LETTER | Pope Francis, aged 87, has started visiting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore as part of his Southeast Asian and South Pacific tour.

Popes visit a large number of countries during their tenure and papal visits are symbolic, historical and memorable for the faithful.

The naturally arising question for Christian Malaysians is why has the pope not visited the country since Merdeka 67 years ago, and that too after establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 2011.

Whenever there are international papal tours one is peeved as to why the pope bypasses Malaysia. Christian Malaysians, especially the Catholics, are eager to meet the pope and the wait has been far too long.

The primary reason is that the government does not give permission even if a request is made by the Catholic Church. It is time the government stops its nonchalant stand against the papacy and also stops giving flimsy excuses that disappoint and irritate Christian Malaysians.

It is also time the East Malaysians especially the Sarawakians take a serious stance on the need for a papal visit that will lead to better interaction and understanding between the diverse religious communities.

Take initiative

The Pakatan Harapan government, which was supposed to be more liberal than previous administrations that have been proffering unreasonable excuses, needs to take the initiative to invite the pope to visit Malaysia.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since he became the head of government has been reaching out to various international leaders in an effort to promote the country as one of political stability, economic progress and viable democracy to woo not only investors but also to enhance Malaysia’s global image.

A papal visit should be part of this broad initiative and effort. Excuses such as that it will cause disunity or be opposed by some sections of Muslims are totally unfounded.

Islamic countries with far greater fundamentalist and conservative Muslim populations have welcomed the pope with open arms, and Malaysia’s excuse that the pope’s visit will cause disunity and ill-will among peninsula Muslims cannot be logically sustained.

In fact, a large number of Muslims and their leaders worldwide appreciate and welcome Francis’ in fostering good relations, peace and friendship amongst various religions, especially Islam.

Francis focuses on key issues, the main ones being climate change and efforts to stop or prevent conflicts.

The head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby visited Penang and Sabah in 2019. If this could be done why not a papal visit?

It must be noted that there are more Catholics than Anglicans in the country. Supreme heads of other Christian denominations have been allowed to visit the country and interact with their members.

As such the government’s misgivings and reasons cannot be regarded as rational. Leaders of various nations with whom Malaysia had ideological differences previously are now given a grand welcome considering the changing realities of the times.

Or is it because the pope heads the largest religious community in the world - the Catholics?

More incentives

The Christian community in Malaysia has been supportive of the government in its various nation-building efforts. The government must take this into account when dealing with the community’s aspirations and expectations.

The Christian community is grateful to previous governments for allowing Christians and others to visit the Holy Land via Jordan even though Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel. This gesture is very much appreciated and more incentives and initiatives like this for the Christian community will be much welcome.

It is a well-known fact that the West Malaysian Christian community is weaker and easily intimidated as compared to the East Malaysian Christians. As such East Malaysian Christians and their leaders must undertake a serious effort in pressuring the government to invite the pope for a visit.

It is hoped that influential Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Abang Openg, who is more assertive in demanding that the government recognise and respect the nation’s diversity for its own good, take the lead in urging the Harapan government to invite the pope for an official visit to both East and West Malaysia whose Christian populations are eager to greet and interact with the pope.

The government will gain much goodwill, influence and friendship from a visit by the popular and progressive Pope Francis.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.