Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak
KOTA KINABALU (March 17): Differences in religion and racial background are not at all an obstacle for the people of Sabah to unite and live in harmony.
Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said the existence of houses of worship of different religions in nearby locations shows the high level of racial tolerance among the various ethnic and religious communities in the state.
“In fact, don’t be surprised if you come across Muslims who visit Christian weddings held in the church,” he said in his latest posting on Facebook.
Salleh, who is also Usukan assemblyman, said the practice of moderation is not an issue in Sabah which has more than 30 ethnic groups of different religions.
“The spirit of togetherness and culture of mutual respect is one of the keys to Sabah’s success in maintaining racial unity and moderation.
“That’s why the people of Sabah can live in peace and harmony,” he said.
In this regard, Saleh urged the people in the state to advocate a culture and practices of moderation and not be easily swayed by extreme elements.
On Friday, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) said that activities where Muslims visit non-Muslim houses of worship such as temples, churches, and gurdwaras to learn about these religions apart from their own should be rejected and restricted.
Its chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, claimed that such activities tend to be negative towards Islam and violate the laws preventing the proselytisation of other religions to Muslims.
He was weighing in on the recent controversy following a “Jom Ziarah” programme organised by Impact Malaysia — an agency under the Youth and Sports Ministry — to promote mutual respect and mutual understanding about the country’s diverse religions where youths are taken to visit different houses of worship.
While acknowledging the racial, cultural and religious diversity in the country, Abdul Aziz said it was of the view that “the community’s mutual understanding, tolerance and unity is very important to ensure Malaysia’s harmony and peace”.
He added that Islam does not prohibit friendship and tolerance towards non-Muslims.
But he said that such events like the “Jom Ziarah” programme should have limits placed to ensure no Muslims are being influenced to be interested in other religions.
“Although the objective of this programme is said to give exposure towards a religion (sic) practised in this country and to form close unity among the believers of different religions, but programmes to learn about other religions other than Islam in any churches or any houses of worship needs certain controls and restrictions to ensure there is no element of persuading Muslims to be influenced and interested in other religions besides Islam and also no involvement of Muslims in other religions’ rituals,” he said in a statement.