New body must not be seen as rival

1 June 2015
By Dr Tan Eng Bee, Kajang, Selangor

I REFER to a report on the setting up of the Christians for Peace and Harmony Malaysia (CPHM), headed by the former Secretary-General of the National Evangelical Christian Federation (NECF), the Reverend Wong Kim Kong.

From the report, CPHM may not be looked upon kindly by the different Christian organisations and the Christian community at large.

It was also reported that CPHM has the endorsement from Putrajaya. Unfortunately, Christian organisations, such as the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), and the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), among others, have distanced themselves from CPHM.

At a time where any peace initiative by any persons or organisations is most welcomed, and which, I thought, is commendable to diffuse the deteriorating racial and religious tension in our motherland, CPHM should have discussed the need for the set-up with different Christian organisations representing different denominations in our country before presenting itself to Putrajaya and the public for acceptance, endorsement and approval.

CPHM should have at least discussed and presented its goals and objectives with national leaders of different denominations and the three national Christian organisations, namely, CFM, CCM and NECF, before pursuing their initiative any further.

The setting up of CPHM is perceived as a rival Christian organisation wanting to divide the unity of Christians and to usurp the other Christian organisations already in place representing the different Christian denominations or communities in our land. At a time when Christians have to act and speak with one voice, any new organisation purportedly representing the community is perceived as a stumbling block to their unity and identity. It will weaken the Christian representation as a unit and a force to be reckon with, with the powers that be.

I doubt Putrajaya wants to see a fragmented, divided and weakened Christian church, as it is better to deal with the three strong firm Christian organisations whose representation is unquestionable, indisputable and all encompassing of the Christians in this land.

Despite what we know from the media about CPHM, I would think the Christian community is better served with the national organisations, such as the CFM, CCM and NECF, which have collectively done a tremendous job in bringing the concerns of the Christian church to the forefront, and attention of the courts and Putrajaya for consideration and adjudication. They have acted with utmost responsibility and commitment, and let none question their integrity and resoluteness in the handling of issues affecting the community.

I doubt we need another Christian organisation to act for the betterment of the Christians, unless the Christian community can be convinced that either these three national organisations have failed their responsibilities to serve them well. By all counts, they spoke up when issues needed to be addressed by Putrajaya or when certain man-made rules and laws were found to be detrimental to Christians. They have carried out their task with utmost respect for the other faiths, in a restrained manner and with courtesy. In fact, the three national Christian organisations have acted with commitment and urgency in a non-confrontational and responsible manner with regard to the issues confronting the Malaysian churches, such as the liberty or freedom to express their faith without interference.

I call upon CPHM to make its stand clear to the Christian community, and, at least, get the endorsement or approval from the three national organisations before moving further. Without consent from the three, I doubt CPHM will make any headway, and in the course of trying to make itself visible and relevant, it may be seen as a catalyst for creating discord and disunity among Christians, despite its noble aim of wanting to promote peace and harmony among the different religious and racial groups.

I am not trying to put down CPHM, but I would want, together with local Christians at large, to see that the newly-created body will not be a stumbling block to the aspiration and wellbeing of the community. We just want to live out our faith and belief.

No offence or malice meant to anyone. Together with the Christians, I pray for peace, harmony, unity and goodwill to prevail for the common good of all religious and racial groups in our beloved land. God bless and prosper Malaysia. 

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/node/86481

Christians say not prosecuting Ibrahim Ali gives carte blanche to extremists

Published: 9 October 2014

Malaysia's main Christian group today expressed outrage over Putrajaya's inaction to prosecute Datuk Ibrahim Ali for his threat to burn Bibles, saying it gave carte blanche to extremists to threaten Christianity and other religions.

"The Christian Federation of Malaysia on behalf of Christians in Malaysia is outraged at the fact that threats to burn our Holy Bible are considered an act in defence of Islam.

"The CFM feels strongly that this position is irresponsible as it gives carte blanche or free rein to other extremists to do likewise, not just to Christians but to any other religious community that is not Muslim," the CFM said in a statement today.

It added that by "no logic or rationalisation and under no circumstances whatsoever can a threat or call to violent action, desecration of another Malaysian citizen's sacred text be considered defensive".

"We strongly protest against the obviously inexcusable position adopted by the government, " it said.

The Christian body was responding to Putrajaya's excuse in not prosecuting Ibrahim over his call last year to burn copies of the Bible containing the word "Allah", saying that the Perkasa president was merely defending Islam.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of law Nancy Shukri said in a parliamentary written reply yesterday that the police concluded that Ibrahim's words were only directed at specific individuals, and not a threat to larger society.

"The statement he made was not intended to cause religious chaos but only to defend the sanctity of Islam," she replied to a question by Bagan MP, Lim Guan Eng, on why Ibrahim had not been charged with sedition.

Ibrahim's call in January last year prompted outrage from politicians and Christian groups, with critics accusing Putrajaya of double-standards in using the Sedition Act against only those who criticised the government while sparing Ibrahim over his remarks.

Nancy, replying on behalf of the prime minister, said investigations by the police into Ibrahim's statement found that what he had said was aimed at the activities of some individuals who allegedly distributed Christian literature outside a school in Penang.

Taking offence with Nancy's reply, CFM today called on parliamentarians to table a motion of censure against the minister for her "scandalous and irresponsible" statement.

"We call upon all right thinking Members of Parliament, irrespective of their ethnicity, religious background or political affiliation to join in passing a motion of censure against the minister for making such a scandalous and irresponsible statement," CFM said.

Meanwhile, the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) said that the minister had made a mockery of Putrajaya's calls for moderation and mutual respect between the religions in the country.

"In the name of civility, any public statement made that threatens the burning of holy books of any religious community is not only repugnant but highly inflammatory. It should never be tolerated," it said in a statement.

"It is sad that the honourable de facto Law Minister, Nancy Shukri, had defended Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali’s call to burn Bibles as committing no wrong in a statement in Parliament." – October 9, 2014

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/christians-say-not-prosecuting-ibrahim-ali-gives-carte-blanche-to-extremist

Christians to continue using Allah in services and Bibles, says Christian Federation of Malaysia

Published: 23 June 2014

The Christian community will continue to use the word Allah in Bibles, church services and gatherings as the Federal Court ruling today was only confined to the Catholic weekly, Herald, said the Christian Federation of Malaysia.

Its chairman Reverend Dr Eu Hong Seng said that given the court's refusal to grant the Catholic church leave to appeal, it will treat the decision of the Court of Appeal as being confined to that particular case.

"We maintain that the Christian community continues to have the right to use the word 'Allah' in our Bibles, church services and Christian gatherings in our ongoing ministry to our Bahasa Malaysia-speaking congregation, as we have done all this while," he said in a statement today.

He said this was guaranteed by the Attorney-General himself, who had previously said on October 20, 2013, that the case was only meant for the usage of the word Allah in Herald.

"As legal adviser to the Malaysian government, we will hold him (A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail) and the government of Malaysia to that position," Eu added.

"There are other pending cases in the courts that would involve the matter. We will have to see whether these will provide alternative avenues to uphold and defend freedom of religion and freedom of religious expression in Malaysia."

The Federal Court today dismissed the church's leave application to appeal the ban by the Court of Appeal on the use of the word "Allah" in the Herald.

Four of the seven-member bench dismissed the church's application for leave to appeal, saying that the Court of Appeal was right in its decision to ban the word in the Catholic weekly.

Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, who led the seven-man bench, said the President of the Court of Appeal Md Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin and Federal court judge Suriyadi Halim Omar agreed that leave should not be granted.

The CFM, Eu (pic) said, was "extremely disappointed" with the decision, adding that simple justice would have meant allowing the appeal to go through.

"We continue to maintain that the decision of the Court of Appeal, and its reasoning in arriving at their decision, were so critically flawed in so many respects.

"Simple justice would have mandated an appeal, to rectify the many incorrect and inaccurate statements and observations of the Court of Appeal that led to its decision," he said.

He said the Appellate Court's decision had caused serious negative repercussions on the freedom of religion for Christians in Malaysia but lamented that the Catholic Church had been denied the opportunity to challenge the "inaccurate statements and observations".

"In the meantime, we call on the Christian community in Malaysia to remain steadfast in their faith and courageous in the face of much prolonged adversity," Eu said.

Earlier today, Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew also expressed disappointment that the four judges who had rejected their application had not talked about the rights of the minority in the country.

"‎The four judges who did not grant us the leave to appeal spoke about things that did not touch on fundamental basic rights of minorities‎," he said outside the court.

One of the church's lawyers, S. Selvarajah said the church was considering a review of the Federal Court decision but added that no decision had been made so far. – June 23, 2014.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/christians-to-continue-using-allah-in-services-and-bibles-says-christian-fe

Despite royal decree, Protestant churches say will keep using ‘Allah’

By Debra Chong
Assistant News Editor

January 09, 2013

The CCM said Christians have used the term “Allah” for “centuries”. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 ― An umbrella body representing Malaysia’s Protestant churches said today Christians nationwide have been calling their god “Allah” in their worship for centuries and will continue exercising their constitutional right to do so, notwithstanding a Selangor state decree barring the term from them.

The heads of churches of the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) said it had noted the current discourse over the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims.

The church leaders who are meeting in Ipoh, reiterated that they have been using “Allah” in Malay-language bibles “for centuries” and that many indigenous communities here have incorporated the word that was of Arabic origin as part of their everyday language.

“That being the case, we shall continue this practice ― a right guaranteed to us in our Federal Constitution (Article 11) ― and call on all parties to respect this fundamental right,” they said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider.

The CCM clergymen’s statement comes on the heels of a similar statement issued yesterday by the umbrella body for all Sikh temples in the country.

The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) added that any move to stop non-Muslims from using the word “Allah” in a religious text would be a restriction on Sikhs from practising their religion.

“The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) is saddened to note that a decree has been issued by His Highness the Sultan of Selangor that non-Muslims in the state are banned from using the word Allah as it is a holy word exclusive to Muslims.

“The MGC is further dismayed that no exceptions have been made in the decree,” MGC president Jagir Singh said in a statement.

Sultan Sharafuddin has called for an emergency meeting with state Islamic religious officials to bar non-Muslims from using the Arabic word for god, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) said yesterday.

The statement from the state’s highest Islamic authority came despite a High Court ruling in December 2009 that the word “Allah” was not restricted to Muslims and the Catholic Church had the right to publish the word in the Malay section of its weekly newspaper, Herald.

Despite the Selangor Sultan’s latest decree banning non-Muslims in the state from using the word “Allah”, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) confirmed today its stand on the controversy, insisting that Islam does not prohibit others from using the word.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang told a joint press conference with PR leaders in Petaling Jaya yesterday that Christians and other non-Muslim communities should not abuse the word to spread confusion among Muslims but this did not mean they were not allowed to use the word.

“Islam does not stop those of other faiths from using kalimah ‘Allah’ in their practice, although [in the usage of the word by non-Muslims] it does not refer to the original meaning of the word as according to the al-Quran,” he said.

The “Allah” storm was reignited recently when Lim Guan Eng, the opposition DAP’s secretary-general, raised the controversial issue in his Christmas message urging the federal government to lift its ban on the word published in the Malay bibles shipped in to Sabah and Sarawak, who form the bulk of Malaysia’s 9.2 per cent Christian population.

In recent years, the Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds that Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim god.

Shipments of the Alkitab, the Malay-language Bible catering to the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Bumiputera Christians, were blocked or confiscated at ports, before the government finally bowed to pressure and released them in 2011.

The Sikhs, however, were not barred from using “Allah” in their worship until the Selangor Sultan’s latest decree.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/despite-royal-decree-protestant-churches-say-will-keep-using-allah/

Questions over ‘fatwa’ effect on non-Muslims after Selangor Sultan’s ‘Allah’ decree

By Debra Chong
Assistant News Editor

January 09, 2013

The Selangor ruler has instructed state authorities to go after non-Muslims who use the word “Allah”. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 ― Christian church leaders have expressed concern over the effect of the Selangor Sultan’s royal decree banning followers of faiths other than Islam from using the word “Allah” to describe their gods.

The state Ruler had also instructed the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) and the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) yesterday to take firm action against all groups, including non-Muslims, who continued to question the state fatwa (edict) and a 1988 state law restricting use of the Arabic word.

“Can a fatwa be applied to a non-Muslim?” asked Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the country’s sole Catholic newspaper, Herald, when contacted by The Malaysian Insideryesterday.

In December 2009, the High Court ruled that the word “Allah” was not restricted to Muslims and the Catholic Church had the right to published the word in the Malay section of its weekly newspaper, Herald.

The priest declined further comment, saying he would leave the question to be answered by legal experts, after pointing to a key issue raised in the Herald’s court challenge three years ago.

In her 2009 ruling, High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan found that “a non-Muslim could be committing an offence if he uses the word ‘Allah’ to a Muslim but there would be no offence if it was used to a non-Muslim”.

Rev Hermen Shastri from the Methodist Church told The Malaysian Insider that the High Court’s judgment is still legally in effect pending the Home Ministry’s appeal to ban non-Muslims using the word, which it had argued in court was a security threat.

“Until overturned, Christians have the right to use it,” Shastri, who is secretary-general of the Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM), an umbrella body representing all the Protestant churches nationwide.

CCM president Bishop Datuk Thomas Tsen told The Malaysian Insider he was worried about the consequences of the decree on Sabah and Sarawak Christians living in the state.

“Of course I am concerned about the effect on our people who live here, especially when Najib talks about 1 Malaysia and we want to speak in one language,” the Lutheran bishop said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s remarks.

Like Andrew, he declined comment on the Selangor sultan’s statement, but highlighted a 10-point agreement issued by the Najib administration in April 2011, allowing Christians in Borneo Malaysia the freedom to use it in their worship, ahead of the Sarawak state election.

“When we pray in our language, we, the Malay-speaking people, use the words ‘Allah Bapa Syurga’ to describe ‘Our Father in Heaven’,” Tsen, who heads the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia in Sabah said.

He added that it would be very hard to explain to Sabahan and Sarawakian Christians that they were free to use the word back home but forbidden to do so in Selangor.

“It will definitely cause some ambiguity and some strange feelings,” Tsen said.

Christians in Sabah and Sarawak form the bulk of Malaysia’s 9.2 per cent Christian population.

Shipments of the Alkitab, the Malay-language Bible catering to the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Bumiputera Christians, were blocked or confiscated, before the government finally bowed to pressure and released them in 2011.

The Cabinet’s 10-point resolution issued by the Najib administration had assured the huge Bumiputera Christian population in Sarawak and Sabah they are free to import and use their bibles in Malay and in any language, including their respective indigenous languages like Iban, Kadazan-Dusun and Lun Bawang.

The federal government also said no restriction will be applied.

The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had called for an emergency meeting with state Islamic religious officials to bar non-Muslims from using the Arabic word for god, MAIS said yesterday.

“His majesty the Selangor Sultan has made a decision and decreed that the word ‘Allah’ is a sacred word specific to Muslims and is strictly forbidden for use by any non-Muslim religion in Selangor as stated in a fatwa and gazetted on 18 February 2010,” MAIS secretary Datuk Mohd Misri Idris said in a statement.

Mohd Misri added that Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had issued a similar decree three years ago when the “Allah” issue first erupted and regretted that his statement was taken lightly.

He pointed out that the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment restricting the use of the word was passed in the state assembly 25 years ago and enforced in July 1988.

He said the state law was also in keeping with Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution governing the spread of non-Muslim doctrine.

“Section 9 of the Enactment strictly forbids the word ‘Allah’ to be used by non-Muslims in any matter related to their religions.

“Those who breach this provision can be charged and sentences meted out against them,” he said.

The Selangor Sultan also chided those who would use Islam for political purposes and warned them against destroying the existing peace enjoyed by Malaysia’s multireligious community, Mohd Misri secretary said.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang told a joint press conference with Pakatan Rakyat leaders here yesterday that Christians and other non-Muslim communities should not abuse the word to spread confusion among Muslims but this did not mean they were not allowed to use the word.

In recent years, the Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds that Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim god.

The Sikh community have also claimed the word “Allah” to be an integral part of its holy texts to describe god.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/questions-over-fatwa-effect-on-non-muslims-after-selangor-sultans-allah-decree/

Church leaders happy with Najib’s pledge, but wary it won’t trickle down

By Zurairi AR

December 26, 2012

Najib had reassured the Christian community in Malaysia on Christmas Day yesterday that the government recognised them as an essential part of the nation. – Picture by Saw Siow Feng

PETALING JAYA, Dec 26 – Church leaders are happy with Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s pledge to the Christian community, but expressed concern that the prime minister’s message will not filter down to conservatives and extremist elements in his party and government.

Najib had reassured the Christian community in Malaysia on Christmas Day yesterday that the government recognised them the as an essential part of the nation. Christians form about nine per cent of the country’s 28 million population.

“I hope that was not only from him alone, but it (also) has to be from the other part of the government,” Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Datuk Ng Moon Hing told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.

CFM, the umbrella body of all Christian denominations in the country, organised its annual Christmas Day party attended by all political leaders.

Ng’s view was mirrored by the Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, who said the prime minister needs courage, determination and consistent effort to accomplish his promises.

“Hopefully he can get his whole team to (work at it),” Pakiam said.

The church leaders agreed that Najib’s attendance in the Christmas event was a nice gesture towards the Christian community, but would be for naught if he failed to confront extremists elements in his party and the government.

“What’s troubling to Christians is that the government has not spoken up to the extremists what its views are,” said Hermen Shastri, the general secretary from the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM).

The CCM is an ecumenical fellowship of churches and Christian organisations that are part of the larger Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) representing 90 per cent of the country’s 2.8 million Christians.

Last year, Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia published a report entitled Kristian Agama Rasmi? (“Christianity the official religion?”), where it was alleged that DAP leaders and Christian clergymen were conspiring to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.

In the aftermath of the report, Malay supremacist group Perkasa and its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali threatened Christians nationwide with a holy war against any move to usurp Islam with a Christian state.

Najib then meet church leaders to clear the air but the Home Ministry had only slapped the daily with a warning letter for publishing the unsubstantiated report.

Shastri warned that by not taking any action on extremists, it will undo and make difficult the plans that the PM wants to accomplish.

“(This will happen) as long as some groups keep on saying that Christians are a threat,” Shastri said.

The church leaders have listed several issues affecting the Christian community that has yet to be addressed by the government, with the issue of insufficient land for religious sites chief among them.

“What we felt previously is that there are certain issues that the government could be more upfront (with) when dealing with them,” confessed Philip Kok, a bishop with the Lutheran Church of Malaysia.

“I think a lot of time, (we are facing) a struggle against bureaucracy. Some difficulties looked like it was (a problem with policy), but then the policy is interpreted in a different light,” Ng explained.

According to Ng, churches receive no land allocation from the government, which makes it hard for them to build more cemetery sites and buildings to cater to a growing number of Christian population.

The Anglican bishop also revealed that the lease for some sites of missionary schools have expired, yet their application for lease extension had not been entertained.

“The government is not paying for the schools actually, the mission schools belong to the mission board,” he said, adding that the government refused to consult the board when appointing headmasters and principals for the schools.

“It reflects bad on the government,” Ng said.

Pakiam claimed that infringements against Christians’ right are happening with alarming regularity.

“The Allah issue of course we have some sort of agreement and hopefully it will not flare up again in the future,” spoke Kok.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had urged the federal government on Monday to allow the use of the word “Allah” in the Bible, to prove that the authority are really putting the people first.

“It looks small, it looks petty but it affects people on the ground,” Ng stressed.

Kok however, was more upbeat on what the Christian community should expect from the prime minister.

“The speech was very comforting ... his presence shows that the government is sincere in building up relationship with the Christian community.

“As long as we’re open to dialogues, open for conversations, we can come up with solutions to these challenges. It is normal in a country as diverse as Malaysia,” Kok said.

“It takes time, we can understand, but he has to determinedly go at it,” encouraged Pakiam.

In recent years, the Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds that Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim god.

Christians, however, have argued that “Allah” is an Arabic word that has been used by those of other religious beliefs, including the Jews, in reference to God in many other parts of the world, notably in Arab nations and Indonesia.

Conservative Muslim groups have also accused Christians of attempting to convert Malays, resulting in heightened tension between followers of the two religions.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/church-leaders-happy-with-najibs-pledge-but-wary-it-wont-trickle-down/

Utusan report a ‘complete lie’, say clergymen

UPDATED @ 05:02:37 PM 08-10-2012

October 08, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Two senior Christian leaders denied today they had attacked Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for using the church for politics as reported by a Malay paper yesterday, saying their quotes had been taken complete out of context.

Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, had quoted former Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) president Reverend Thomas Philips and Lutheran Evangelical Church Bishop Solomon Rajah as saying the church is no place for politics in a news article criticising Lim.

“It’s a complete lie,” Thomas, a priest of the Mar Thoma Church, told reporters today.

Mingguan Malaysiahad claimed Lim(picture) delivered a political speech at a church to garner votes for the upcoming elections. 

The news report had also quoted Solomon and Thomas as allegedly criticising Lim for using churches as a place to win votes.

Thomas, a former vice-president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), said today that a female reporter had called him last week to talk generally about politics in the church.

“My response was it is very hard to define what is politics. All religions teach us to fight against injustice, corruption, abuse of power... and all these things. 

“For some people, these are political values. For some, these are religious values and that’s why the church continues to uphold these values,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.

Thomas said he received many calls yesterday from people asking him about his remarks, and that he was shocked by how the story had been written.

Solomon said he thought Utusan Malaysia was doing a survey about church leaders’ opinions on politics and the church.

“I merely gave a general view on the subject. I said the church should not be dragged into politics.

“During the interview never for once did I condemn or speak ill of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng,” he said.

In a statement, the CCM urged Utusan Malaysia “to make an apology to both Bishop Dr Solomon and Rev Dr Thomas Philips for misrepresenting their views.”

“This apology should appear in print in their newspaper as soon as possible. The Council of Churches views with great concern the way certain media are seeking to draw the church into partisan politics,” said Reverend Hermen Shastri, the general-secretary of CCM.

Penang church pastors also yesterday refuted allegations that Lim had engaged them in political talk during the recent dialogue session, the latest black mark against the Umno daily in its reporting of the state chief minister.

The DAP secretary-general has been under fire by Umno leaders and Utusan Malaysia columnist Awang Selamat for allegedly telling Christians to stand up to injustice.

“There were no political speeches made during that luncheon dialogue session between the state government and us,” the national co-ordinator of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, Pastor Sam Surendran, told a press conference yesterday.

“I was present at the lunch dialogue session and all the pastors here also attended the session and we are refuting any claims that the chief minister had delivered any politicial speeches on that day,” he said.

The dialogue session was held on Friday afternoon between the state government and the pastors of Penang churches to discuss any issues the churches had.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/utusan-report-a-complete-lie-say-clergymen/