STABILITY....
Former Sabah CM says the prevailing peace, unity and stability in the country
should be maintained at all costs.
KOTA BELUD: State
Legislative Assembly Speaker Salleh Said Keruak today called for an immediate
stop to debate over the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims, for fear that the
prolonged open debate may probably give room to extremists in all religions to
take advantage of the situation.
In making the call, the
former chief minister said the prevailing peace, unity and stability in the
country should be maintained at all costs.
“Don’t politicise it (the
use of Allah) and score points. Keep sensitive issues aside. We must maintain
harmonious environment and respect each other.
“In Sabah, we don’t have
this problem and it should not be turned into a polemic. If any issues which
considerd to be sensitive, it must be debated in closed door and not openly in
media,” he said in his speech in conjunction with the presentation of a
RM10,000 contribution from Kota Belud Foundation to Lok Yuk Kindergarden owned
by Basel Church, here today.
Salleh, who is the chairman
of the foundation, said although the people of varied race and religions in
this country have differences but “do not disturb the basis of our formation as
a nation and should respect each other”.
He said politicians must be
careful in their comments in respect of the hotly debated issues which might
cause hatred and mistrust.
“We have to co-exist without
any problems and this must be maintained for the sake unity and peace…there is
a limit in politics,” he said.
Later, Salleh, who is also
Sabah Umno deputy liaison chief, told reporters that the interests and the
welfare of the Chinese community in Sabah, are well taken care of under the
Barisan Nasional government.
Citing the government’s
spending of about RM30 million to provide financial aid to Chinese schools and
for the construction of temples in the state over the past few years, he said
this reflected the BN’s earnestness in looking after the needs of the
community.
Salleh said apart from that,
the Sabah government had given out about RM150 million in grants to non-Islamic
religious bodies and schools including Chinese independent and mission schools
since 2004,
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