Sabah churches will kick off a grand three-day Malaysia Day celebrations in Kota Kinabalu from Monday with the theme: “Into a New Season”.

The celebration is also to be the biggest of the ‘Mamangkis’ Christian revival gatherings thus far.

According to the organisers, an important statement will be made at the final day of the gathering on Sept 17.

This is expected to be the most significant statement by the Christians since the Kuching Declaration, issued following a three-day consultation among church leaders in the Sarawak capital in September 1989 over the “restriction imposed by law in various States on the use by non-Muslims of certain words and in Bahasa Malaysia and the increasing difficulties encountered with the relevant authorities in the publication, distribution and importation of the Alkitab, the Malay language Bible, and other Christian literature particularly in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.”

Those associated with the drafting of the statement said it is expected to touch on the ‘Allah’ issue as well as Christian concern over other “national issues” including freedom of religion as well as the “prophetic Word of God” concerning the Christians and nation building.

The Malaysia Day gathering is jointly organised by the Sabah Council of Churches (SCC), the umbrella Christian body in the state, together with Commission of Sabah Affairs (COSA) of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), the Pastors’ Fellowship of Kota Kinabalu (PFKK) of both the Chinese and English speaking congregations, and Perpaduan Anak Negeri (PAN) Sabah or the Native Solidarity of Sabah.

The organisers said the prayer focus of the celebrations is to commemorate the formation of Malaysia 51 years ago and to pray for the “blessings of Almighty God be upon the nation of Malaysia.”

Christians nationwide to attend

The Malaysia Day gathering will be at the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) in Penampang with six prayer and worship sessions over three days together with cultural performances by the various ethnic communities in Sabah.

The first of the sessions will begin at 8pm on Monday. Christians from all over the state as well as those from Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia are expected to take part.

The organisers said the prayer focus will be for the consecration of Christians “before the LORD God Almighty as we enter into a New Season seeking through hope, faith and love to embrace and uplift a Malaysia which is true and just to all its peoples.”

“It was five years ago 16 September 2009 that pastors throughout Malaysia gathered in Kota Kinabalu and prophetically built a national altar offering our nation to God our Father for His blessings and the government subsequently declared that 16 September would be commemorated as Malaysia Day from the following year 2010 onwards,” the organisers said in a statement.

“In the Year 2012, the Church of Malaysia began ushering in the biblical Year of Jubilee to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Malaysia in 2013 and the Year 2014 is the completion of the Jubilee year and the beginning of a New Season,” it added.

An important statement concerning the role of the church in nation building will be made. This is be followed by the “Mitabang Mamangkis” which is the climax of all the Mamangkis gatherings held at various towns in Sabah over the past year.

The Mamangkis is the war cry and victory song from the old head hunting days but has been contextualised as the clarion call for Christian revival. Mitabang is the call for believers to close ranks and help one another.