COMMENT It is hard to believe when the prime minister and president of Umno attends a banquet dinner with Christian leaders, invited under the guise of peace and harmony, Najib Abdul Razak would not touch on politics.

This is the promise made by a reverend to guests invited to the banquet organised by a newly-established organisation known as the Christian for Peace and Harmony Movement (CPHM).

The banquet on June 2 will host 1,200 people, which (at the time of writing) will include, among others, representatives from Perkasa such as Ibrahim Ali and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).

I can expect a lot of hugs, with photographs of such loving hugs, being flashed across the social media and the mainstream media after the evening banquet.

The reverend is the key man behind the peace and harmony movement, hence my point-blank question to him is (and he understood the reasons for my scepticism): “What is the bottomline of this initiative, if not to attract votes for Barisan Nasional in the coming general election? We have had enough of such good initiatives!”

Good as the attempt may be, but when it smells politics, I have to turn down the invitation because at the end of the day it all boils down to attempts to lure votes from the Christian community.

Or else, how is it that the newly set-up organisation such as the CPHM can obtain funding so easily? I am not jealous if this reverend in no time will receive his datukship, but please, not at the expense of the church.

Funding does not come easy. For me to even raise RM50,000 for a good cause such as helping a Pakistani girl, daughter of an UNHCR refugee, who needs open heart surgery, the process is tedious!

Previously, when I was trying to raise just a few thousand ringgit to pay the hospital bill of a Myanmar child born with spina bifida, no corporations were willing to foot the bill. Instead, individuals including my wife and I donated RM500 each.

Funding will not come easily, even from the business community. Forget about government funding, but if tomorrow the Christians want to set up another NGO which promotes justice and peace, will it see funds flowing in from all corners?

The Bible is crystal clear about upholding justice, because it is in the upholding of justice that we will enjoy peace and harmony. The reverend did not answer my questions, except to say that justice is not within the scope of their organisation.

There is really no need to set up another NGO to promote justice, peace or harmony. After all, we know that there are already enough individuals, NGOs and even political organisations that speak up for justice, but if our prime minister listens hard enough to the voice of conscience, and the existing organisations that are there, the fabric of society in this nation would not be torn apart by all forms of extremism.

I am told that a billboard put up by CPHM which boldly declares that Christians are for peace and harmony (which is what we are about anyway) has been erected in Putrajaya, and this has not attracted the attention of groups like Perkasa or Isma. Interesting, isn’t it!

Tongue-in-cheek, perhaps, for tomorrow someone may come masquerading as a PAS ‘extremist’ and get ‘caught’ putting graffiti on it.

Pertinent questions to ask

I am being sceptical. As I mentioned in an earlier article, we have seen one thing after another, which includes the 10-point agreement and the Hindraf MOU signed prior to the last general election so, what is so different about another initiative, when there is an ulterior motive behind it?

The reverend argues that mine is a “matter of perception.” I wish to reiterate that it is not a perception per se, but Najib’s record clearly shows that he cannot be trusted.

There had been far too many opportunities for him to deal with the issues affecting the Christian community in the past six years, since he stepped into office, but what has Najib done?

The prime minister only has to utter a word, and a lot of issues would have been dealt with justly. This alone is sufficient to promote peace and harmony that cannot be faked by any groups.

Instead, we read about groups being funded by the Prime Minister’s Office. And, when certain individuals threaten to burn the Bibles, they are being let off. Anti-Christian seminars are being organised by groups such as Isma, but who is allowing them to promote such ill-feelings between the communities?

Even individuals like Sarawak native Jill Ireland , who merely brought in a few compact discs from Indonesia (with songs and messages meant for Christian consumption), is still facing the Home Ministry who recently appealed against the High Court’s decision ordering it to return the CDs.

The same happened with Border’s store manager and a Muslim herself, Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz who had to battle it out in the court with the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) for the past three years. Najib could have stepped in and put a stop to it, why did he not?

Even on non-religious issues such as natives customary rights (NCR) land and stateless children, does the prime minister not have an obligation to instruct his ministers to resolve all these issues with great urgency?

On the ‘Allah’ controversy, too, Najib could have stepped in, and stopped the right-wingers from his own party from pushing the case through to the Federal Court. The High Court had in fact ruled in favour of the Christian community, ending years of controversy that is only unique to Malaysia, not the entire Muslim community.

At a time when both the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat and Anwar Ibrahim said it is okay for Christians to use the kalimah ‘Allah’, what did Najib say or do?

What credibility does Najib still have, trying to pacify the Christian community or be seen trying to build bridges on a platform set up by the reverend? There are already existing organisations representing the Christian community, which unfortunately, like me, are already “a little sceptical” here and there.

At the heights of the ‘Allah’ controversy, Najib said, and I quote: “The government cannot do anything to stop the people from demonstrating.” Shortly thereafter some churches were firebombed. And, two mosques attended mainly by PAS members in Taman Seri Sentosa had wild-boars’ heads (wrapped in plastic) thrown into their compounds.

The raid of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) was allegedly instructed by the Selangor Islamic Council chairperson Adzib Mohd Isa, who is also an Umno strongman.

As prime minister, Najib could have instructed the Bibles to be released especially after the Attorney-General’s Chamber had cleared the BSM duo of any wrongdoing. Did he do anything? No.

At the time of writing, there is a standard operating procedure (SOP) which bans the import of the Alkitab into peninsular Malaysia. This is not uncommon. It was used in 1982 and 1986 by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself.

Another tongue-in-cheek rejoinder: Despite all the disclaimers made by the reverend, will we be seeing that the CPHM is able to negotiate for the SOPs to be dropped, something that neither the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) nor the other more vocal Christian bodies can achieve?

These, after all, are the political games people play in the political arena, but please keep the church set apart instead of using our pulpits to be used for some window-dressing.

The bottom line

The fact of the matter is that the church has always been keeping silent on many issues, as we trying to be apolitical based on the doctrine of separation of the church and the state, yet Christians are accused of trying to turn Malaysia into a Christian nation.

We were chased from residential homes used as meeting places to shoplots and now warehouses and former cinema buildings. The churches as well as the temples do not enjoy the privileges of having religious lands allocated for our use. In fact there is a shortage of non-Muslim burial grounds!

We did not protest or make a big brouhaha over it. But, with the state of affairs that we see in this country, many of us cannot help but to feel a strong sense of justice welling within us to speak up against the rotting moral values of this nation!

I am not the only one who is speaking up. Even other good Muslims like Mariam Mokhtar are criticising the powers-that-be for not stopping the rot. I used to say that a pakcik (Muslim gentleman) once told me, “Stephen, in the past, the Malays talk about being religious and holy. Today, any word coming out from the Malay community is about money.”

So, let me put it this way. We are a peaceful people, but we have always become the punching bags for Umno and pro-Umno groups in order to win the Malay votes.

We welcome anyone to our meetings, provided that they do not bring in politics into the church.

It is with tears that I am saying that the church (and other religious communities) have to wise up instead of being ‘sucked’ into the system.

For once, I appeal to Malaysiakini to turn this article into a ‘free to read’ article so that it can be shared with your friends who are Christians. Alternatively, you can save it as a PDF to send to any Christians within your circle so that they, too, will begin to realise the politics behind the many things that we see today.

This is biblical and I will pray for Najib to be a man, step forward and tackle the issues that have plagued our nation, and be prepared to accept responsibility for what he has done or failed to do so in his six years as prime minister.

Anwar Ibrahim, who is not supposed to be in jail, should be set free; otherwise, know for sure that whatever a man sows that he shall also reap.

All this is for the sake of this nation so that we will continue to enjoy peace and harmony between the people of all races and religious beliefs. This is the bottom line of what the federal constitution is all about.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.