PENANG: In a landmark case, the Syariah High Court here allowed an application by Muslim convert Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah, 39, to renounce Islam and officially revert to her original faith.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians of all races and religions should accept the Penang Syariah High Court's decision to allow Muslim convert Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah to renounce Islam and officially revert to her original faith.

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This is a public statement from RoH Malaysia pertaining to our participation in the politics of the nation, in order that our rhetorics may be received in proper perspective:

RoH Malaysia is committed to a non-partisan position in our political stance. As a team, we neither stand in support of nor against any political party in Malaysia. Our utmost concern reflects the concern of the Body of Christ: justice and peace. As we seek to uphold the dignity of the marginalised in society, we are committed to articulating our concerns regarding relevant issues in accordance with the theological and ethical standards of the Church. That these articulations pertaining to any socio-political reality implicates upon particular political positions and parties does not at all or at any time reflect a spirit of political partisanship on our part.

A letter from the Christian Federation of Malaysia:

Dear friends,

This is to inform you of the following:

The Minister for Internal Security issued a Publication Permit dated 12th February 2008 for the period 1st January 2008 until 31st December 2008 to the Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, the Publisher of the HERALD - The Catholic Weekly stating that the Publication Permit is subject to a Garis Panduan Penerbitan which prohibits the Publisher from
using the word ALLAH in the HERALD - The Catholic Weekly.

The decision of the Minister for Internal Security was unacceptable and on 19th March 2008, an Application for Judicial Review was filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to challenge the decision of the Minister. The first state of the Application for Judicial Review i.e. to seek leave or permission to proceed is fixed for hearing at 9.00am on 25th April 2008.

Archbishop Murphy Pakiam will be in the High Court for the hearing. Kindly make this known to your parishioners and pray for the intention of the Archbishop and other Bishops on this matter.

Sample Prayer:
We pray that the High Court in honouring the rights of all citizens of Malaysia will uphold the Constitutional Rights of Christians to use the word ALLAH in all Christian Publications like the Malay Bible or Al-Kitab, the Malay Prayer books, our Catechism books for children, our Malay Mass books and even in our weekly publication HERALD. We pray to the Lord.

RoH Malaysia is extremely committed to speaking into society - particularly the Malaysian society - on issues of justice and peace. As a team of people representing different traditions of the Christian faith, it is necessary that a positional understanding be articulated to reflect our understanding of the relationship between the Church and politics.

Below is a brief articulation of that understanding written by Sherman for our further reflection.

Church and Politics
Sherman YL Kuek
April 2008

Sherman is a theological researcher, writer and conversationist who dialogues with people of various backgrounds and traditions on issues pertaining to theology, spirituality, and culture. He is the Convenor of Revolution of Hope (RoH Malaysia). At the parish level, he serves as a Lay Ecclesial Minister (Pastoral Assistant). Sherman is completing a doctorate degree in Systematic and Contextual Theology with Trinity Theological College (Singapore). He blogs on www.shermankuek.net.

Many Christians seem almost entirely unsure about the role of the Church in the political arena.

Some Christians, on the one hand, seem to relegate the role of political partisanship to the Church, as if it was the responsibility of the Church to sway people either towards or away from particular political inclinations and parties.

Some other Christians, on the other hand, seem to think there is no role at all for the Church in politics and that she should maintain a posture of absolute silence on anything within the domain of the secular state.

One must remember, the ultimate concerns of the Church of Jesus Christ are not of this world although they find their temporal embodiment in the present circumstances of this world. The Church, beyond elections, democracy and government (all of which are legitimate mechanisms for the regulation of the temporal world), finds her prophetic calling in the upholding of peace and justice in the world, for these deal with the higher and eternal values of the Christ who established His Church in the world.

Elections, democracy and government are therefore – in the eyes of the Church – nothing more (and nothing less) than instruments for the promotion of peace and justice. She of herself is to be a non-partisan, non-political entity.

The Church’s task as the visible Kingdom of God in the world is to articulate and proclaim its concern for justice and peace, and to strive towards upholding it. This task at times involves the expression of support for specific causes that coincidentally favour particular political positions and organisations; but these are merely coincidental, for the Church’s other articulations of peace and justice may very well coincidentally condemn the causes of those very same political positions and organisations her previous articulations seemed to endorse.

It is therefore not the particularities of any one political entity’s positions the Church seeks to endorse or illegitimise, but rather, the causes and values for which these particularities stand. Christians should therefore make no mistake about it. If the Church’s expression of support seems to endorse the cause of any political entity, it is entirely coincidental. Likewise, if her expression of condemnation impinges upon the cause of any political entity, it is also not the political entity itself, but rather, the cause she seeks to condemn.

Therefore, the position of the Church is neither one of utter indifference nor political partisanship. Her position is one of justice and peace, this being a position that coincidentally presents profound implications for the express stances of political entities.

Having understood that, the individual Christian is then called to vote for the cause of justice and peace, and not in accordance with the law of partisanship. The Church together with her leadership are also to refrain from telling people, “Vote for…” or “Do not vote for…”; this is not her calling. Her calling is to execute and sustain the consciousness of people in matters of justice and peace, to be the righteous voice of Christ in a partisan political world.

Of Himself, Christ is neither government nor opposition, Labour nor Conservative, Democratic nor Republican. Christ is Christ.