Govt will not ignore problems faced by non-Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 - The government will not ignore issues faced by non-Muslims in the country, especially problems pertaining to religion and faith, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi guaranteed.

He said the government was concerned with issues raised by non-Muslims, through organisations like the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), and promised that these problems would be attended by the relevant authorities.

He said this in reply to issues raised by MCCBCHST president Datuk A. Vaithilingam at the Council's silver jubilee dinner, attended by Abdullah here Wednesday night. "We are concerned about the issues raised by the Council.

We do not impose constraints on people of different faiths discussing these issues although they are sensitive in nature. Only through discussions can we understand and try solve the issues," the Prime Minister said.

He said although the nation was made up of various races and religion, all Malaysians were friends who were sincere towards each other with a common objective which was to make the country a more peaceful place without fearing that they will lose their right to practice their respective religions.

Abdullah also commended Malaysians for being able to "sit down and discuss" various issues, especially on religion, without having the fear of repercussions from any other party.

"We are a nation of many faiths. This is what Malaysia is and will always be. We have to a certain extent reached a high degree of tolerance.

If not for this tolerance we would have disintegrated as a nation a very long time ago. The last 50 years is not 50 years of failure but 50 years of success," he added.

He also said Malaysia's success in maintaining social harmony is "a commendable and remarkable achievement" which was the envy of many other nations that claimed to be multiracial.

"Ours is a good mix, no one race can oppress another race and no one race can form the government and govern this country...this is my belief.

It is the friendship and cooperation among the races, which profess various religions, that has brought us this far and we cannot and should not discard this proven and tested formula," he said.

Abdullah said the nation was governed by the objective that all races must remain united and have equal access to justice even when the matter concerns religion.

"When I became the Prime Minister, I wanted to hear the truth. There is no use of praising me if you do not tell me the truth.

Only after the truth is known can a problem be solved. So the truth, however painful must be told. And in overcoming problems, justice is important.

People have placed their trust in me and I must fulfill their expectations," he added.

On issues raised by the MCCBCHST, he said they were being addressed but "when we deal with these issues, it must be understood properly by members of their own faith."

He said while the government had promised to look at religious issues it was not intended to please of pacify a certain segment of the society, which had brought-up the issues in the first place.

However, the Prime Minister said that to solve these issues, all segments of the Malaysian society must sit together and find ways to overcome the problems which had cropped-up.

Earlier Vaithilingam in his speech said the Council was concerned about several issues especially the fair treatment of the police force in handling religious issues and the judiciary in tackling religious cases. He also raised the fact that religious classes were not taught at schools, although Muslims had separate religious classes during school hours, the lack of funds to construct non-Muslim places of worship, and the difficulty in bringing priests and musicians based overseas into the country for a long period.

"We want the government to take urgent action to solve these problems.

This if left unresolved could have a bearing on the nation. All Malaysians must feel that they have a right to justice and non-Muslims should not be subjected to Islamic laws.

"Ultimately it boils down to respect. We feel that there is a plenty of space for all Malaysians to practice their respective religions. We remain committed to the government and have faith in the Prime Minister to solve these issues," he added.

-TMB