KUCHING: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia issued a statement on Feb 17, calling all Catholics to be aware of the adverse explicit and implicit consequences brought about by a rapidly changing world which is “deeply affected by rising secularism, individualism, religious fundamentalism, communalism and even materialism”.
“The birth of our country was premised on the fact that we are a multi-religious and multicultural nation and that freedom of religion or belief should be fully respected and guaranteed. However, in more recent times, changing trends, both internationally and locally, have sometimes made the expressions of faith far more challenging.”
“We are at a point of our nation’s history where the freedom to practise our faith we once enjoyed and the Church, as an important player for nation building, seem to have been disregarded.”
“For now, we find that even simple acts like hanging a cross on a building are, often times, deemed offensive and our acts of charity are viewed with suspicion,” said the statement by President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia Reverend Julian Leow Beng Kim on behalf of Reverend Dato John Ha, Reverend Datuk John Wong, Reverend Datuk Cornelius Piong, Reverend Datuk Julius Dusin Gitom, Reverend Richard Ng, Reverend Joseph Hii, Reverend Datuk Sebastian Francis and Reverend Bernard Paul.
Leow also acknowledged the challenges Christian children faced in schools and universities.
“These challenges come in the form of inaccurate or false information, restriction on expressions of faith, and lack of respect. Some of them who are living away from their families are enticed to abandon the Christian faith even without the knowledge of their families and this is often irreversible,” said Leow.
He also listed the other challenges faced by the Church at large such as limitations of places of worship, unacceptable controls of the importation and publication of the Al-Kitab, restrictions on public display and expression of faith among others.
In the face of such adversities, Leow said Catholics must first establish a firm faith foundation within the Church, the families and parishes.
“As Christians, let us also be aware of what is happening in our surroundings and our country at large. Let us reach out to those who are marginalised; let us lift the oppressed; let us find justice for the persecuted; let us be a voice for the voiceless and let us bring hope to those in despair.”
He invited all Christians to have a joint prayer in their respective parishes from 7.30pm to 10.30pm on Friday (Feb 24).
“In a special way, we want to pray for our lawmakers, as Parliament convenes on Mar 6, that they may be guided in knowledge and wisdom to discern and act for the common good of all peoples, namely, for peace, harmony, respect and justice.”
“Let us also pray that we too, as Malaysians, stand in solidarity with one another, irrespective of creed and culture, strive to be beacons of hope and mercy for, in this way, we mirror the face of Jesus Christ, which is love,” said Leow.
In this coming parliamentary meeting, the amendments to Act 355 which seeks to enhance the punishment meted out by the Syariah Court, is expected to be discussed and passed after the ruling coalition took over the bill initially proposed by Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
The bill has proposed to increase jail term from the present maximum of three years to 30 years; fine of RM5,000 to RM100,000 and the present maximum six lashes of cane to 100 lashes.
The Kelantan State Legislative Assembly had passed an amendment to Kelantan’s Syariah Criminal Code 1993 in 2015 but it could not enforce it due to Act 355.
Hadi’s Bill has been met with strong opposition from non-Muslims for fear that once passed, it will pave the way for the implementation of hudud in the country.
Due to the strong opposition from other component parties such as MCA and MIC, Umno had decided to take over and table it as a government bill.