I would like to add to what Concerned Christian had said . Indeed, Malaysia allows for freedom of worship, but the government is preaching another kind of religious tolerance which is skewed against non-Muslims.

This can be seen in speeches made by our prime minister and deputy prime minister. In his first statement o­n the Iban Bible issue, deputy premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called o­n Malaysians to be sensitive to other religions, "especially Islam". Why especially Islam? Did he mean that worshippers of other religions are not that sensitive and can be subjected to ridicule?

Lately, Dr Mahathir have asked Muslim missionaries to preach to non-Muslims so that they can understand Islam more. This act augurs well for a multi-religious society like ours.

But I would like to beg an answer from Dr Mahathir o­n whether it would be alright for non-Muslims to mutually impart their own religious teaching to Muslims so that the latter can also have a better understanding of others' religion.

As far as I know, flow of religious teaching is a o­ne way o­nly - that is from Muslim to non-Muslim, but not the other way round. Each time a religious tract or Christian pamphlet is printed, a big warning is always footnoted: "Strictly for non-Muslim o­nly".

It is time for the government to reciprocate by being sensitive to the needs of other religions, by making it easier to build churches and temples.