I do support Dr HT Tan's views about the rights of Christians in Malaysia while Tan Sri Dato' Mohd Sherrif Kassim should be applauded for his open mindedness in calling for Christmas to be celebrated in a tolerant way.

Whilst the Malaysian government trumpets to the world that Malaysia is 'truly Asia' and implies that peace and harmony co-exist in their tourism pitches on global televison, it is regrettable that the personal politics of petty government officials have now been allowed to interfere into the religion and religious practices of a minority.

Strictly for us Christians (though we welcome others to share it with others), Christmas is a sober and solemn celebration of Christ's first coming. Unfortunately, the fact is that world wide, this event has now been totally commercialised.

To further manipulate this already commercial event by insisting on the deletion of the world 'Jesus' or 'Christ' and then making this public is not only deeply offensive to Christians but also makes a joke of the Malaysian government's modus operandi.

This issue should not have reached governmental level at all. If it 'offends' some non-Christian officials to have the name 'Jesus' mentioned during the national Christmas Day celebration, then the government should not sponsor the event. Get the private sector to do it.

Malaysia is famous for its compromises - something learnt from her colonial masters. Certain compromises are acceptable but there are certain areas where these are just not acceptable. Religion is one. Good quality health care is another. Judicial independence is yet another. Safety is another very important one.

Where else does the government want to introduce more unacceptable compromises?