2010/02/02
HALIMAH MOHD SAID, Kuala Lumpur
THE Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that there’s no need to establish an inter-faith commission (“DPM: Solution may be found through dialogue” — New Sunday Times, Jan 31).
The reason is there are no major religious issues that warrant a formal commission. Muhyiddin, however, reiterated the call for engagement and closed-door dialogue among religious leaders and groups.
The “Allah issue”, which has evoked sporadic inter-religious tension and media debate, is being handled by the government away from public scrutiny because of its sensitive nature.
In the legal arena, the High Court judgment allowing the use of the word “Allah” by the Catholic weekly, Herald, on a broad interpretation of the constitutional rights of freedom of religion and speech, is pending an appeal.
Meanwhile, there are arguments and counter-arguments between individuals and groups from both sides of the divide. If there is any good that has emerged from the “bad blood” flowing through some religious veins, it must surely lie in the education and exposure that Malaysians of all denominations have gone through in the weeks following the volatile eruption of emotions, which saw some churches and mosques being vandalised.
Most people are thinking and cogitating at a higher intellectual level about God and spiritual matters. They are taking the trouble to be better informed about their own religious beliefs. This is good as it provides a firm foundation for the nation’s inter-religious relations and mutual respect.
However, I do not agree with the deputy prime minister that there has to be major religious issues before an inter-faith commission is established. An enlightened government should not wait for disaster to strike before forming an institution whose main role is to coordinate inter-religious matters and preempt untoward incidents.
A progressive government must heed the early signs of inter-religious tension and establish the organisation and the structure, mechanisms, procedures, processes and guidelines by which an inter-faith commission can operate effectively and efficiently.
By mobilising and coordinating teams of religious experts, non-governmental organisations and the public, it can identify Key Result Areas (KRAs) in the inter-religious or inter-faith area, and build up the resources to allay any future threat, direct or indirect, to the nation due to religious disputes.
Although they profess to be adherents of a certain faith or religion, many people don’t really know much about it apart from the rites and rituals of attending church on Sunday, the mosque on Friday, burning joss sticks or carrying a kavadi.
What they don’t realise is the deeper moral obligations entrusted upon them by their beliefs. What they fail to ponder are the numerous questions about what is right and wrong about how they lead their lives and the values they uphold.
What we must realise as a nation is that religion is the basis of morality and it is the breakdown of morality that is causing the problems in two of the government’s six KRAs, viz, crime and corruption.
To consolidate its transformation programme, the government has to be proactive and take the morality bull by the horns.
It must work systematically with religious leaders, as well as with their congregations, in tracing the roadmap to inter-religious harmony.
The government can call it engagement or dialogue; it can be held behind closed doors and within controlled spaces, but there is no better time than now to establish an inter-faith commission.
There must be a formal mechanism by which the issues pertaining to the religious identities and needs of Malaysians can be looked into with greater compassion, understanding and forebearance, underpinned by knowledge and wisdom.
