YOURSAY 'Bishop, we applaud you for exposing the previous two PMs and now Najib on their 'platitudes' to gain Christian votes ahead of the elections.'

Bishop demurs over PM's Christmas Day remarks

Starr: Once again, Bishop Paul Tan has demonstrated that not only is he a leader of his own Catholic communion, but also a well-recognised spokesperson of the larger Christian community on issues affecting the Christian minority.

His statement clearly shows how disgusted the Christian minority has been to read PM Najib Razak's Christmas speech that the "Christian minority has not been forgotten" and that "he's a prime minister for all".

But the ground reality is far from being reflective of such a stand taken by Najib. Making such a false statement in front of the Christian audience is nothing but an utter insult to the intelligence of the Christian minority.

Clever Voter: I totally agree with Bishop Tan. This PM is a classic third world political leader who is clueless with the consequences of the corrupt and rent-seeking community that he and his friends created.

His one-size-fits-all approach and throwing money at his own citizens reinforce a control-and-command solution that is inconsistent with the maturing, empowering and trusting society many aspire for.

By insisting all societies are treated the same, he is not only regarding his constituents to be docile and ignorant, and the repercussions should include a total rejection and disregard of what this PM has said and the policies his ruling party will pursue.

Anon: Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing, I salute you for your bravery in speaking the truth. It's much better than many of the so-called brothers of the faith who prefer to remain silent probably cowering in fear.

Mahashitla: Bishop, we applaud you for exposing the previous two PMs and now Najib on their 'platitudes' to gain Christian votes ahead of the elections.

All these years, we have witnessed Christians being bashed for the purpose of playing up religious issues to serve the interest of Umno, for example, to win over the Malay/Muslim votes.

The Chinese were continuously being blamed for the economic backwardedness of the Malays, although the New Economic Policy (NEP) was bastardised by Umnoputras to create a small group of ultra-rich Malays.

The Indians were totally neglected by their self-serving leaders to the point that after more than 50 years, thousands of them are still stateless.

This is such a timely reminder from the bishop. We will be watching what Najib will say to the Chinese during the New Year, just before GE13.

Durio Zibethinus: The proof of Najib's sincerity is whether the government will withdraw the appeal against the High Court ruling years ago that decided Christians can use the 'Allah' word.

Kim Quek: It is immensely gratifying to hear Bishop Paul Tan exposing the hypocrisy of the Umno premiership vis-à-vis the Christian church.

To Najib, we have to say this: Save your breath, your sweet words have zero credibility. We will take cue from the bishop and punish such hypocrites in the coming poll.

Rubystar_4037: It always gives me the greatest pleasure to read what Bishop Paul said - precise, no mincing of words and he drives home the message that the PM or any of the BN ministers are full of deceit and trickery.

Bishop Paul is always wary of what the past or the present PMs said as they could come with such rhetoric and comforting words, but from the moment they walked down the rostrum, all the promises were forgotten.

Human Being: I am a protestant. But I must say Bishop Dr Tan is a man with backbone. How I wish more Christian pastors are like him.

Ong Guan Sin: If we just consider the benign and reassuring nature of the last three prime ministers (Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib) professed in their personal capacity, and the political reality on the ground in Malaysia, we can safely conclude that any nice and good prime minister of Umno-BN is certain to fall victim to its ethno-religious politics practised for more than five decades.

In other words, Umno-BN, in its current form and model, is hopeless for any chance of reform in Malaysia; and any good leader coming along will need to follow its ugly politics in order to survive.

Malaysians have no choice but to show Umno-BN the exit, and this will give Malaysia (and Umno-BN itself) a change, for the better.

JMC: It is pathetic that Najib has to stress that he is the PM for all races when it should be a fact accepted by all Malaysians.

We can only have one PM for all Malaysians so why the need for such repeated assurances to the minority groups?

It is not enough to keep saying he is the PM for all, but more important he has to prove that in deeds, especially at times when he is being tested by extremist groups. Where was he when groups like Perkasa threatened the minority groups?

Anonymous #19098644: The truth is that the BN lead government has either directly been involved in promoting exclusivist policies such as the cabinet directive in 1986 to bar non-Muslims from using the term 'Allah' and or has been indirectly complicit through the silence such as when the slanderous BN-controlled Utusan Malaysia was actively agitating about a non-existent plot to create a Christan state.

It was not so long ago that in Selangor and Penang, it was virtually impossible to set up new places of worship for temples and churches. The Tamil, Chinese and mission schools were neglected and starved of funding.

It is time that truth must prevail and that justice and fairness must overcome bigotry, dogmatism and extremism. It is time for a change of government at the federal level.

Cks: Bishop Dr Paul Tan is in my mind, one of the most effective speakers. His words are precise. With his sharp mind and strong principles in standing up against the manipulative powers-that-be, he is a real pride of the Christian Malaysian brotherhood.

Anonymous35_8478: Bishop Dr Paul Tan is God's gift to us. I am indeed sad that his two-year tenure as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei is coming to an end on Dec 31. I wish him success in all his future undertakings.

Mohican: Thank you, Your Eminence, you have spoken loud and clear of all that is ringing in the hearts and minds of Malaysians who believe in honesty and truth, but discards hypocritical rhetoric.

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