Malaysiakini
May 8, 11

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Nicholas Pakiam, has slammed reports alleging a conspiracy to turn the country into a Christian state.

Describing the reports as “irresponsible, baseless and provocative”, Pakiam demanded that the authorities take action against what it said were quarters that seek to threaten the harmonious, multi-cultural and multi-religious make-up of the country.

A “thorough investigation” into the matter should be made to determine the source of these “insidious, provocative and malicious lies” and take action against those behind it, said Pakiam in a statement.

He was responding to the blog postings, on which an Utusan Malaysia report was based, accusing DAP of colluding with Christian pastors to make Christianity the country’s official religion so that a Christian can become prime minister.

‘We’ve never been treasonous, hateful’

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was named in the blog postings as the DAP leader who attended the meeting and joined the prayer session with the pastors, who were reportedly attending a mega-ceramah at the Catholic Christian Centre in Penang on Saturday.

“On behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Malaysia, I would like to categorically refute the allegation that such a meeting had taken place or will take place in a Catholic venue in Penang,

“It is clear that this reporting is baseless and highly irresponsible as the reporters and editors of the above newspaper have not taken any reasonable steps whatsoever to verify the allegations made by anonymous bloggers.

“Furthermore, this report comes after the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), one of the organizers of the above meeting, having refuted the claims of those bloggers and the same was carried on online media.

“The NECF has further clarified that this meeting only covered the topic of ethical leadership and had no treasonous agenda as alleged by the bloggers and news report,” said Pakiam.

Pakiam said Christian authorities teach the community to be God-fearing and law-abiding citizens and conscientious decision-makers “based on justice which is reflective of moral and divine laws.”

Even in the Al-Kitab issue over which the Christian Federation of Malaysia has been in dispute with the government, Church leaders had always reiterated their commitment and readiness “to dialogue and work together with the government” and all parties for a just and reasonable solution.

“It is clear that our position has never been treasonous nor have we advocated hatred, antagonism or animosity towards any religion or groups of persons,” said Pakiam.

“I continue to call upon all Catholics, Christians and all Malaysians to pray, dialogue and work together to strengthen national unity and harmony. May God bless our leaders with a firm vision and the courage and strength to uphold and realise it.”

‘Utusan playing with fire’

Lending his voice in support of Pakiam’s remarks, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan also described the blog and Utusan reports over the alleged conspiracy as “irresponsible” and potentially destabilising.

“Other than potentially threatening the peace, such speculations are seen as a means of seeking cheap political publicity and (part of) continuous efforts to hide weaknesses and failure in protecting the sanctity of the (Islamic) religion,” said Nasrudin in a statement entitled ‘Utusan playing with fire’.

Nasrudin said it is a well-known fact that Islam is enshrined as the official religion of the federation, with Muslims making up the majority in Malaysia’s pluralistic population.

“For these reasons, Islam should not be in a position of being jeopardised and the Muslims would not allow Islam to be threatened,” he added.

If Islam is indeed perceived as getting weaker, said Nasruin, it was because of Umno’s failure to fulfil the mandate with which it had been entrusted to govern the nation, particularly in protecting religious practices and the people’s welfare.

“If Umno had taken care of (the practice of) Islam well and strengthened it, I believe and am convinced that such speculations (by Utusan) of moves to make Christianity the official religion of the nation would not have arisen.

“At the same time, Muslims would feel at peace and comfortable with practising their religion,” he added.