TENSION......
The vocal Bishop Paul Tan wants the government to act against the former
premier and all those who stoke racial and religious tension.
By : RK ANAND
KUALA LUMPUR: Once the
object of love and veneration but now hate and denigration, Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s
constant outbursts have made him one of the most criticised individuals in this
nation.
And even on Valentine’s Day,
it is brickbats and not bouquets for the former premier.
Ironically, Mahathir who
threw scores of people behind bars without trial on the basis of national
security is now considered to be a threat himself.
And his unrestrained remarks
on sensitive issues had earned him the wrath of a vocal senior clergyman as
well.
Speaking to FMT, Bishop Paul
Tan urged the government to take stern action against Mahathir and all those
who stoke the flames of racial and religious tension.
The action, he stressed, was
vital so that these persons’ “evil oil does not flow to others ending in
engulfing Malaysia in flames”.
Similarly, he said the law
must come down hard on Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and others who called or
supported the burning of Christian Bibles containing the word Allah.
“Action must be taken
against those who for political expediency accuse Christians of trying to make
Malaysia a Christian country and those who make false accusations against any
ethnic group without concrete proof to enflame the already tedious and fragile
fabric texture of the Malaysian society.
“It is my conviction that
all precautions must be taken to ensure that racial or religious riots do not
break out in Malaysia.
“If a person representing a
party fans the already simmering ember of racial and religious tension in
Malaysia, vigorous and strong action should be taken against him or her,” he
added.
Vote for the clean and
upright
With the 13th general
election looming, Tan, 72, called on the Christian electorate to cast their
ballots with wisdom and to forgive those who had wronged them in the past.
“Vote in any person whose
track records prove that he/she is clean, upright,transparent and who
courageously stands up for justice for all and works effectively for the good
of all citizens, even the most discriminated against – the Orang Asli, the poor
Malays in the kampungs, the downtrodden Indians in the estates, etc.
“We should not forget either
our ‘modern slaves’, the migrant workers, who are being ruthlessly exploited,
although they contribute to the building of our country,” he added.
Tan said that whichever
party took over the federal leadership, be it Barisan Nasional or Pakatan
Rakyat, it must protect all citizens.
“It must be clean from any
corruption even if it is legally done, for example, the government dolling out
money to win votes; equitable, transparent and upright. It is for these reasons
that I fully support any protest for a just, clean and fair election, for
example, Bersih’s call.
“Although I have not taken
any partisan side in saying what I have said, I cannot not take a moral,
religious and political stand for justice, cleanliness, equity and fairness.
The Vatican would be happy that I dare speak out the truth, without taking any
political side,” he added.
Thin line between politics
and religion
Meanwhile, Tan, who is the
immediate past president of the Catholics Bishops’ Conference of Singapore,
Malaysia and Bunei, also responded to those who criticised him for being vocal
on political issues.
He said that he firmly
adhered to the Catholic Church’s stand on forbidding bishops and clerics to
take political partisan sides.
“Therefore if from what I
have said that appeared in the press, someone were to construe that I were for
a political party, it would be their conjecture; it would be their problem and
not mine. As far as my memory goes, I have spoken out on religious freedom,
human rights and morality. This is encouraged by our Popes,” he added.
However, Tan said that
sometimes there was a thin line between politics and religion, for example, the
issue of the use of the word “Allah”.
“This is because politicians
and political parties have insidiously made use of religion for their political
ends and thus blurring the line that divides religion and politics,” he pointed
out.
“Permit me to bring up a
recent ‘hot’ issue – the use of the word ‘Allah’; it is strictly an issue of
religion – whether people of faiths other than those who profess Islam can use
it or not. It is also an issue of freedom of a human person to use any word in
any language provided it is not done to denigrate a person of another religion
or any religion. Unfortunately, politicians and political parties have jumped
onto the bandwagon for selfish political interests,” he added.
Tan also stressed that he
believes in the separation of state and religion in the sense that religion is
not politics.
Religious representatives,
especially leaders, he said, should not meddle with strictly political matters
that come under the domain of politicians, and politicians should not interfere
in the running of obvious religious issues that belong to duties of religious
leaders.
“I confess that at times
things are not that clear-cut, for example, moral and human rights questions.
They often straddle religion and politics. Take an example: the fight for gays
to be married. It is both a moral issue and a political problem,” he added. (FMT)
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