All Christians will be celebrating the Resurrection of Christ, also known as Easter later this month. Easter is a celebration of new beginnings, starting afresh and starting anew.
Christians of Sarawak - regardless of political preference and affiliation - need to take note of this and bring the Resurrection of Christ into their lives on 16th April 2011 by starting anew and rejecting corruption, oppression and sins of the past.
Enough is enough
Sad to say, in the past few weeks, Prime Minister Najib Razak and his BN government showed a lack of sincerity with regards to the Bible issue and in the process disrespected the Christians' Holy Book, albeit unwittingly.
Last-minute frantic efforts by the ruling coalition to repair the situation boomeranged because these were clearly and blatantly orchestrated, rather than from the heart and with the wish to truly resolve the problems that have long depressed the Christian community.
Indeed, with the help of some Sarawakian Christians, such as Idris Jala and the ACS, BN may have worsened the feelings of frustration and betrayal in the community - both in the Land of the Hornbills as well as in the peninsula.
But enough is enough! That is the feeling that is growing stronger amongs Christian leaders of late. They fear that the tentacles of evil and corruption are becoming too powerful and must be stopped before they spread, contaminate and eat into Malaysia's system and destroy her people's way of life.
Indeed, Christians have a duty to speak up and and support responsbile and moral action, their leaders said.
A duty to stand up for justice
Idris Jala is a Sarawakian Christian from the Sidang Injil Borneo denomination. Yet the feeling in Sarawak is that he allowed himself to be used.
To Christians, it was bad enough that the Bible were degraded, defiled and desecrated but Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein could still find it in himself to tell the mainstream papers that if the Bibles were kept long enough, the books would become smelly.
Such insensitive remarks coming from a top BN leader is totally unacceptable, and whichever side of the political divide one is on, it does show that BN leaders have scant respect for other faiths.
Why is this so? Is it due to our existing political system that has fostered fear amongst the different races and religious cultures? Should Christians close an eye on this or should they vaccuum out the filth and dirt, and conscientiously contribute to a Malaysia that is clean and healthy - a Malaysia that works and functions!
Malaysia Chronicle spoke to DAP's Charles Santiago who has been campaigning in Sarawak and he expressed confidence that Christians would be able to judge for themselves the BN Government's stand on the Bible issue.
"DAP will focus on highlighting the massive abuses of public funds by the Sarawak BN government and at the same time highlight the clean administration practiced in the Pakatan state. Hopefully, everyone and not just the Christians will see that we are genuine," said the Klang MP.
Prayers for a new beginning
DAP's Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham, who is also a Christian, is of the view that the community would "see through the falseness of the BN" in dealing with the Bible issue.
According to him, the slew of last-minute damage control from BN was meant to entice Christian votes but their "overkill" might have worsened the situation.
Of late, many Christian leaders have also come out to publicly state that the Church always advocates that a government of a nation must be clean and trustworthy as the government is only the steward of the nation's wealth.
The government cannot appropriate the nation's wealth for its own interests, thereby subverting the needs of the people, these elders said.
To Ngeh, the message from the Church is loud and clear.
"The well-known saying of 'God helps those who help themselves' rings true in Sarawak. The Sarawakians especially the natives who stay in the interiors can only get out of abject poverty if they help themselves by voting out their oppressors," said Ngeh.
Nonetheless, at the end of the day, it is up to Christians themselves to choose whom they wish to lead them.
Both Pakatan and BN have bared their souls for the community to assess and decide.
The Church can only exhort its followers to pray for discernment before voting and also to vote wisely.
As for all Malaysians, regardless of faith, politics or creed, let us pray each in our own way for a joyous new beginning for the people of Sarawak.
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