Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, the president of Parti Solidariti Tanahairku (STAR) made this clarion call in response to the action by many bodies in Tawau to issue a statement to oppose the Tawau Christmas and New Year celebrations organised by the office of Tawau Member of Parliament Datuk Christina Liew.
“This action is a serious escalation of the anti-Christian attitude which has been worsening in the country,” Dr. Jeffrey said tersely. “And every Sabahan, including Muslims, should be alarmed and loudly raise their indigence against this development.”
The Member of Parliament for Keningau and Assemblyman for Tambunan said that with the establishment of the new government in Malaysia, with the supposedly more open and inclusive attitude of the Pakatan Harapan leadership, we had expected that religious fanaticism under the previous Barisan Nasional would have subsided by now.
“Instead it had escalated with the recent riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Subang Jaya last month. We laud the Prime Minister’s assurance of punishment for the perpetrators which had cause the loss of a fireman’s precious life,” he said. “But now we wait for response from Sabah leaders on the worrying case that arose in Tawau.
“The surprising part is that one of the groups opposing the even was Parti Warisan Tawau which raises the question of whether Parti Warisan Sabah endorses all anti-Christian demonstrations. What about responses from the Christian leaders in Warisan?
“We must all realise that Malaysian for the last many decades have descended into dangerous Malay supremacy excesses, calls for Malaysia to be declared an Islamic state, followed by strong Islamisation policies by both PAS and Umno which has now worsened into what many, including Marina Mahathir and journalist Mariam Mokhtar, call as sheer arabization.
“It’s shocking that a simple celebration can be so blatantly construed to be an attempt to spread Christianity! The condescending attitude is just intolerable, as if whatever the Christians do can be deemed to be an effort to evangelize,” Dr. Jeffrey lamented. “Even the mere sight of a cross on a building, or certain window designs, have become ominous threats.
“Let’s not forget that Sabah was promised that there would be no official religion in the state – in perpetuity! And that the country and the state have a policy of religious tolerance and freedom of religion. But what religious freedom do non-Muslims have if even their religious celebration and well-wishing speeches are deemed to be offensive threats? If this dangerous trend continues, the day will come when Christians in Sabah will no longer be able to celebrate the birth of their Saviour openly.
“Why can’t we emulate the attitude in Indonesia where Muslims enter churches to celebrate Christmas with Christians. Even the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, has no qualms in joining Christians in their Christmas events.
“It’s very unfair that Christians are expected to embrace their Muslim fellow- Malayians, joining their Hari Raya celebrations, accepting the azan prayers as part of Malaysian life, even forced not to offend Muslims by eating during Ramadhan, and so on, but are now beginning to be forbidden from celebrating Christmas,” Dr. Jeffrey said.
He also urged the leaders of the new government to make a stance against the anti-Christian development in Tawau by condemning it as an anti-national, a highly divisive and anti-unity move by an arrogant group. He said it it’s left unchecked it would become a worse problem which would drag Malaysia into social conflicts.
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