Posted by SK at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's been a really busy Sunday today. But there's still some energy left in me to recollect all that had happened throughout the day, and perhaps, offer it all up to the Lord.

Paradoxically, the highlight of my day was found this morning during a very silent moment. I was sitting at a chair just near the altar at the Sanctuary. It was a brief 45 minutes, and I was in between two Masses. I was seated there while awaiting the arrival of the godparents of a baby I was about to baptise. So I sat there silently whilst waiting.

And then, at the corner of my eye, I noticed a young teenage boy sitting over at another corner of the church where the pews were - he was kneeling in prayer. A young teenager, praying. Alone.

I know of teenagers who're in church because they're compelled to be there; I know of teenagers who love rowdy moments of what they call "Praise and Worship" (yup, those party-concert-type stuff); but I honestly hardly know several teenagers who find solace in quiet moments praying before the Blessed Sacrament. It's not that there are none, I'm sure; but they are few. Every glimpse I get of those like that excites me deeply.

God bless that brother. He has so encouraged my spirit. I know great things are in store in his life, because he's not a man dedicated to the following of the popular and the fashionable. He chooses to follow Christ the good old-fashioned way. And he will therefore find Christ like the saints of old did.

I'm not sure of his name, although I've greeted him a couple of times before during youth events. But I'm proud of him. Very proud. And I know Mother Church is too.

Posted by SK at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by SK at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Holy Scriptures Desecrated

The Christian community in Malaysia is deeply hurt that the Government has desecrated and defaced the Bible.

Initial news that the Government had agreed to release copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia which had been impounded in both Port Klang and Kuching was greeted with joy.

However, this joy soon turned into grief and mourning when it was discovered that the release was subject to certain conditions. Each copy has to be stamped with a serial number, the official seal of the relevant department of the Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan Dan Teks Al-Quran, and the words “by order of the Minister of Home Affairs”.

This means that the Bahasa Malaysia Bible is now treated as a restricted item, and the Word of God has been made subject to the control of man. This is wholly offensive to Christians. Any person who respects the Holy Scriptures of any religion would be appalled by this action.

The Christian community in Malaysia has always acted in good faith and with great patience to find amicable solutions without compromising our fundamental beliefs. But that good faith has not been reciprocated by the Government. It is the Government that has moved the “goal posts” over the years through a systematic imposition of unreasonable conditions and restrictions.

We have never agreed to any wording to be endorsed on Bibles to say that it is only for Christians. The 1982 order issued under the Internal Security Act 1960 did not state that any form of words had to be endorsed on any copy of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.

The latest letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs dated 15 March 2011 is therefore a set of new conditions imposed on the release of the impounded Bibles which is wholly unacceptable to us. We will never accede to any desecration of the Bible since the Word of God to us is sacred.

We also wholly reject the Government’s contention that the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia is prejudicial to the national interest and security of Malaysia, and treated as a subversive publication.

As Christians we wonder how our Holy Scriptures can become a national security threat where countless number of us find it helpful in bringing hope and healing to broken lives and homes which we can testify to. Besides it commands us to be better citizens of our beloved nation.

We therefore insist that the Government withdraw the conditions imposed on the release of the Bibles impounded in Port Klang and Kuching. Given that copies may already have been endorsed, we will NOT take delivery of those endorsed copies.

We call on all Malaysians, from Semenanjung and in Sabah and Sarawak, and from all walks of life, to come together in unity to reject any attempt to restrict the freedom of religion in our beloved country.

We invite all Christians in Malaysia to remain calm and to continue to pray for a dignified and respectful resolution of this issue. As Sunday 20 March 2011 marks the 2nd anniversary of the impounding of the Bibles at Port Klang, we call on all those in Malaysia and elsewhere to dedicate themselves to a day of prayer and quiet reflection.

Yours sincerely,
Bishop Ng Moon Hing Chairman and the Executive Committee,
Christian Federation of Malaysia

Posted by SK at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Detention of Bahasa Malaysia Bibles Yet Again

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is greatly disillusioned, fed-up and angered by the repeated detention of Bibles written in our national language, Bahasa Malaysia. This time yet again at the Port of Kuching in Sarawak.

30,000 copies of the "Perjanjian Baru, Mazmur dan Amsal" i.e. the "New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs" are currently being withheld.

This is notwithstanding that the Government in its attempt to to justify its position against the use of the word "Allah" in the Alkitab, the Government had given the assurance that the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia, will be freely available, at least in Sabah and Sarawak.

Since March 2009, all attempts to import the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia, i.e. the Alkitab, whether through Port Klang or the Port of Kuching, have been thwarted.

The previous consignment of 5,000 copies of the Alkitab imported in March 2009 is still being held by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Port Klang. This is despite repeated appeals which resulted in the Prime Minister making a decision to release the Alkitab held in Port Klang in December 2009 which was reported to CFM leaders by several Cabinet Ministers and their aides.

In absolute disregard of this decision, the 5,000 copies of the Alkitab remain detained. The Prime Minister when told about the continued detention of these 5,000 Bibles at a hi-tea event last Christmas expressed surprise that the order to release the same held in Port Klang had not been implemented. However, nothing has been done by the authorities to ensure their release.

Prior to March 2009, there were several incidents where shipments of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia were detained. Each time tedious steps had to be taken to secure their release. It would appear as if the authorities are waging a continuous, surreptitious and systematic programme against Christians in Malaysia to deny them access to the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.

Malaysian Christians, many of whom have grown up with Bahasa Malaysia as their principal medium of communication as a result of the Government's education policies, must have access to Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia in order to read, comprehend and practise their faith.

The freedom of religion guaranteed as part of the fundamental liberties under our Federal Constitution is rendered meaningless if adherents to a religion are denied access to their religious texts in a language that they can understand.

It is an affront to them that they are being deprived of their sacred Scriptures. Many are wondering why their Scriptures are considered a threat to national security. All these actions in relation to the detention of the Bibles continue to hurt the Malaysian Christian community.

We would ask how the Government's transformation programme can be successfully implemented if civil servants can blatantly refuse to obey the Prime Minister's order? Is the Government powerless to act against these "little Napoleons" who substitute their own interests and agenda in place of the Prime Minister's directives?

We call upon the Government to act now and prove their sincerity and integrity in dealing with the Malaysian Christian community on this and all other issues which we have been raising with them since the formation of the Christian Federation of Malaysia in 1985.

As an immediate step, we insist upon the immediate release of all Bibles which have been detained.

Bishop Ng Moon Hing
Chairman and the Executive Committee,
Christian Federation of Malaysia

Posted by SK at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From 3 to 7 March, I taught the 8-session course "What's the Difference? Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants" in the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption.

Posted by SK at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you haven't watched this, you must.

What's a guy like this doing in a courtroom? And what, he's been there for 24 years?! Malaysia Boleh.

Posted by SK at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Several months ago, just over three months after my son was born, the Malay makcik living across my house walked over to our gate and asked to see our baby. She carried him in her arms and started talking about how precious children were, and how we had to seize these seasons of their lives before they grew up. Seeing a Malay makcik carrying my baby warmed my heart. It made me believe in Malaysia all over again.

Several weeks ago, my parents, my wife and I took our 5-month old son out to the warong outside our housing estate for breakfast. The group of Malay makciks suddenly lost interest in serving their customers when they noticed our son. They started grabbing him and passing him around to one another. Seeing a group of Malay ladies, with their tudung and all intact, doting on a young Chinese baby, and joking about how round he was and how fair he was as contrasted to their brownness, was heartwarming. It made me believe in Malaysia all over again.

Several days later, my mum and I took our two dogs to a nearby pet store to have them bathed. And there was a Malay makcik there, again, with tudung and all, who came close to us and our two dogs. She gazed longingly at our dogs and told us how much she loved dogs. She said if only she had the money to rear them, that she'd have loved to have a few dogs herself. Her refusal to fall for the common notion of Muslims being forbidden to be near dogs touched me so. It made me believe in Malaysia all over again.

This afternoon, I was seated in an Indian-Muslim restaurant for a drink. Seated right in front of me was an elderly Chinese man who was mentally unsound. He was talking to many imaginary friends around his table. The Indian-Muslim waiter brought him a plate of rojak and a cup of ice water despite the man not having money with him. It was an act of kindness for which the Chinese man did not have the capacity to be grateful. He merely started talking to the plate of rojak and then started eating it. But the Indian-Muslim waiter just smiled on him kindly. It made me believe in Malaysia all over again.

This evening, as I was driving along the highway on my way home from work, I saw a Chinese man pushing his motorbike which had broken down. At my speed, I couldn't stop in time to offer assistance. But 100 metres ahead, I noticed that an Indian man on a motorbike had stopped after having noticed a fellow biker pushing his bike behind him. And now, this Indian man was pushing his motorbike backwards towards the Chinese man. What kindness. It made me believe in Malaysia all over again.

I have learned something today: I believe in Malaysia, and I'm glad I decided to stay here. What I don't believe in are politicians who have done us much harm by imposing a racial consciousness that has divided us rather than an awareness of differences that helps us to celebrate our diversity and uniqueness. Through all the above situations that I'd witnessed, I had caught a glimpse of what Malaysia could be. Or perhaps this was what Malaysia once was, but had been gradually forgotten. Maybe all I saw was a debris of the past.

The truth is, I don't need any politician to preach 1Malaysia at me. There are very good people in Malaysia - non-political people - who recognise our differences in colour, culture and religion, and who celebrate these diversities. My own religion has preached 1Humanity long before the very political entities who polarised the races in Malaysia started ironically preaching 1Malaysia.

I believe in Malaysia. But leaders, I don't believe in you.

Posted by SK at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)