By Simon Peter
KUCHING, Dec 16, 2014: Is Najib Razak in charge of
running the Federal Government or is it the religious authorities egged on by
the likes of the repugnant and vacuous Malay rights groups Perkasa and Isma,
asks Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian (picture) when commenting on the
"Every rational Malaysian can see that Najib has
caved in, cowering to the demands of the extremist groups and washed his hands
of protecting the rights of the minority Malaysians," he said in a
statement.
He added:" We should not be surprised at the news
that the police in Johor recently detained Father Cyril Mannayagam and seized
his hymnals.
"I certainly am not for I predicted that such
scenarios would happen when the court gave its ruling on the Allah case.
"I said at the time that despite the assurances that
the decision was confined to the Herald and the 10-point ‘solution’ put forward
by the government, the effects of the decision would be felt far beyond the
readership of the Herald,"Baru, who is also Ba'Kalalan law maker, said,
adding: It gives me no joy to have been proven right."
He said it is outrageous that a small group of Orang Asal
Christians and their priest should be made to suffer the indignities and
deprivation that they have endured, particularly during the Advent season
leading up to Christmas.
He was stressed that Malaysians should be alarmed by the
fact that the police are now venturing into religious policing, emboldened
perhaps by the impunity with which the religious bigots have been carrying out
their disgraceful activities.
He echoed the
words of Archbishop Bolly Lapok, who said of the Allah ban that "the
prohibition not only prohibits the physical act of using the prohibited words,
but the effect goes deeper by taking away our members’ means of obtaining hope,
spiritual strength and sense of purpose. In a sense, the prohibition takes away
from us the most important thing in our lives."
”Our Federal Constitutionguarantees our rights but the
very people who are entrusted to honour those guarantees have failed us.
"Does anyone care about the constitutional rights of
the hundreds of thousands of Sarawakian and Sabahan Christians who live and
work in Malaya and of the Bahasa
Malaysia-speaking Christian Orang Asal there?
"It truly saddened me to read that the Sultan of
Selangor said the seized Al-Kitab were stamped to ensure they are kept out of
Selangor," he added.
Baru said he is thankful for the 25 eminent Malays who
have recently made their voices heard, and the many Muslims who are coming
forward to be #26 in supporting the rational and logical letter signed by the
25.
"What a blessing these voices are to Malaysians,
especially to Christians this Christmas season. It gives us hope that the
increasing voices of the moderate Muslims will drown out the childish
name-calling, hateful insults and empty bluster and bravado of Perkasa, Isma
and the extremist groups in UMNO Baru.
"Now that the previously silent Malays have been
moved to speak up against intolerance and extremism, the silence of the Prime
Minister, Home Minister and Attorney General is even more deafening.
"They would be wise to take heed of the wishes of
the majority of Malaysians who do not want to be associated with extremist and
supremacist bigots," Baru pointed out.
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