Al Kitab row 'resolved', but sentiments still raw

BN’s focus seems to be on the Christian community as Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud set aside time in his busy election schedule to sit down with the Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) today.

And if that is not enough, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, too, has invited the ACS to meet with him tomorrow in Kuching.  

While Taib, met after the meeting in the capital today, tried to downplay the issue, Anglican Bishop for Kuching Bolly Lapok said that the chief minister had used the 30-minute meeting to, among others, explain the government’s decision on the matter.

“(Taib) was telling us what this government is doing about Al Kitab, and as far as he is concerned (the matter) has been cleared.

“We reiterated our position,that is the Al Kitab is just one of the issues that affect church-government relationship.

“As far as the Al Kitab is concerned, that was what was discussed this morning. Let us leave this behind,” said Bolly.

The Al Kitab issue boiled over soon before the Sarawak polls when the importers of the Malay-language Bible in Kuching and Petaling Jaya raised the alarm over 31,500 copies that were impounded by the Home Ministry.

The ministry initially claimed that it had held up the shipment for fear of prejudicing its appeal against the use of the word Allah by Catholic publication Herald.

The ministry later released the copies of the Bible amid pressure, but stamped these with the words ‘For Christianity Only’ and required them to be serialised - a move which raised the ire of worshippers.

DAP fellowship with Christians

While the issue has been rather muted in the first half of the campaign period, Pakatan Rakyat is seen to be capitalising on the matter as the campaign enters its final days.

The matter has been heard raised at the opposition leaders’ ceramah circuit, while DAP has actively approached Christian worshippers on the matter.

In Kuching yesterday, about 150 people gathered at a 'Fellowship with Christians' event organised by Christian DAP representatives, led by Kota Seputeh parliamentarian Teresa Kok and DAP Pending candidate Violet Yong.   

Even PAS has been roped in to prove that its Islamist stand would not interfere with freedom of religion.

At the fellowship event, PAS central committee member and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said Pakatan has proven to be a workable coalition despite differences in ideology.

And although Khalid was prepared to face questions about PAS ' theocratic state goals and random friendly fire between Pakatan parties, these two topics were not raised during the question-and-answer session.

Like many things in Sarawak, there is no homogeneity among the Christians, with the faith divided into many denominations.

Each denomination, and indeed each church, has different views and standpoints on matters concerning their faith. The same can be said about their political stand.

Bolly said that as far as the ACS is concerned, the church is apolitical.

“The government can explain their position and the opposition can state their opposition. The church position is that we don’t belong to any one party, we are non-partisan and what we seek is to discern what is God’s mind, what is Christ’s mind on the matter,” he said.

Some, it seems, are taking a rather strong stance against Taib’s government.

Pastors campaigning for Pakatan

In Sri Aman, a pastor from the Baptist church in Sarikei has resigned his office to join the Pakatan campaign, citing disillusionment with BN over on the Al Kitab and Allah issues.  

Jackson Suntai, who is campaigning in longhouses, claimed that many other pastors have joined him and that this is unprecendented in a state election.

“Usually the church is quite silent,” he told Malaysiakini.  

It is understood that pastors from Peninsular Malaysia have flown to Sarawak to rally local pastors to the cause, and that some churches are also showing powerpoint presentations of ‘Christian oppression’ in Malaysia.

There is also a chain text- message, the origin of which cannot be traced, which has been passed from phone to phone reading: 'A vote against BN is a vote for Jesus'.

Asked about this today, Taib scoffed and said: “Who gave them the authority to speak for Jesus?” before walking away.

The chief minister had on several occasions tried to defuse the issue by urging that the matter not be politicised, warning also against the repercussions of mixing politics and religion.

But for 63-year-old Akiu Nora, a Bidayuh Christian who has used the word 'Allah' to refer to God all his life, the impoundment and stamping is among the many things which will lead him away from BN come polling day.

Others in the same village some 60km from Kuching, claim that the Al Kitab issue is an “infinite injury” and feel a sense of distrust against BN.

Hot potato on Najib’s lap

Beyond Al Kitab and the word 'Allah', Akiu feels that the rural Christian community has been neglected by the government, with funds mainly being sourced privately.

“If the candidates come to my village I will ask them why there is no money for the church. We are the majority and (there is) still no allocation,” he said.

Taib, too, admitted that there are other issues at hand such as lack of funds for mission schools, which now cannot afford to expand to keep up with demand.

“It is something that the government can consider. The prime minister will be meeting ACS tomorrow, it is a question that can be asked to him,” he said, pushing the hot potato onto Najib’s lap.

Happily for Najib though, it is still unclear if the dissatisfaction really affects Christian communities across the board, as made out by Pakatan, especially in rural areas where bread-and-butter issues prevail.

Additional reporting by Kuek Ser Kuang Keng