Holy books are sacred. Irrespective of the contents or direction that is embodied in the holy book, holy books are holy nonetheless and should never be abused at all. Holy books are of great value to all adherents of respective religions and each convey of a distinct religious message which is both positive and sacred to their adherents.

From there, it is only proper to give respect to the various holy books despite the fact that we, as individuals, may or may not profess what is embodied or written in the various holy books. After all, what that is not holy for us maybe holy to some, hence the need to be sensitive. This sensitivity is even more crucial in multi-religious Malaysia, which calls for undisputed respect for all religions and its adherents.

It is therefore disheartening to read or hear of individuals who use spiritual books for purposes other than the guidance in their own lives or in their relationship to society. What is even more perplexing is that, these individuals misuse holy books apart from their own. To abuse one's own holy book is not advisable, but it is still not as bad as abusing another's holy book.

I refer then to media reports on former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's aide Matthias Chang swearing on holy books to prove that he has not been involved in businesses here and abroad.

Of course, no one can be the judge as to whether Chang was involved in businesses but the point in question is that he committed a very grave mistake as it is rather disturbing as to how he may have come up with the idea to swear on holy books to protect his interests.

As a Catholic and Christian like Chang, I personally am very disturbed by the fact that he even used the Bible to swear upon. Let me first set a disclaimer that I do not represent the whole Christian community and that I am no judge to say anything but Christians themselves would not be too happy with what he did. This is because what he did contradicted the Bible, which I assume would have been his guide of living and an essential part of his faith, as it is certainly the case with all Christians.

Chang should apologise for his actions and I hope he does (in true Christian fashion) before he steps on more toes or offends more. An action like his is not something we should condone or expect from Malaysians and can be detrimental to our society's religious relations.