KOTA KINABALU: All Malaysians in Sabah must be steadfast, resolute, unwavering and stand together to defend the cardinal principle of “freedom of religion” upon which this great country was formed.
Former member of parliament, Datuk Henrynus Amin, said yesterday that statements, decisions or actions that breach or betray this cardinal principle should be questioned or ignored as far as Sabah is concerned.
He said the then founding fathers in the interior led by the Gunsanad family had asked for a Constitutional guarantee for the “freedom of religion” when negotiating their way to the formation of Malaysia.
“You can read from history how these founding fathers from the interior of Sabah (then North Borneo) spoke their mind and fought hard to win political concession from the then Federation of Malaya for a Constitutional guarantee to the native community on freedom of religion.
“The event was commemorated in an oath stone located in Keningau town where G.S. Sundang and other native political leaders representing the interior native community read out their pledge of loyalty and oath of allegiance to Malaysia.”
“All Malaysians especially political leaders who helm the seats of power at state or federal level should remember and not ignore this important event,” he said.
He said statements or decisions by political leaders deemed to contravene or put in doubt their commitment to this Constitutional provision of freedom of religion will no doubt be questioned politically and legally.
Henrynus said the Christian community welcomed the Chief Minister’s personal stand that the ongoing linguistic issue between Christians and Muslim in Peninsula Malaysia on the Malay Bible is a non-issue in Sabah and should not be allowed to divide the peace loving people of Sabah.
He said the Christian community also thanked Senior Umno leaders such as Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Husin and other BN political leaders who have openly spoken for their foresights and political maturity to understand the feelings of the native Christian community and defend their legitimate rights to freedom of worship.
He said the Christian community in Sabah was shocked by a recent statement from a senior Sabah Federal Minister who seemed to question the wisdom of aggrieved Christians to seek legal redress or court interpretation of the Constitutional provision on the cardinal principle of freedom of religion.
He said, there is no doubt there are contentious issues between Christians and Muslims on the use of Arabic terms adopted by the Malay Bible.
“There is a historic dimension to this issue because not many people in Malaysia know that the Malay Bible was actually translated into Malay by Munsyi Abdullah one of the greatest Malay literary giants of the 19th century during the 1800s.”
“A quick Internet search will reveal some of the pertinent historical truth on the original translation of the Malay Bible from Arabic Bible in Malaysia.
“Not many people can appreciate the difference between an Arabic term and an Islamic term.
“There seems to be much confusion about the Arabic language being adopted by the Malay language and used by the Christian church in Sabah,” said Henrynus.
He said the native Christian community in Sabah has been worshipping in the Malay language since before the formation of Malaysia due to the lack of a common dialect to bind them except the Malay language.
He said any attempt to change the status quo would be met by strong resistance and this is a natural reaction when certain communities feel aggrieved.
He said the Federal Constitution is a sacred document that governs the justice system of the country as well as governs the behavior of citizen and provide the guidelines for policy making.
“But all provisions in the Federal Constitution are subject to interpretation and the Malaysian Court of Law interprets the law. So when Christians feel aggrieved by government actions banning their publication or stopping the Bibles from being distributed, where do Christians seek legal redress?” Henrynus asked.
He said peace loving citizens should go to court to seek justice, rather than go to the streets to vent their anger or raise arms to fight the government.
“Of course the best way to resolve religious conflict would be through engagement and consensus such as the 10-point Cabinet decision to allow the use of the Malay Bibles in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
However, he said, there are circumstances such as clash of values, for instance, on the use of Arabic terms adopted by the Malay Bible, which cannot be easily resolved by the parties involved in the conflict.
He said the Malaysian political system has provided the legal mechanism to interpret the law and resolve conflict.
“The charter of the National Ideology has placed the Rule of Law as one of the five core beliefs and surely seeking court arbitration is the civilized way of resolving conflict, not street demonstrations.
“Therefore, any statement by any political leader contrary to the norm of the country on freedom of religion is sheer ignorance or at best political immaturity,” Henrynus added.