Malaysians, especially Christians in Sarawak, should be alarmed by the fact that the police are now becoming “religious experts” by venturing into religious policing, says Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian.

Commenting on the recent detention of Father Cyril Mannayagam and the seizure of his hymnals, Baru said the police have perhaps become emboldened by the “impunity” with which religious bigots have been carrying out their activities.

“It is outrageous that a small group of Orang Asal Christians and their priest should be made to suffer the indignities and deprivation that they have endured, particularly during the Advent season leading up to Christmas,” the Ba’Kelalan assemblyperson said in a statement.

Baru said Malaysians should not be surprised at the news that the police in Johor recently detained Rev Mannayagam ( right ) and seized his hymnals.

“I certainly am not, for I predicted that such scenarios would happen when the court gave its ruling on the ‘Allah’ case.

“I said at the time that despite the assurances that the decision was confined to the Herald and the 10-point ‘solution’ put forward by the government, the effects of the decision would be felt far beyond the readership of the Herald .

“It gives me no joy to have been proven right,” said Baru.

 

He said he had previously questioned who was running the country.

“Is it the government of (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak or is it the religious authorities egged on by the likes of the repugnant and vacuous Perkasa and Isma?” he asked, pointing out that every rational Malaysian could see that Najib had caved in, cowering to the demands of the extremist groups and had washed his hands off protecting the rights of the minority Malaysians.

 

Baru then quoted Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) president Rev Dr Justin Wan, who said of the ‘Allah’ ban: “The prohibition not only prohibits the physical act of using the prohibited words. The effect goes deeper by taking away our members’ means of obtaining hope, spiritual strength and sense of purpose. In a sense, the prohibition takes away from us the most important thing in our lives.”

‘Failed the people’

Baru said the Federal Constitution guaranteed their rights, but the very people who were entrusted to honour those guarantees had failed the people.

“Does anyone care about the constitutional rights of the hundreds of thousands of Sarawakian and Sabahan Christians who live and work in West Malaysia and of the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christian Orang Asal there?

“It truly saddens me to read that the sultan of Selangor said the seized copies of the Bible were stamped to ensure they are kept out of Selangor,” he said.

 

Thanking the 25 eminent Malays who recently made their voices heard on the issues of racial extremism and religious bigotry, Baru said it gave  the Christians hope that the increasing voices of the moderate Muslims would drown out the childish name-calling, hateful insults and empty bluster and bravado of Perkasa, Isma and the extremist groups in Umno Baru.

 

“Now that the previously silent Malays have been moved to speak up against intolerance and extremism, the silence of the prime minister, home minister and attorney-general are even more deafening.

“They would be wise to take heed of the wishes of the majority of Malaysians who do not want to be associated with extremists and supremacist bigots,” he said.