By Philip Puckiam
BATU PAHAT (October 25) - (The event) began enormously well. A delightful group of East Malaysian cultural dancers whose supremely graceful movements was a fitting tribute to the Lord adorned the mass procession which was concelebrated by Bishop Paul Tan, Msgr. Sebastian and Fr. Jojo.
In his homily Fr. Jojo stressed four salient points, namely, the urgent need to be involved in the dialogue of life; working together with people of other faiths to achieve mutual respect; to rid ourselves of prejudices and unfounded fears; and contribute positively to build a harmonious society.
After mass Msgr. Sebastian invited the congregation to adjourn to the school hall adjacent to the church where the day’s celebration was to take place.
Mr. Johnson Gomez the chairman of the organizing committee in his opening address echoed the sentiments of the government in living out the identity of the 1 Malaysia concept. He summed up by emphasizing that a genuine religious dialogue would surely give birth to a healthy and robust Malaysian society.
Tuan Haji Madzlan bin Hj. Alias, the Ketua Rukun Tetangga of Gunong Soga in his address reminded all present to commit themselves to the 1Malaysia concept, for in doing so there would be better understanding and respect among the different religious communities. This would result in the country’s overall peace and stability. He added that the good turnout for the event reflected the people’s keen interest in the welfare of the nation. Though being the first of its kind in the district, the event certainly was a bold and decisive step in the right direction.
En. Ishak the pengarah of the local Jabatan Perpaduan extended his congratulations to the organizing committee for the extraordinary effort to host such an event. He opined that a sure way to quantify the strength of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society such as ours would be the unwavering willingness of its citizens to live in peace and harmony.
Bishop Paul Tan in his signature terse and tidy manner subscribed to unity in diversity and forcibly proclaimed the 1Malaysia concept.
Next to address the crowd was Dr. Amin Farid Isahak, a medical consultant based in Kuala Lumpur, who is eminently active with Islamic and Interfaith NGOs.
Dr. Farid referred to the 1Malaysia concept, which he said was a new term for an old idea. In the religious context he said the concept should help to capture and sustain the attention of all right thinking and level headed Malaysians and help them unite and navigate as a progressive and peaceful people.
He went on to say that we have had many such programs and slogan slinging politicians in the past and only time will tell if the current program breeds success.
He then briefly dealt on the general work ethics of Malaysians. It emerged that we had a propensity to shirk. Our collective attitude, it was justly pointed out (and the crowd riotously agreed) left much to be desired. Our negative attitude and delay tactics were the bane of good governance and proved to be a permanent spanner in the works.
The point made was to illustrate the grim effects on the populace from a religious perspective. Malaysians had a sober obligation to snap out of the comfort zone and make inroads in the interfaith arena. In view of this he made a clarion call (like all other leaders of his caliber) to first know our own religion more intimately and then to assimilate at the very least, a smattering of other religions.
Likewise, it was also imperative to inculcate in our children not only the intrinsic values of our own religion but also to adopt an openness to know, learn and appreciate the religions of our neighbors
Quite interestingly Dr. Farid took cognizance of some elements of religious practices found in other faiths that he proclaimed were quite extraordinary and worth emulating.
He added that it was a profound fallacy to conclude that our own religious beliefs could possibly be compromised if we attempted to know more about other religions. On the contrary, he added, the reverse was true
He then eloquently pointed out that if we were imbued with such religious knowledge, most prejudices would be removed. Genuine peace and harmony will not only be tangible but most certainly prevail.
He continued that it was totally unacceptable if in fact, after all these years, we still found ourselves in a nondescript situation of ignorance and indifference to the religious beliefs of others. Indeed, it was a travesty to contend that all was well as there was substantial work to be done in many areas of concern. He then volunteered a seven-pronged recipe in the pursuit for a more successful interfaith dialogue.
Dr. Farid concluded his address by reminding those present that though what is expected of us can be viewed as a huge ask, nonetheless it remained tantalizingly viable. The adoption of decent values in life would eventually translate into good Malaysian citizens.
Rev. Fr. Jojo and the DCEIRD Chairman, Mr. Dennis Lee expressed satisfaction with the manner the event was organized and congratulated Mr. Johnson Gomez and his terrific team for a job well done.
BATU PAHAT (October 25) - (The event) began enormously well. A delightful group of East Malaysian cultural dancers whose supremely graceful movements was a fitting tribute to the Lord adorned the mass procession which was concelebrated by Bishop Paul Tan, Msgr. Sebastian and Fr. Jojo.In his homily Fr. Jojo stressed four salient points, namely, the urgent need to be involved in the dialogue of life; working together with people of other faiths to achieve mutual respect; to rid ourselves of prejudices and unfounded fears; and contribute positively to build a harmonious society.
After mass Msgr. Sebastian invited the congregation to adjourn to the school hall adjacent to the church where the day’s celebration was to take place.
Mr. Johnson Gomez the chairman of the organizing committee in his opening address echoed the sentiments of the government in living out the identity of the 1 Malaysia concept. He summed up by emphasizing that a genuine religious dialogue would surely give birth to a healthy and robust Malaysian society.
Tuan Haji Madzlan bin Hj. Alias, the Ketua Rukun Tetangga of Gunong Soga in his address reminded all present to commit themselves to the 1Malaysia concept, for in doing so there would be better understanding and respect among the different religious communities. This would result in the country’s overall peace and stability. He added that the good turnout for the event reflected the people’s keen interest in the welfare of the nation. Though being the first of its kind in the district, the event certainly was a bold and decisive step in the right direction.
En. Ishak the pengarah of the local Jabatan Perpaduan extended his congratulations to the organizing committee for the extraordinary effort to host such an event. He opined that a sure way to quantify the strength of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society such as ours would be the unwavering willingness of its citizens to live in peace and harmony.
Bishop Paul Tan in his signature terse and tidy manner subscribed to unity in diversity and forcibly proclaimed the 1Malaysia concept.
Next to address the crowd was Dr. Amin Farid Isahak, a medical consultant based in Kuala Lumpur, who is eminently active with Islamic and Interfaith NGOs.
Dr. Farid referred to the 1Malaysia concept, which he said was a new term for an old idea. In the religious context he said the concept should help to capture and sustain the attention of all right thinking and level headed Malaysians and help them unite and navigate as a progressive and peaceful people.
He went on to say that we have had many such programs and slogan slinging politicians in the past and only time will tell if the current program breeds success.
He then briefly dealt on the general work ethics of Malaysians. It emerged that we had a propensity to shirk. Our collective attitude, it was justly pointed out (and the crowd riotously agreed) left much to be desired. Our negative attitude and delay tactics were the bane of good governance and proved to be a permanent spanner in the works.
The point made was to illustrate the grim effects on the populace from a religious perspective. Malaysians had a sober obligation to snap out of the comfort zone and make inroads in the interfaith arena. In view of this he made a clarion call (like all other leaders of his caliber) to first know our own religion more intimately and then to assimilate at the very least, a smattering of other religions.
Likewise, it was also imperative to inculcate in our children not only the intrinsic values of our own religion but also to adopt an openness to know, learn and appreciate the religions of our neighbors
Quite interestingly Dr. Farid took cognizance of some elements of religious practices found in other faiths that he proclaimed were quite extraordinary and worth emulating.
He added that it was a profound fallacy to conclude that our own religious beliefs could possibly be compromised if we attempted to know more about other religions. On the contrary, he added, the reverse was true
He then eloquently pointed out that if we were imbued with such religious knowledge, most prejudices would be removed. Genuine peace and harmony will not only be tangible but most certainly prevail.
He continued that it was totally unacceptable if in fact, after all these years, we still found ourselves in a nondescript situation of ignorance and indifference to the religious beliefs of others. Indeed, it was a travesty to contend that all was well as there was substantial work to be done in many areas of concern. He then volunteered a seven-pronged recipe in the pursuit for a more successful interfaith dialogue.
Dr. Farid concluded his address by reminding those present that though what is expected of us can be viewed as a huge ask, nonetheless it remained tantalizingly viable. The adoption of decent values in life would eventually translate into good Malaysian citizens.
Rev. Fr. Jojo and the DCEIRD Chairman, Mr. Dennis Lee expressed satisfaction with the manner the event was organized and congratulated Mr. Johnson Gomez and his terrific team for a job well done.
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