Former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat has said that he is prepared to drop his suit if the Sabah state government allows the construction of the world’s tallest Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue at its original location in Kudat.

Responding to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement in Tuaran on Sunday on the government’s hope that the Kudat Mazu statue dispute could be settled amicably without going to court, Chong said he was left with no option except to institute legal proceedings as he had only 28 days to appeal against the decision of the Kudat Town Board (KTB) to withdraw its earlier approval for the Mazu statue on Nov. 15 last year.

He said he had been “patient because I have been writing, pleading and begging with everyone to resolve this matter for one-and-a-half years”.

Najib had said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman was open to negotiation to resolve the controversy over the halted construction of the Mazu statue in Kudat. The Deputy Prime Minister said Musa had given him the assurance that as Chief Minister he is open to solving problems, including sensitive ones.

I for one would not believe Musa and I believe that this would be the sentiment of Chong and Sabahans who supported the construction of the world’s tallest Mazu statue both on the grounds of the constitutionally-entrenched guarantee of freedom of religion as well as to enhance the international tourism competitiveness of Sabah and Malaysia.

This is because the RM5 million 10-storey 108-ft high Mazu statue would have been completed and officially opened early last year and would have become a magnet to bring in tourist revenue from local, regional and international tourists for the past year.

The tourist and economic potential of the world’s tallest Mazu statue are most promising, especially in kick-starting the economy in Kudat, which is the poorest region in Sabah and Malaysia.

Religious monuments and statues have always been major tourism draws of countries. For instance, the 108-metre high Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) statue in Hainan Island attracts some 2.5 million tourists a year.

If in its first year, the Mazu statue can attract 10,000 tourists to Kudat, it would already been a great start.

However, it was Musa who single-handedly halted the construction of the Mazu statue because of his animosity with Chong, especially in spat over Musa’s plan to develop the Sipadan Island, one of the world’s five best diving spots, in utter disregard of the Sipadan’s ecosystem which attracted unfavourable international attention for Malaysia because of criticism from global environmentalist.

Construction work on the RM5 million 10-storey 108-ft high Mazu statue started in February 2006 after formal approval was issued by the Kudat Town Board on 8th February 2006.

When the first directive was issued on May 25, 2006 to stop the construction of the Mazu statue, the RM1 million 20-feet platform for the statue had been completed, granite carvings of the statue by craftsmen from China ordered and 21 containers of granite carvings shipped to Kota Kinabalou from China, with visa application s for 11 craftsmen from China to assemble the granite carvings of the statue approved by the Immigration Department.

DAP MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok and I visited the stalled Mazu construction project in Kudat on Sunday morning and we were informed that local Muslims in Kudat have no objection to the Mazu statue, as they see it as a great opportunity to break the back of hard-core poverty in the area.

The reasons which had been given so far to halt the Mazu statue do not stand up to any scrutiny. For instance, the argument that the Mazu statue is close to the Asy-Syarikin Mosque in Kudat collapses on close examination.

This is because the statue would be about 2,400 ft from the mosque, whereas there is another temple, the Fu Tik Temple which is just opposite the mosque across the road in the town cent re or about 100 ft away.

The Fu Tik Temple was built as far back as 1941 or some 66 years ago and was there when the Asy-Syarikin Mosque was built in the 80s. If the Asy-Syarikin Mosque had no objection to being so close to the Fu Tik Temple, the oldest temple of the Hokkien community in Kudat, and build it in the 80s about 100 ft away, why should there be any objection to the building of the Mazu statue which is about 2,400 ft away?

There are many places of worship of different faiths in the country which are next to one another and even share the use of common passages or spaces, for instance a temple and a mosque in Kuching which one above another while in Miri there is a church and a mosque next to each other sharing the use of common passageways.

The other objection that the construction of any statue or replica of a living thing, either human or animistic, is haram and should not be allowed – which is the fatwa of the Mufti Sabah – is even more subversive of the multi-religious foundation of Malaysia. Imagine the horrendous consequences if such a fatwa is accepted in Malaysia and implemented throughout the country?

In view of the latest developments and Najib’s statement in Tuaran, Barisan Nasional national and state leaders must demonstrate they have the political will to undo the 2007 “annus horibilis” by allowing the resumption of work on the world’s tallest Mazu statue in Kudat so that it could be officially opened for world tourists before the next general election expected this year.