Pak Lah's Last Tea
The 2008 CFM* Christmas tea was a usual gathering attended by a host of leaders from the Christian and non-Muslim community, politicians from both sides of the political divide, representatives of foreign embassies, and sepcial guests Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi and wife Datin Jeanne. The unusual thing was that the PM stayed on for over 90 minutes. In the words of an observant guest, he "lingered". (* Christian Federation of Malaysia)
The tea is a yearly gathering organised by CFM with the three component bodies taking turns to host the gathering.
The special guests also obliged the host, NECF Malaysia, who requested that they posed for photographs with the children who had earlier presented song items. As they left the place, they also stopped to shake hands with some of the 250 guests as press photographers jostled and elbowed for the best spot.
Earlier on during his speech, the PM's first words were not lost on the crowd. "Thank you for remembering to invite me," he jested. The attendees understood the poignancy of the remark as that would be last time he attended the CFM tea as the Prime Minister (though rumours are swirling that he might not step down after all).
Why did he 'linger' at the tea gathering? The best guess would be that he was gathering information for his declared last mission before he leaves office - to cool racial and religious tensions in the country. Undoubtedly, these tensions have escalated, maybe even spiked, during his short premiership.
With barely a few weeks left before he steps down, he is racing against time to cool the searing heat. For many, Christians included, it is a hopeless mission, like stuffing toothpaste back into its tube.
The point is that he acknowledged the problem at hand and is working towards a resolution despite the odds of achieving anything. The very least we Christians can do is to hold back our sniggers and pray for him.
During the tea, the Christian community took the opportunity to highlight to the PM a range of issues, from the Alkitab to allocation of worship places to high food prices and rising unemployment and crime.
Following is an extract of the speech made by NECF Chairman Rev. Eu Hong Seng, who spoke on behalf of CFM. The full speech is available on the NECF website.
With the looming economic crisis, we want to assure the government that Christians have been praying for the well being of our nation - and that we are committed to helping the government and the people, irrespective of race and religion, to weather the coming global crisis.
We stand committed and fervent in nation building, and we, the Christian community, pledge our cooperation and our resources.
We are thankful for the reduction in petrol price, in tandem with world oil prices. But food prices and prices of many other commodities are still maintained at the level of peak oil prices. The growing unemployment and the perception that crime is on the rise resulting in the feeling of insecurity, need to be addressed.
Amidst all these, the Christian community renews and pledges our commitment to foster greater peace and harmony, with all people in the country, and promises to work with the Government for a better Malaysia.
As we celebrate Christmas, we urge the government to continue to be sensitive and pro-active to the many needs and concerns of the general population. After the recent Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, a former victim of the earlier Highland Towers landside remarked, "after all the promises, it won't be long before the tractors and contractors start work again" - we must pause to ask why there is such cynicism in our country.
It is very encouraging to hear that your last mission before leaving office is to cool racial and religious tensions in the country. Indeed a shrinking economy and the widening polarisation of the different communities are the biggest threats facing the country.
In your journey to finalise your last mission, may we suggest that the Government re-look at its restriction on the Alkitab.
Bahasa Malaysia is our national language. Therefore we continue to be perplexed by the classification of the Bahasa Malaysia Alkitab under section 22 of the ISA as a document "prejudicial to the national interest and security of the Federation."
Though special exemption was made for the Alkitab to be used by Christians in churches, in this modern day and age, where almost anything can be accessed on the Internet, it is regrettable that our Holy Scriptures is still seen as "prejudicial to the security" of the country.
Last but not least, we will continue to pray for religious freedom for all. Twenty to 30 years ago, it seemed strange when various religious groups started to use shop-houses for worship services. Today, we are experiencing the same malady but to a much greater degree. Churches in particular, now have to use industrial lots for places of worship.
Our prayer is that, as we are encouraged by the Government to promote the good of our various faiths, we all would be given more space, literally and figuratively, to do so.
He said that the Cabinet's position may not have "filtered down properly" to the department.
Datuk Tan was then commenting on a statement by NRD director-general, Datuk Mohd Abdul Halim Muhammad who had said non-Muslims needed to show proof that they had converted or changed faiths "to prevent abuse".
During the press interview, Datuk Tan had clarified that non-Muslims only needed to fill in an "A" form, and that the Cabinet had agreed that "there was no need for a letter or certificate as proof. It should be enough for the applicant to just state so."
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