THERE is absolute need for Malaysians from all walks of life across the entire country to remain calm, following the fire-bombing of churches in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. It is useful to remember the old adage that indeed there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
The firebombs came in the wake of a High Court judgement allowing the Catholic Church to use the term ‘Allah’ as the Bahasa Malaysia translation for the Christian God. The Home Ministry has since submitted an appeal on the High Court judgement.
We have always prided ourselves as a country that respects and honours the Rule of Law. Our system of parliamentary democracy has always served us in good stead, and save for May 13, we have been spared the carnage that ravages many other developing countries.
Therefore, there is no need to panic just because there are criminal elements among us who try to create havoc so they can fish in muddied water. We all know that violence or bloodshed is not the Malaysian way, and we will continue to solve our problems in a peaceful manner.
In this regard, the religious leaders of all our major religions and denominations should speak with one voice in condemning the dastardly and cowardly fire-bombing of churches or any other places of worship. The perpetrators betray their narrow hateful minds, which have absolutely no place in our larger Malaysian society.
We also have to watch out for agents provocateurs who are jealous of the inter-religious harmony achieved by Malaysians at large, and so are intent on creating incidents like the firebombs to spread mutual suspicion among followers of different faiths. Everybody must keep calm in order not to fall into the trap of our common enemies.
The spirit of solidarity between the different faiths in Sabah and Sarawak is particularly strong, unlike in West Malaysia where the religious narrative sometimes assumes disproportionate intensity. Left to ourselves, Sabahans and Sarawakians are most unlikely to be involved in ugly incidents like the petrol bomb atrocity.
The police in Kuala Lumpur must also step up their efforts in stopping further petrol-bombs from going off, and bring the guilty parties to justice, in order to ensure the confidence of the public in our law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order.
At the end of the day, the fire-bomb incidents must also compel us to reflect upon the challenges of living in a multiracial and multi-religious society like ours.
We still have to go back to the basics of multi-religious co-existence by emphasising the common universal values among our different faiths, while celebrating our differences with tolerant acceptance of what differentiates us.
Religious faith is one of the strongest human emotions possible and we must approach our own religious conviction with humility. The minute we try to thrust our religious beliefs into the throat of another person, we invite catastrophic disaster. At all times, we should practise the ‘live and let live’ spirit in order for inter-faith harmony to prevail at all times.
In times of religious controversy, such as the case of using ‘Allah’ for the English translation of the Christian God, we must pursue all peaceful channels of communication through dialogues and seek legal recourse if necessary. Acts of arson are never an option.
We have seen how religious strife has torn apart many lands across this God’s good earth. We have witnessed how ‘men of God’ order the killing of innocent people in the ‘name of God’. We have witnessed how religious warfare engulfs many corners of the world in blood and carnage. We certainly do not want to see this sort of bloody tragedy being enacted on our beloved home soil.
The price of religious harmony in Malaysia is eternal vigilance, against the extremist impulse that walks among us, against the narrow-minded bigotry that poisons the minds of our young, and the toxin of hate that drives people to acts of extreme violence.
Our forefathers of all races and faiths built this beautiful land for us to share in her bounty. It is our duty to preserve and improve upon this land for inheritance by our children and their children. The most precious legacy that we can hand over to our children is our social harmony and religious acceptance among all Sarawakians.
No matter what faith we profess, we all belong to one large family of brothers and sisters — bombs, violence and fire have no place in this family.
With one heart, all Malaysians and all Sarawakians should banish the spectre of violence from our national life, and welcome instead the life-affirming forces of hope, love and goodwill.
Our beloved nation and our children deserve no less!