Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : PUSAT DAGANGAN DUNIA PUTRA,
KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 25/04/97
Tajuk/Title : MAJLIS ULANGTAHUN KE-50 MAJLIS
GEREJA-GEREJA MALAYSIA
1. Terlebih dahulu saya ucapkan terima kasih kepada
Majlis Gereja Malaysia kerana menjemput saya hadir di
Majlis perayaan Jubli Emasnya malam ini. Sempena
perayaan menyambut Jubli emasnya saya ucapkan tahniah
kepada Majlis Gereja-Gereja Malaysia.
2. That the Council is able to celebrate this golden
Jubilee is proof of its ability to work together in the
spirit of cooperation among Christians of different
missions and denominations.
3. I hope the council will continue with this spirit of
cooperation and extend it to all Malaysians of other
religious groups so that we can together build a more
united, mature, strong, tolerant and vibrant Malaysian
society. I am making this call because this is an
important prerequisite for building a united Malaysian
society.
4. We are very fortunate that this multi-racial and
multi-religious society of ours has had a long experience
and tradition of living in harmony with each other. As a
direct result we have achieved tremendous economic
progress that have considerably lifted the quality of
life of our people. This cooperation regardless of race
and religion will further reinforce our capacity to build
a more liberal and tolerant society.
5. However, we cannot afford to be complacent with our
achievements. We have to improve this cooperation and
understanding as we move forward towards a more modern
economic society. If we simply maintain what we have
achieved, we may find that the challenges ahead will be
too difficult for us to face, as there are forces within
and without which will try to derail us.
6. It is a fact that Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim
country. Our official religion is Islam as enshrined in
our Constitution. But the Islamic tenets command us to
be tolerant towards other religious groups. The Quran
says clearly "To you your faith and to us (Muslim) our
faith".
7. Islam teaches us to allow complete freedom of
worship to other religious groups who are willing to live
in a Muslim country. Islam teaches us that all humans
are created from the same parents, Adam and Eve, and as
such the Quran says, "O men! Behold, We have created you
all out of a male and a female, and have made you into
nations and tribes, so that you might know one another.
Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one
who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-
knowing, all-aware". (Q.49:13) There is clearly no
difference between men as far as their beginning and
their status in the sight of God.
8. Islam also teaches us that there is no compulsion in
matters of faith. Every one is free to make his own
choice. Of course every one is completely responsible
for his own deeds in the end. The Quran says, "There
shall be no coercion in matters of faith. Truth stands
out clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes
in God hath grasped the most trust worthy handhold, that
never breaks. And God heareth and knoweth all things.
(Q.2:256).
9. Based on the above, freedom of worship is part and
parcel of the Islamic teachings. Secondly, the
difference between man is in his religious beliefs and
not in race, colour or ethnicity. As such, the same
respect should be accorded to all men as human beings,
despite their religious differences. The Prophet
Muhammad was reported to have stood in respect for a
Jewish funeral which was passing in front of him. When
his companions asked why he did so, he replied, "He is as
human as we are". In another incident, a Jew used to
place all the dirty things he could find on a street
where the Prophet used to pass. The Prophet had to be
careful, to avoid the dirt and filth, when he passed that
street. One day, when the Prophet passed the street, he
found the Jew was not anywhere to be seen. He asked of
him and was told that he was sick and remained in his
house. The Prophet immediately paid him a visit which
shocked the Jew, who asked why the Prophet did that after
all that he had done. The Prophet replied, "You are as
human as I am".
10. It is obviously based on such teachings that we in
Malaysia practise tolerance and mutual respect for one
another. Our non-Muslim friends,such as the Buddhists
and Hindus enjoy the freedom to live according to their
cultural values and religious norms in a way that is not
possible in many other countries. Violence as a means of
solving inter-religious disputes is abhorred by all
religious communities and political parties in this
democratic nation. The relationship between Islam and
Buddhism in a predominantly Muslim State of Kelantan,for
example, has been most peaceful with the Buddhist
community proudly preserving one of the biggest sleeping
Buddha statues in Southeast Asia, a fact not known even
by many Malaysians. And the present Muslim Menteri Besar
attends ceremonies in a Buddhist Wat.
11. Malaysia is currently marred with numerous social
ills of almost every conceivable type. The government is
trying its best to contain these ills because we know
that such ills can spread wildly and erode all our
achievements. We therefore cannot afford to allow it to
spread, weakening our social fabric, and eroding our
strength. One of the factors that could nurture the
development of a united, strong and morally upright
society is the role of religion. We also know that all
religions teach their adherents to be good. Any religion
that teaches its followers to be bad will be doomed. We
have seen the mass destruction of human lives among
various religious cults from time to time. These cults
are not followers of religions but are really due to the
loss of direction in a materialistic world which has no
time for religion. Unable to understand their existence
in this world and the confusion around them, they invent
their own beliefs and commit crimes including mass
suicide.
12. Christian ethics and morality therefore are not
different from Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist or other
religious ethics and morality. This is evident by the
adoption of a "Declaration toward a Global Ethic" by the
Parliament of the World's Religions in their latest
centenary meeting in Chicago in 1993. We know that the
Parliament of World Religions represent all religions
that are being practised throughout the world. Faiths
may differ but ethics and morality can be similar or even
identical.
13. Looking beyond our relatively peaceful history, it
would appear that the prospect of a universal set of
ethics binding races, cultures, religions and traditions,
is encouraging and possible. Malaysians should therefore
work towards it by example and by precept.
14. I wish therefore to appeal to all leaders and elders
of all religions in this country to instil positive
ethics and morality among their followers, to ensure that
each and every member of our society will consciously
uphold our traditions, our beliefs, our morals and seek
to live with the highest level of integrity so that our
society can be a model of attainable harmony between
people divided by differences of religion. This will
indeed be a great contribution from you to our own
Malaysian society.
15. Sekali lagi saya ucapkan terima kasih kepada Majlis
Gereja-Gereja Malaysia kerana menjemput saya ke Majlis
Perayaan Jubli Emasnya. Adalah diharapkan majlis ini
bukan sahaja akan berusaha untuk mengukuhkan perpaduan di
kalangan penganut-penganut Kristian tetapi juga akan
berusaha untuk menjalin hubungan yang lebih baik di
kalangan kaum-kaum yang menganuti berbagai-bagai agama.
Sebarang usaha ke arah meningkatkan perpaduan dan
kerjasama yang lebih erat antara rakyat berbagai-bagai
kaum dan agama sudah tentu akan membantu negara mencapai
kejayaan yang lebih cemerlang.
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