agatha
Leong, Debra Robert
Li Yi Phang
Lim Mah Hui, Dr Michael
Lim Sim Seng
Lim Swee Bin
Lim Thean Heng
Lim, Chin Chin Theresa
Lim, Jean
Lim, Joyce
Lim, Sophy
Lim, Susan
Liow Sook Ching
Lo, Emily
Loh Angeline
Loh Ci Yan, Sara
Loh Sook Yuin, Amy
Loh, Alexander
Loh, Arthur
Loh, Debbie
Loh, Joseph
Loh, Judith
Loh, Kee Wey Henry
Loh, Kok Wah Dr Francis
Loh, Lawrence
Loh, Mary Magdalene
Loh, Philomena
Long Took Chee, Andrew
Loo, Joakim
Loo, Randy
Looi, Adrian
Looi, Grace
Looi, Vincent
Looi, Vivien
Loong, Chris
Loong, Shane
Loorthusamy, Augustine
Lopez, Gregore Pio
Lowe Sook Yin, Christina
Martin, Erik
Mary, Genevieve
Moinsin, Jusni
Narayanam, Rajenthiran
Narayanan, Michael
Netto, Anil
Ng Choon Sim, Dr Cecilia
Ng Kok Aun
Ng Kok Moi
Ng Lai Leng,
Ng Liang Hock
Ng Swee Ming, Dr
Ng, John
Ng, Mary
Ng, Nita
Ng, Patricia
Ng, Rose
Nicholas, Dr Colin
Oh, Billy
Ong Hong Thong, Thomas
Ong Kay Chong
Ong Wing Khang, Lawrence
Ong, Adeno
Ong, Ellen
Ong, Leslie B K
Ong, Steffi
Ong, Stephanie
Ong, Thomas
Ooi Tze Qian, Angie
Ooi Wah Seng, Michael
Ooi, Corinth
Ooi, David
Ooi, Dick
Ooi, Frederick
Ooi, Gloria
Ooi, Issac
Ooi, Jacob
Ooi, Jeremy
Ooi, Joshua
Ooi, Seira
Ooi, Stephanie
Ooi, Timothy
Patrick, M B
Paul, Jack
Penafort, Robert
Pereira, Mary
Peter, Donecia
Phan Tze Wei, Eric
Phan Ying Ching, Mary A
Phan Ying Han, Erin
Phipps, Mary G
Phoa, Dr John
Phun, Florence
Quah Ai Siew, Christine
Quek, Anna
Quek, David
Quek, Dr David
Quek, Elaine
Quek, Henry
Quek, Jackie
Quek, Joseph
Quek, Julai
Quek, Kimberly
Quek, Lucia
Quek, Melissa
Quek, Thomas
Raiappan, Peter
Railim, Clarisya
Rajendra, Rebecca
Resha, Ellana
Rosaline, Daphne
Roy, Josef
Scott, Benjamin Patrick
Scott, Jennifer Caroline
Selvaraj, Jason
Sia Chay Thiam
Sibert, Dr Anthony
Sivapatham, Joycee
Soon Le Teck
Soosai, Jonathan
Soyza, Allan
Sr Lucy Theseira, IJ
Sr Marie Angele, IJ
Sr Stanislaus Thoo, IJ
Sr Winnie Khong, IJ
Sr. Dorothy Khaw IJ
Sr. Elaine Wong IJ
Sr. Mary Fletcher FMM
Surin, Raphael
Tan Jin Choon, Dominic
Tan Lai Imm
Tan Meow Min, Pauline
Tan Siew Hoon, Johanna
Tan Teck Keong
Tan, Aloysius
Tan, Catherine
Tan, Constance
Tan, Cynthia
Tan, David B C
Tan, Hans
Tan, James
Tan, Jamie
Tan, Jeanne
Tan, Jerene
Tan, Josephine
Tan, Joshua
Tan, Joyce
Tan, Lionel
Tan, Lynette
Tan, Sooi Beng, Dr
Tan, Violet
Tay, Angelina
Teo FH, Lisa
Teo CC, Wendy
Teo HF, Grace
Teo Kar Im
Teo, Ann
Teoh, Leonard
Tijah Yok Chopil
Toh Kin Woon, Dr Philip
Tuzan, Desonny Daning
Vincent, Angela
Wan, Vincent
Wee, Anthony
Wee, Geraldine
Wee, Vivien
Wong Ming Yew, Lionel
Wong, Adrian
Wong, Alice
Wong, Alison
Wong, Angie
Wong, Annie
Wong, Claire
Wong, Dominic
Wong, Raymund
Wong, Richard
Wong, Roderick
Wong, Wong
Wong. Andrew
Yeap Siew Lan
Yee Suk Yeen, Lynette
Yeo, Helen
Yeoh Beng Kim, Jonathan
Yeoh Hooi Kee, Daniel
Yeoh, Dylan
Yin Chueh Sheung, Christopher
Yip, Desmond
Yip, Jackie
Yip, Leona
Yip, Terina
Yong Hua Hin, John
Wong, John
Yong, Carol
Yong, Marie-Anne
Yoong, Michelle
A group of 365 Catholics and other Christians in Malaysia, including a string of priests and religious, have signed a joint letter to Pope Benedict XVI expressing their concern over Prime Minister Najib Razak’s official visit to the Vatican on 18 July 2011 in view of recent developments in the country.
The letter highlighted concerns about the lack of democratic rights and religious freedom in Malaysia to enable the Pope to “understand more critically and comprehensively the political and social realities” lest the pontiff is “presented with a one-sided view of developments” in the country.
The group said while it welcomed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See, and believes that Malaysia’s experience in inter-religious living and cooperation has lessons to offer to other multireligious multiethnic societies, they are wary about the timing of Najib’s visit to the Vatican.
They expressed concern that foreign governments and leaders who host Najib in his travels might be influenced by his pronouncements which extol the spirit of moderation, whereas in fact his government has used unnecessarily excessive force time and time again. The latest examples of this have been the undemocratic treatment of civil society groups in Bersih’s Walk for Democracy episode and the ongoing detention without trial of six political activists, including an opposition MP, under harsh security laws.
The letter also highlighted how Najib and other BN leaders, in trying to stem the popular support for Bersih’s call for clean and fair elections, have manipulated ethnoreligious sentiments irresponsibly and attempted to demonise Bersih leaders as anti-Islam.
The signatories pointed out that there had been curbs to freedom of religion despite this fundamental human right being guaranteed in the Malaysian Constitution.
The group also expressed their suspicion that there could be a hidden political agenda to win electoral support among the Christians of Sabah and Sarawak especially through this visit to the Vatican.
They ended the letter with the hope that the Holy See would consider their concerns seriously and be guided by the Holy Spirit in its dealings with the Malaysian government.
The letter in full:
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City
Via
His Grace Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli
Apostolic Delegate to Malaysia
55 Waterloo Street #06
Singapore 1877954
Your Holiness
Recent Political and Social Developments in Malaysia: Towards a More Comprehensive Understanding of the Realities in Malaysia
We are a group of Catholics and some from other Christian denominations in Malaysia. Malaysia, a Muslim-dominant country, has a population of 28 million people with 2.2 million registered as Christians, of whom an estimated 850,000 are Catholics.
We write to you with regards to our prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s official visit to the Vatican on 18 July 2011. We are anxious about recent developments concerning questions of democratic rights and religious freedom in Malaysia. In our letter we highlight these issues in order to help Your Holiness understand more critically and comprehensively the political and social realities in our country lest you are presented with a one-sided view of developments in Malaysia.
A watershed
The Malaysian media has reported that the visit of our prime minister to the Vatican is a ‘watershed’ that foreshadows the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See.
We believe that the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Malaysia is a good step forward; after all, Malaysia is one of only 17 countries in the world that does not yet have diplomatic ties with the Holy See. Our concern is that of the timing in establishing these ties, on which we elaborate below.
Christian-Muslim dialogue
Church sources in Malaysia inform us that the visit also has to do with the Holy Father’s desire to promote Christian-Muslim dialogue, an initiative that you wisely began to undertake beginning from 2005, shortly after you assumed the papacy. It might be that you find this sixth prime minister of Malaysia an attractive dialogue partner given that he goes around the globe promoting himself as the leader of a moderate Muslim country made up of various ethnic groups. As well, he has called for the formation of a ‘Global Movement of the Moderates’ and that it ought to take centre stage in the international arena.
We believe that there are lessons that one can draw from the Malaysian experience. For ordinary Malaysians of different races and faith are respectful of one another’s beliefs and customs, and have learnt to co-operate and live peacefully side-by-side. However, this is so in spite of the shameful conduct of some of our political leaders who have unabashedly manipulated ethno-religious sentiments all these years, and mobilized on ethno-religious grounds in order to stay in power.
Cakap tak serupa bikin
Indeed, the conduct of prime minister Najib and his Barisan Nasional (BN) government at home, at least recently, has been anything but moderate! In our Malaysian colloquialism, we might say of the prime minister that dia cakap tak serupa bikin, meaning that ‘he does not do what he preaches’, or that ‘he does not walk the talk’!
In this regard, we are very concerned about the timing of this official visit which follows immediately after recent repression of civil society groups which are fighting for clean and fair elections. We are also deeply concerned that some top leaders of this democratic initiative have been painted unjustly as ‘anti-Islam’ by the authorities without any basis whatsoever. Below we highlight a few recent events and episodes.
Najib’s heavy handed response to the Walk for Democracy
Just last week on July 9, 2011, there occurred the controversy-ridden ‘Walk for Democracy’ that was initiated by the coalition of 62 NGOs calling themselves Berish 2.0 (bersih meaning ‘clean’ in Malay, our national language). The coalition had wanted to hold a peaceful street walk in support of an 8-point program to institutionalize clean and fair elections. Numerous glaring incidences that have occurred in past elections as reported in the media, and recounted and confirmed in studies by major researchers, have indicated that Malaysia’s electoral system and the conduct of these elections have not been free and fair. Significantly, Malaysia has been ruled by a single party – the BN coalition dominated by Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) – since independence in 1957, more than 54 years ago!
It was on account of frustrations arising from these inadequacies in the electoral system that Bersih was formed. Among others, the respected Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, of which the Catholic church of Malaysia is a part, affirmed Bersih’s right to conduct this peaceful walk for what it considered ‘just demands’.
In deference to the king, who intervened to head off a potential confrontation between Bersih supporters and its extremist detractors including from UMNO Youths, Bersih opted to hold a rally in the Stadium Merdeka. Yet Najib’s BN government declared that Bersih was ‘an illegal organization’ and its proposal to hold the gathering in the Stadium was rejected by the authorities. On the eve of the gathering, a court order was obtained to ban 91 leaders of Bersih and the Opposition (and also those from anti-Bersih groups) from entering those parts of Kuala Lumpur around Stadium Merdeka under threat of ‘arrest on sight’.
Earlier, Najib’s government had even banned the wearing of yellow Bersih T-shirts. The Bersih office was raided and six of their office workers were arrested. Bersih supporters who participated in ‘roadshows’ to publicise the upcoming event were also arrested. Six of them, also members of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia, were subsequently detained under the Emergency Ordinance (a Detention without Trial law) and are now held under solitary confinement. A leading lawyer has described these developments as signifying Malaysia’s descent into ‘a police state’.
In the event, the police came down hard on Bersih supporters who turned up for the gathering in Kuala Lumpur on July 9. The police set up road blocks and barb-wire fences manned by hundreds of policemen thus creating huge traffic jams throughout the city. To disperse the Bersih supporters, the police resorted to use of water cannons and fired tear gas into the crowd, as though the people were the enemy. A total of 1,667 people including 151 women and 16 children were arrested. What was singularly laudable was that there was no incidence of violence on the part of the tens of thousands of Bersih supporters who came from all ethnoreligious backgrounds.
Yet, prime minister Najib has claimed that the police had acted professionally, and condemned Bersih and the Opposition for tarnishing the image of the country. We urge you Holy Father and your Vatican officials to view the video clips that were taken of the goings-on. Significantly, the Bar Council of Malaysia has commented that the police had ‘used force excessively’.
Manipulating ethnoreligious sentiments
Tellingly, two days before the July 9 event, Najib had addressed a gathering of Malay silat (martial arts) exponents whence, reportedly, he suggested that the silat groups could be mobilized as a third line of defence against enemies from within and outside the country.
More than this, on July 2 in a gathering of about 20,000 people in the town of Kota Baru, Najib, in a live
broadcast over Radio Malaysia, described Ambiga Sreenevasan, the chairperson of Bersih, as ‘a threat to Islam’ for the watching brief she held as the then president of the Bar Council in the Lina Joy case a few years earlier.
Freedom of religion
Lina Joy was a Muslim woman who converted to Catholicism before marrying a member of the faith. She filed against the Registration Department for registering her religion as ‘Islam’ in her MyKad (identity card) although she had converted out of the religion.
In spite of the dismissal of her case, it was popularly understood by many Malaysians, especially non-Muslims, that this was a violation of the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. Najib’s labeling Ambiga as a threat to Islam is a deliberate distortion of her professional role as legal counsel in the Lina Joy case.
In the event, this Lina Joy case arises from a conflict between two legal jurisdictions – the civil law versus shariah law – that have emerged in Malaysia. In recent years, a number of cases involving the conversion of minors to Islam without the knowledge of the other spouse; the custody of children and/or the question of maintenance following the conversion to Islam of one spouse; the question of inheritance and even funeral arrangements following the death of a spouse who had purportedly converted to Islam without his family’s knowledge, have been highly controversial. In these cases, the non-Muslim litigants often found themselves helplessly trapped between or confined to only one of concurrent jurisdictions since they do not have locus standi in the shariah court.
Mention should also be made of the Court case between the Catholic church and the Malaysian government regarding the church’s use of the word Allah in the Catholic weekly The Herald. The government had ruled that the word Allah should be confined to use among Muslims only. At this point, a final decision has yet to be made by the Court.
Related to the above was the controversy over the importation and distribution of the Malay bibles which contained the word Allah. One shipment of these Bibles was held back by the Home Ministry authorities for several years and the matter was taken to Court. Although the Bibles were released in early 2011, unnecessary conditions have been imposed on their importation into peninsula Malaysia, to the dissatisfaction of Christians.
We highlight these episodes to you Holy Father because you have made the defence of the freedom of religion an important plank of your papacy.
Visiting the Vatican to stay in power?
Finally, there is concern among us that Najib is also reaching out to the Holy See at this juncture in order to secure popular support in the forthcoming general election due by early 2013. In the previous 2008 election, the multiracial, multireligious Opposition coalition in Malaysia performed very well and succeeded in denying the BN government a two-thirds’ majority in parliament (which had previously allowed the BN government to freely amend the Federal Constitution at will). The Opposition coalition also won an unprecedented 5 out of the 13 state governments. In fact, the BN government lost the popular vote to the
Opposition in peninsula Malaysia.
The reason why the BN was returned to power in the 2008 election was because it had secured virtually all the parliamentary seats in the states of Sabah and Sarawak located on the island of Borneo. In other words, the victory of the BN (as well as for the Opposition) in the upcoming election will depend on how well it performs in those two states.
In this regard, it is significant to note that Christians constituted 43 per cent of the population in Sarawak in 2000, and 28 per cent of the population in Sabah as recorded in the 2000 Census. We are suspicious that this official visit by Najib and his BN colleagues to the Holy See will be used by the BN leaders politically i.e. to secure votes for the BN from the Christians in Sabah and Sarawak. It is not inconceivable that photographs of Najib standing alongside the Holy Father will be widely distributed throughout the two states, particularly in the rural areas where the Christian indigenous people predominate, in the run-up to the next election.
It is with the concerns described above that we submit this letter to you Holy Father.
While we welcome the establishment of diplomatic relations between our country Malaysia and the Holy See, and we do believe that Malaysia’s experience in inter-religious living and cooperation has lessons to offer to other multireligious multiethnic societies, nonetheless, we are wary about the timing of this visit by prime minister Najib to the Vatican.
We are concerned that foreign governments and leaders who host him in his travels might be influenced by his pronouncements which extol the spirit of moderation, whereas in fact his government has used unnecessarily excessive force time and time again, the latest being its undemocratic treatment of civil society groups in Bersih’s Walk for Democracy episode.
We wish to highlight, too, how prime minister Najib and other BN leaders, in trying to stem the popular support for Bersih’s call for clean and fair elections, have manipulated ethnoreligious sentiments irresponsibly and attempted to demonise Bersih leaders as anti-Islam.
We also highlight how there have been curbs to freedom of religion in fact, although this fundamental human right is guaranteed in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.
We are also suspicious that there is a hidden political agenda to win electoral support among the Christians of Sabah and Sarawak in this visit to the Vatican.
We pray therefore that the Holy See will consider these concerns seriously and be guided by the Holy Spirit in its dealings with the Malaysian government.
Signatories
Aeria, Dr Andrew
Aneel David K
Angus, Valerie
Anjimin, Esther
Anthony, David
Anthony, Nicholas
Anthony, Richard
Armin, Delsie
Arnold, Raymond
Augustin, Yolanda
Beh, Augustin
Beh, Brenda
Beh, Francis
Beh, Belinda
Beh, Bernadette
Beh, Briget
Bendict, Jeremy
Benedict, Amanda
Benedict, Felix
Benedict, Jeffri
Benedict,Helen
Benjamin, Dorothy S
Benjamin, Lourdes, S
Benjamin, Merician S
Benjamin, Ronald
Bhar, Bernard
Boey, Anna
Bon, Gloria
Bro Anthony Rogers fsc
Bro John D’Cruz fsc
Brodie, Christopher
Cardosa, Dr. Mary Suma
Carina, Joellyne
Chahil, Sharon
Chan, Eunice
Chan, Lillian
Chang, Agatha
Chang, Francis
Chang, Alice
Chang, Jacob
Chang, Anna
Chang, Kevin
Chang, Lilian
Chang, Vivian
Chang, Joseph
Cheah Eng Thiam
Cheah, Ruth
Chee Kha King, Andrew
Chee, Amanda
Chee, Audrey
Chee, Belinda
Chan Joon Phei
Chee, Peter
Cheng Joon Hau
Cheng Yoon Sen
Cheng Yuin Mei
Cheng, Jason
Cheow, Geraldine Anne
Chew Lip Yin, Issac
Chia Mia Wan, Cynthia
Chia, Sophia
Chin Kon Seng, John
Chin Poh Choo
Chin Yee Whah
Chin, Leonard
Chin, Leoretta
Chin, Pax Angelo
Choo Nyon Yew
Choong, Vincent
Chop Noon Yew
Chow, Bernie
Chua Juay Jin
Chua, Christopher
Chua, Helen
Chung Jingyee
Curzon, Juelle
de Silva, Edda
de Vries, Abigail
Delph, Amy J.
Doh Mee Yuen
Ethan, Joash
Fah Hon Leong, James
Fernandez, Angeline Bones
Fernandez, Catherine
Fernandez, S a
Ferns, Jenevieve
Fong Li Kwan
Fong, Peter
Foo Chit Wai, Edmund
Foo Tet Sim, Elizabeth
Foo Tet Sin, Theresa
Foo Tet Tsin, Joan
Foo Tet Yoong, Barbara
Foo Tze Hiung, Colin
Foo, Angela
Foo, Audrey
Foo, Bernadine
Foo, Damian
Foo, Leonard
Foo, Nicholas
Foo, Susan
Foo, Tet Sin, Agatha
Foo, Theresa
Foo, Valentine
Fr Edmund Woon
Fr Fabian Dicom
Fr Jude Miranda
Fr Julian Leow
Fr Marshall Fernandez
Fr Simon Labrooy
Francis, Caroline
Francis, Franklin
Francis, Jennifer
Francis, Julienna
Francis, Maria Christina
Gasper, Margaret
Goh Chee Beng, Johnny
Goh, Helena
Goh, Kiat
Goh, Peggy
Gomez, Dr Terence
Gumbok, Felinsia
Harben, Dr Nilufer
Hector, Charles
Hew, Theresa
Ho, Alfred
Ho, Enoch
How Si Khoon, Jocelyn
Isnin, Rachel
Jalleh, Martin
Johnraj, Davis
Joseph, James Ponniah
Juhari, James
Kam, Margaret
Kang Hian Beng, Paul
Kee, Francis
Khek, Linus
Khoi Hoay Ling
Khoo Ah Poh
Khoo, Cynthia
Khoo. Philip
Khor, Anne
Kim S Choo
Koh, Ashley
Koh, Daniel
Koh, Hugh
Koh, John
Koh, Mark
Kok, Joan Elizabeth
Kuan, Amy
Kwan, Hung Weng
Kwan, Susanna
Lai Chen Chiong
Lai Chew Yong, Lucia
Lai Kong Meng, Francis
Lambin, Jessica
Lanson, Jairin
Lau Beng Teck, Michael
Lau, Aileen
Chee, Alexcius
Law, Clare
Law, Stephen
Lawrence, Leong
Lazaroo, Mandy Joan
Lean, Cindy
Lee Mae Yin, Josephine
Lee, Gerald
Lee, Margaret
Lee, Patricia
Leong Kok Soon, Patrick
Leong Pooi Yin, Pauline
Leong, Agatha
Leong, Debra Robert
Li Yi Phang
Lim Mah Hui, Dr Michael
Lim Sim Seng
Lim Swee Bin
Lim Thean Heng
Lim, Chin Chin Theresa
Lim, Jean
Lim, Joyce
Lim, Sophy
Lim, Susan
Liow Sook Ching
Lo, Emily
Loh Angeline
Loh Ci Yan, Sara
Loh Sook Yuin, Amy
Loh, Alexander
Loh, Arthur
Loh, Debbie
Loh, Joseph
Loh, Judith
Loh, Kee Wey Henry
Loh, Kok Wah Dr Francis
Loh, Lawrence
Loh, Mary Magdalene
Loh, Philomena
Long Took Chee, Andrew
Loo, Joakim
Loo, Randy
Looi, Adrian
Looi, Grace
Looi, Vincent
Looi, Vivien
Loong, Chris
Loong, Shane
Loorthusamy, Augustine
Lopez, Gregore Pio
Lowe Sook Yin, Christina
Martin, Erik
Mary, Genevieve
Moinsin, Jusni
Narayanam, Rajenthiran
Narayanan, Michael
Netto, Anil
Ng Choon Sim, Dr Cecilia
Ng Kok Aun
Ng Kok Moi
Ng Lai Leng,
Ng Liang Hock
Ng Swee Ming, Dr
Ng, John
Ng, Mary
Ng, Nita
Ng, Patricia
Ng, Rose
Nicholas, Dr Colin
Oh, Billy
Ong Hong Thong, Thomas
Ong Kay Chong
Ong Wing Khang, Lawrence
Ong, Adeno
Ong, Ellen
Ong, Leslie B K
Ong, Steffi
Ong, Stephanie
Ong, Thomas
Ooi Tze Qian, Angie
Ooi Wah Seng, Michael
Ooi, Corinth
Ooi, David
Ooi, Dick
Ooi, Frederick
Ooi, Gloria
Ooi, Issac
Ooi, Jacob
Ooi, Jeremy
Ooi, Joshua
Ooi, Seira
Ooi, Stephanie
Ooi, Timothy
Patrick, M B
Paul, Jack
Penafort, Robert
Pereira, Mary
Peter, Donecia
Phan Tze Wei, Eric
Phan Ying Ching, Mary A
Phan Ying Han, Erin
Phipps, Mary G
Phoa, Dr John
Phun, Florence
Quah Ai Siew, Christine
Quek, Anna
Quek, David
Quek, Dr David
Quek, Elaine
Quek, Henry
Quek, Jackie
Quek, Joseph
Quek, Julai
Quek, Kimberly
Quek, Lucia
Quek, Melissa
Quek, Thomas
Raiappan, Peter
Railim, Clarisya
Rajendra, Rebecca
Resha, Ellana
Rosaline, Daphne
Roy, Josef
Scott, Benjamin Patrick
Scott, Jennifer Caroline
Selvaraj, Jason
Sia Chay Thiam
Sibert, Dr Anthony
Sivapatham, Joycee
Soon Le Teck
Soosai, Jonathan
Soyza, Allan
Sr Lucy Theseira, IJ
Sr Marie Angele, IJ
Sr Stanislaus Thoo, IJ
Sr Winnie Khong, IJ
Sr. Dorothy Khaw IJ
Sr. Elaine Wong IJ
Sr. Mary Fletcher FMM
Surin, Raphael
Tan Jin Choon, Dominic
Tan Lai Imm
Tan Meow Min, Pauline
Tan Siew Hoon, Johanna
Tan Teck Keong
Tan, Aloysius
Tan, Catherine
Tan, Constance
Tan, Cynthia
Tan, David B C
Tan, Hans
Tan, James
Tan, Jamie
Tan, Jeanne
Tan, Jerene
Tan, Josephine
Tan, Joshua
Tan, Joyce
Tan, Lionel
Tan, Lynette
Tan, Sooi Beng, Dr
Tan, Violet
Tay, Angelina
Teo FH, Lisa
Teo CC, Wendy
Teo HF, Grace
Teo Kar Im
Teo, Ann
Teoh, Leonard
Tijah Yok Chopil
Toh Kin Woon, Dr Philip
Tuzan, Desonny Daning
Vincent, Angela
Wan, Vincent
Wee, Anthony
Wee, Geraldine
Wee, Vivien
Wong Ming Yew, Lionel
Wong, Adrian
Wong, Alice
Wong, Alison
Wong, Angie
Wong, Annie
Wong, Claire
Wong, Dominic
Wong, Raymund
Wong, Richard
Wong, Roderick
Wong, Wong
Wong. Andrew
Yeap Siew Lan
Yee Suk Yeen, Lynette
Yeo, Helen
Yeoh Beng Kim, Jonathan
Yeoh Hooi Kee, Daniel
Yeoh, Dylan
Yin Chueh Sheung, Christopher
Yip, Desmond
Yip, Jackie
Yip, Leona
Yip, Terina
Yong Hua Hin, John
Wong, John
Yong, Carol
Yong, Marie-Anne
Yoong, Michelle
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