All religions teach mankind the virtues of charity, goodwill, compassion, tolerance and equality towards a world of peace, harmony and compassion.

However, religions have also been the cause of human strife and misunderstanding evident from recent events in the country, whether the Lina Joy case or the controversy over the Mazu statue in Kudat, Sabah.

As a multi-religious nation, religion must play a more proactive role in nation-building to create an united, harmonious and progressive Malaysia. Let me make two suggestions as to how this could be done:

Firstly, by inculcating in every Malaysian citizen the quality of respecting all religions in the country and not just honouring their own religion — which must be regarded as a distinctive quality of Malaysian citizenship and consciousness; and

Secondly, all religions working together under one framework at all levels of the nation to contribute positively to nation-building by promoting inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony and demonstrating the power of inter-religious co-operation as a good and positive force to foster inter-racial and inter-religious solidarity and reduce racial and religious polarization.

For this reason, I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to convene a 50th Merdeka Anniversary Religious Leaders Summit on National Unity to harness the power of religion in a positive manner in nation-building for the next half century. Read the rest of this entry »