Politicians from both sides of the divide sat together at a forum themed “Malaysia, Sarawak and You” held in Kuching yesterday.

Hosted by the political and social awareness ministry of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Archdiocese of Kuching - the forum was aimed at raising awareness and generate interest among the Catholic community on matters pertaining to national and Sarawak issues.

According to the church bulletin, the forum also aimed to better inform Catholics of pressing issues confronting the country, including the economy, accountability as well as state-federal relations, a topic which has lately gained much traction in the local media.

“This will enable us to exercise our democratic duty responsibly in view of the upcoming general election (GE14),” the bulletin, in announcing the forum, added.

About 800 people attended the forum, where panellists representing the BN and Pakatan Harapan coalitions were present to respond to public concerns.

Among the panellists were Parti Rakyat Sarawak’s Wilson Nyabong, SUPP’s Lo Khere Chiang, Chong Chieng Jen from the DAP, Baru Bian from PKR and See Chee How also from PKR.

Political science lecturer Dr Helen Ting from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia sat as the moderator.

The panellists touched on the topics of economy, governance and accountability, religious freedom and the rebalancing of Sarawak-Federal relation.

The moderator posed four questions to the panellists based on religious freedom, economic policy, governance and accountability as well as future policy with regards to Sarawak rights.

The questions

Among the questions were: “What would you do to ensure that Sarawak continues to enjoy complete freedom of conscience and religion. And what would you do to ensure that the event similar to Feb 27 will not occur again in Sarawak? (Muslim crowd heckling at Kuching archbishop Simon Poh after the apostasy case in the Federal Court).

Another question went like this: “How would Sarawak MPs look at this issue? What are you and your party going to do to address Malaysia’s rising debts and the increasing cost of living?”

The opposition came armed with their manifesto in hand and kept reiterating what they would do in the first 100 days which earned applause from the gallery.

BN panellists answered the question on Unifor (Unit for Other Religions), saying the Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg (photo) has given his word that he will look into the matter.

SUPP in a statement immediately after the forum yesterday said it is noteworthy that the political and social awareness wing of the parish has organised a forum of this stature, response to the call from the Catholic community.

“While remaining neutral in partisan politics, a forum such as this helps the Catholic faithful to engage in the Malaysian public life and contribute positively to the advancement of the country by serving the common good,” SUPP added.

“The organisers had stressed the importance of respect and decorum during the forum to inculcate a mature and healthy attitude in politics among Christians.”

According to the statement, this forum was the first of its kind for the Catholic Church in Sarawak.

“The organisers also hoped for many future collaborations with elected representatives of different political persuasions to serve and educate

Outward-looking church

DAP politician Dr Kelvin Yii told Malaysiakini that he was pleased that such an initiative was organised by the church.

“The church is persevering in realising that it is its mission to be outward looking and to better prepare the electorates, especially now, in the threshold of GE14,” he said.

According to Yii, who is a parliamentary candidate for the Stampin seat, a proper and mature political discourse such as this one should be encouraged and hosted by other groups as well, so the electorates could gain a better view of issues affecting them.

“The positive thing here is that they get insight and views from both sides of the political divide so they can make a better and informed choice,” said Yii, who is also special assistant to Sarawak DAP chairperson Chong Chieng Jen.

“One of the responsibilities of all politicians is to help facilitate the maturity and progression of a society and such events are a good platform for ‘such’ to happen.

“I hope politicians from both sides will have more opportunities and when invited to such events will come together and not shy away from sharing the same platform,” he added.

Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh was also present at three-hour forum. In his closing remarks, he said: “The church is not trying to side anyone. The church is giving an opportunity for every side to be heard so
that the people could make the best decision."

Being very cautious in upkeeping the non-partisan stance of the church, he advised the audience who had taken photos not to publish one-sided photos only.

“All parties should be in one photograph so it would not give the wrong single that the church is biased,” he said.