Just for show at UNGA

After the news of PM Najib's meeting with local religious leaders in his office in Putrajaya was splashed on front pages of the local newspapers, I was asked for my two cent worth on the matter.

Knowing similiar meetings being held in the past, I commented that the people especially the non-muslims should not take too seriously of what transpired. This type of meetings are held with the purpose far from what the religious leaders expected. The officers will diligently take notes of whatever grumblings from the attendees and the PM will nod his head to acknowledged those words uttered. But did he absorb and understands the issues raised? Most of the time meetings  of these sort do not have much follow-up and results. It is just for show.

Fast forward one week later, Najib was speaking to international leaders at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and he shared Malaysia's experience of religious inclusiveness. As reported in a local mainstream media, "Najib also shared with other heads of government at the United Nations that “although Islam is the official religion (in Malaysia), we honour other religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism – by making their religious and cultural celebrations national holidays and celebrate them as national events.” “It is this equilibrium that leads to moderation or wasatiyyah in the Islamic tradition of mutual peace.” Malaysia, he added, was well poised to play its part in promoting understanding, given its geographical position. "

For those uninitiated, the meeting with the local religious leaders was held merely as a public relation exercise before he flies to New York for the UNGA so that he can speak with full authority and legitimacy as a open-minded and receptive leader of a multi religious nation. The pre-UNGA meeting with local religious leaders are just part of a facade to inject authority into his speech  at the UN.

Being compassionate and experience people, these local religious leaders just play along with the PM's Office on this public relations exercise. How much and how far this sort of high media coverage meeting can really promote moderation and respect amongst the readers and observers especially those hard core bigots are yet to be seen. Whether the meeting gave him extra brownie points to put up a good show in UN yet to be known too. Maybe those who attended the said meeting knows better since most of them are expected to be wise men. If PM Najib is really taking into consideration the feelings of the non-muslims seriously, he should first weed out those extremists in his own backyard and not preach to the international audience on what others need to do.

Anyway, speaking out at UNGA is not difficult as that's what the purpose of the UNGA all about. No one can stop any country leader from speaking out or condemning whoever or whatever he or she wants, even if it sounds hypocritical just like an US president asking for the banning of nuclear weapons when US has the most nuclear warheads in the world.

Sadly, at the end of the UNGA session, the only speeches that the delegates might remembers will be those by Barack Obama or Wen Jia Bao, not just another leader from the Third World unless Kim Jong-Il decided to drop by in New York. - Loka

Najib joins in Wesak procession

If anyone from Umno dares to claim that attending an other than Islam religious procession is haram then they should tell it straight to Najib Razak's face. Hold on a minute! Is Najib really attending a Tua Pek Kong procession or it is just part of the political charade especially during a critical by-election that will gauged the support of the Chinese community in Sibu particularly and Sarawak generally.

As I had wrote previously, not a single serving Prime Minister ever openly walks into a Buddhist main shrine hall, and the current PM is inclusive. Now, will Najib joins in the procession on the evening of 28th May 2010 during the Wesak celebrations at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Kuala Lumpur? Maybe another charade for the Buddhist community. But are the Buddhist community so naive or is it just a few who will grabbed the opportunity to rub shoulder with the PM at the expense of the community's dignity and wisdom? - Loka

Only Islam has problem?

The Government finally decided to established a "special inter-faith committee" to promote better religious understanding between Islam and other religious faith. The committee will be headed by Ilani Ishak, a former MP for Kota Bahru when she was with the now defunct Semangat 46 party which was a breakaway from Umno. This was announced by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Koh Tsu Koon on Wednesday.

There are some points which need to be highlighted here.

1. Why it is still a special committee if the government felt inter-faith understanding is very important in the context of harmony living amongst the people in the country? Why the half-hearted approach?

2. Why only look at religious understanding between Islam and other religions? Are they saying only Islam having issues with other religions and there is no problem amongst the "other religions"? Or the government planning to have another "special committee" to look into these problems only when problems getting more difficult to manage within the other religions?

3. By saying that they don't want active politicians in the committee, then Ilani Ishak should not be there too. If she is not an active politician and supporter of Umno, would the government brought her to serve in the PM department and tasked her with this responsibility. How to define active politicians? Some officers in government agencies represented in the committee might be active members in their respective party divisions or representatives from the other religions might be also an MP or assemblyman. Can their right to represent their religion be curtailed due to their active participation in politics?

4. Those representing the "other religions" are from non governmental organisations but those from Islam are represented by Jakim and Ikim which are government related agencies. What happens when the Islamic views from the government agencies are not agreeable or endorsed by other Muslims/Malays NGOs, like ABIM, Sisters- in-Islam or even Perkasa? Will this special committee meet the same faith as the previous initiatives?

5. How sure and informed are the government that the representatives from the MCCBCHST has the locus standi to represent the religion that they claimed to represents? For instance, the Buddhist community has three representatives from three different individual organisations in the MCCBCHST which membership are limited only to certain segment of the Buddhist community. Does these representatives really represents the voice and sentiments of the community and other 700 Buddhist associations or centres not affiliated to any of these three selected organisations?

6. Quote from The Star "The committee is not a legal structure; it's not a rigid structure. It's a framework to provide exchange of ideas on religion". - Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the PM Department

If that's the case, it means this committee is just a talk shop. If it is set up by the government, why not provide certain level of authority so that its decision can be respected and abided by all? After all, all the major religions "great minds" are represented in the committee!

7. Finally, why appoints a "junior" officer to head the committee. The action reflects the intention. If the government is really putting strong emphasis on this committee, it should be headed by Koh Tsu Koon as the Minister in charge of unity. Or the least another with Ministerial level position like Idris Jala who may knows better the meaning of inter religious understanding since he is from Sarawak which multi religious society and inter religious marriages records speaks for itself. - Loka

雪州缺乏近百所佛教寺庙

五地方政府受促拨地建庙

实习记者林志斌

1月28日

傍晚 5点52分

有鉴于雪州目前缺乏大约100所佛教寺庙，雪州佛教发展委员会今日呼吁该州地方政府拨地兴建佛教寺庙，以解决佛教徒缺乏膜拜场所的问题。

该委员会主席黄世界表示，雪州目前缺少80至100所的佛教寺庙；随着人口的增长，若地方政府没做好规划，雪州将在2020年时缺少近200所的寺庙。

他表示，在雪州400万2440名居民当中，25.26%或101万1169人是佛教徒。若根据种族分布，雪州共有123万271名华裔，其中81.26%是佛教徒。

他说，根据雪州城乡规划局于2006年出版的《雪州规划指南与标准》手册，制定建设非回教膜拜场所的条文，即每2600名非回教信徒或每5000名居民，必须拥有一所寺庙。

地方政府拨出有限土地建庙

黄世界表示，配合雪州5个地方政府呼吁居民对《2020年地方规划蓝图》提出建议和反对，雪州15个佛教团体在去年12月16日开会进行讨论，要求地方政府遵守上述建设非回教膜拜场所的条文。



他表示，他们多番与雪州非回教徒宗教场所事务委员会及雪州地方政府事务委员会对话，但是上述5个地方政府的规划蓝图，仍然拨出有限或完全没有土地兴建佛教寺庙，因此希望州政府与地方政府重视此事。

这5个地方政府分别是：乌鲁冷岳县议会、安邦再也市议会、加影市议会、士拉央市议会和瓜拉冷岳县议会。


士拉央目前仅有13所佛教寺庙，根据人口统计，该区需要87所寺庙。至于安邦再也目前仅有9所寺庙，仍需要62所。


上述2个市议会在规划蓝图表示，非回教宗教膜拜场所是根据申请拨地，但是，而雪州佛教委员会却认为，根据申请拨地的说法非常暧昧，而且也不清楚申请的成功率。

而加影及瓜拉冷岳市议会更表示，该地区的寺庙已足够，而不再计划拨地建造寺庙；雪州佛教发展委员会却认为，这两个地区分别需要82所及21所的寺庙，目前当地的寺庙总数是远远不足够的。

质疑乌雪规划草案抵触宪法

佛教发展委员会也非议乌鲁雪兰莪县议会的规划草案，并质疑该草案与我国联邦宪法相抵触。

乌鲁雪兰莪县议会的规划草案里阐明，地方政府有权控制非回教宗教场所的数量与发展；但是联邦宪法第3（1）条文却阐明，虽然回教是我国的官方宗教，但是其他宗教可安宁与和谐在马来西亚任何地方奉行。

联邦宪法第11（1）条文也阐明，国民有权信奉本身的宗教，而第11（3）也指出，每个宗教团体有权管理本身宗教事务、建立和维持本身宗教或慈善事业结构及依法取得、持有并管理。

驳斥星报指增建寺庙很简单

黄世界也驳斥《星报》于1月17日社论的说法，有关社论表示，基督徒申请增建基督教堂非常困难，反观佛教徒申请增建寺庙却非常简单。
黄世界强调，他并非对基督教有意见，而事实上所有非回教信仰者申请增建膜拜场所时都面临难题，因此他希望州政府与地方政府公平拨地于各个宗教。
雪州佛教发展委员会也投诉各区寺庙面临的困境，包括时常需要租借临近的住宅或店屋进行活动，甚至曾因此接获传票。

该委员会也强调，他们并非反对州政府或地方政府的政策，只是希望获得妥当的膜拜场所。

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/

Buddhists need more temples

Below is the press statement issued by the Selangor Buddhist Development Committee in response to the Draft Local Plans prepared by five local authorities in Selangor. Leaders from 12 Buddhist organizations were present during the press conference held at Chempaka Buddhist Lodge, Petaling Jaya.

PRESS STATEMENT

Regarding MDHS, MPKj, MPAJ, MPS, MDHL Draft Local Plans

28th January 2010

Based on year 2000 census report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Malaysian citizens of the Buddhist faith comprised 4,419,042 people or 20.2% of the total citizens of this country.

In Selangor there are a total of 1,011,169 Buddhists, which is 25.26% of the state 4,002,440 citizens. Based on ethnic distribution, there are a total of 1,230,271 ethnic Chinese in the state of Selangor and 999,748 (81.26%) of them are Buddhists.

According to the Manual Garis Panduan Dan Piawaian Perancangan Negeri Selangor DE published by Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa Negeri Selangor, JPBD in June 2006, there are provisions for places of worship for non-Muslims include “one place of worship for every 2,600 devotees or 5,000 residents”.

In response to the calls by the local authorities, namely the Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor, Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya, Majlis Perbandaran Kajang, Majlis Perbandaran Selayang and Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat for the people to submit objections and proposals on their respective Draft Local Plan 2020(Draf Rancangan Tempatan), 15 Buddhist organizations in Selangor met on 16th December 2009 to discuss and review the five Draft Local Plans.

The meeting decided to establish an action committee known as the Selangor Buddhist Development Committee (SBDC) to take the necessary actions and to submit objections and proposals on the Draft Local Plans.

There are three pertinent matters that the SBDC would like to highlight for further considerations of the respective local councils.

1. With reference to religious practice, we urged the local authorities to adhere to the Federal Government guidelines in relation to the provisions for building of places of worship for non-Muslims, which is one place of worship for every 2,600 devotees or 5,000 residents.

Basing on the proposed five Draft Local Plans, within all the areas under review, there are limited or no allocation of land for the building of Buddhist temples (Vihara Buddha) in all the areas under planning.

We need to have more Buddhist temples (Vihara Buddha) to cater to the spiritual and religious education needs of the devotees.

2. With regards to public amenities, we would like to propose to the local authorities to reserve land and provide allocation to build crematoriums and columbarium complexes especially for the benefit of the Buddhist and Hindu communities who opts for cremation as their last rites. Considering the size of Buddhist residents in Selangor, the building of crematoriums will directly helps the State in reducing land use for burial grounds.

3. We urged the Selangor State Government and all local authorities concerned to live up to the spirit of Article 3 (1)* and Article 11 (1)* and 11 (3)* of the Federal Constitution in regards to the needs of adherents other than Islam to practice their own religion and to build and manage their places of worship.

We urged the Selangor State government and all local authorities; elected representatives and local councillors to seriously consider our objections and proposals as a duty and commitment towards the welfare and interest of the Buddhist community in Selangor.

We are prepared to attend the Public Hearing on the Draft Local Plans and we hoped the local authorities would invite us to attend the public hearing to provide details on our objections and proposals.

This statement is also endorsed by the following Buddhist Organizations in Selangor.

1. PERSATUAN PENGANUT AGAMA BUDDHA FO GUANG MALAYSIA

2. PERSATUAN PENGANUT AGAMA BUDDHA SUBANG JAYA

3. PERSATUAN PENGANUT BUDDHA SERDANG

4. BUDDHIST GEM FELLOWSHIP

5. SAKYAMUNI DHARMA CENTRE

6. DHARMA DRUM MOUNTAIN BUDDHISM INFORMATION CENTRE

7. KINRARA METTA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

8. MUDITA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

9. PERSATUAN AGAMA BUDDHA PU CHOONG

10. CHEMPAKA BUDDHIST LODGE

11. BANDAR UTAMA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

12. LOSANG DRAGPA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

13. KLANG & COAST BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

14. PERSATUAN PENGANUT BUDDHA KOK DOH RAWANG

15. JINJANG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

16. SELAYANG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

17. KAJANG BUDDHIST CENTRE

18. PUTRA HEIGHTS BUDDHIST SOCIETY

Inter-faith dialogue decorum

AS anxieties rises due to the numerous fire-bombings of churches recently, the calls for inter-faith dialogues are getting louder by the day. While these initiatives are most welcome, there are some basic principles that need to be adhered by all who participates in any inter-faith dialogues to ensure the inter-faith dialogues itself do not creates more problems.

A close-door and limited inter-faith dialogue without any audience but participated by only one representative from each religion may be much more easy to managed and conducted. The probability of third party audience interference or creating unnecessary ruckus can be avoided.

On the other hand if an inter-faith dialogue are to involved public participation either by limited to invitation only event or opened to the public; much care, thoughts and preparation need to be considered. These are to ensure the well intended event will stays that way and does not develops any situation contrary to the noble intentions.

First - The organisor must be clear of the intention to have the dialogue. No hidden agenda or ulterior motives at the expense of any religion, disregards of whether all religions are represented in the dialogue or not.

Second -  there must be mutual respect between the speakers and the religion they represents. The purpose of the dialogue must be maintained at all times which is to enable all to have a better understanding of the participating religions and not to win converts or ridicule others.

Third - the moderator must be able to managed the dialogue professionally and does not take the opportunity to become another speaker and speaks on behalf of his or her religious background.

Forth - the audience must consists of a balanced and good representation of all religions.

Fifth - the audience must respect the right of every speaker to articulate his/her religious views within the stipulated time. There should not be any heckling or intimidation of any speaker by the audience.Any audience who wishes to ask any question must obtain consent from the moderator and should state his name and background and shall not criticized or condemn any religion or speaker.

Sixth - the inter-faith dialogue must be fully recorded on tape for the whole duration of the event and each speaker must be given a copy of the recording.

Seven - the organiser must ensure the personal well-being of all involved in the dialogue namely, the speakers, moderator and participants are taken care at all times.

Eight - the event must be held in a condusive place and for an open event in a public facility, all the necessary approvals must be obtained from the relevant authorities.

Inter-faith dialogues are to build bridges between different faiths and provide a platform for all to have mutual respect and understanding between fellow human beings who strive to build a harmonious world, compassionate society and caring individuals. - Loka

Can we sing the state anthem?

While waiting for the issue on the usage of the term "Allah" by the Catholic's Herald publication to be decided at the Federal Court, this sensitive matter is being discussed and debated all over. The implication that will follows whatever decision of the court goes beyond the usage of "Allah" in a Catholic newsletter. For many especially the non-Muslims, one big question is playing in their head nowadays. Can they sing some of the state anthems in this country?

A study on the lyrics of all the State anthems in Malaysia shows that States which has the term "Allah" in their anthem includes Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johore, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. As for the Malay term "Tuhan" which means God, the word exists in the state anthems of Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak. Interestingly the term "Tuhan" is also found in Kelantan's state anthem. The States which neither have the term "Allah" or "Tuhan" is Sabah, Negri Sembilan and historical Malacca where Islam spread during the era of the Malacca Sultanate.

If the term "Allah" is exclusive only to Muslims in Malaysia, can those other than Islam sing the State anthems of Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johore, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. On the other hand, if the Malay term "Tuhan" should be the direct translation for the term "God" used by those other than Islam as argued in the Herald case, can a Muslim sing the State anthems of Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak or even Kelantan since the word "Tuhan"  can also mean God for some religions other than Islam?

Furthermore, what about the national anthem "Negaraku" which also have the word "Tuhan" in its lyrics? What does "Tuhan" meant in the national anthem and whose "Tuhan" it refers to? Anyhow, the first principle of Rukun Negara is Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (Belief in God) and the word "Tuhan" applies to all followers of their respective religion, which includes Islam and Christianity.

At the end of the day does it make any difference to one's faith and practice on how a person's "God"  or "Tuhan" is called? What about Buddhism then, which is not a monotheistic religion and do not adhered to the one creator God concept? Should a Buddhist skip the word "Allah" or "Tuhan" when singing or reciting the anthems and Rukun Negara? Will it developes bad karma to Buddhists who sang and recites the  word "Allah" and "Tuhan".? Surely not!

If we put so much time and effort to challenge and arguing with each other over a five letter word, will it make any difference to one's spiritual development and progress of the nation? What matters are how we should strive to live up to the teachings and practices of our own religion, which means developing the compassion and wisdom in all of us. And it is surely not by creating more tensions and negative karma for our ownselves. - Loka

No more Swiss minarets

Switzerland are more well-known for its Rolex watches, Swiss knives and the Alps, not counting stories of corrupt political leaders and dishonest industry captains stashing their ill-gotten wealth in Swiss banks. The Swiss people are very much involved in the decision making process on many matters which affects their daily lives. Referendum are conducted before any decision is made concerning any public issues. The recent issue that went to the ballot box was on the iniative to ban the building of Islamic minarets on mosques.

The referendum was passed with a clear majority of 57.5 percent of the voters and in 22 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. The vote against was 42.5 percent. Because the ban gained a majority of votes and passed in a majority of the cantons, it will be added to the Constitution.

The Swiss Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but the rightist Swiss People’s Party and a small religious party had proposed inserting a single sentence banning the construction of minarets, leading to the referendum.

The Nov 29 decision by majority of the Swiss people shocked many in the world including political leaders, religious figures and non-governmental organisations.

Closer to home, the Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman expressed "dismay" over the recent referendum to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland. Anifah said Malaysia believes the Swiss move is a serious blow to religious freedom and will infringe on the rights of a minority to practise its religion in Switzerland.

In light of the Malaysian government's stand on the Swiss minarets issue, hopefully the powers-that-be will take cognizance of policies which affects the building and location of places of worship and placement and usage of religious symbols of the minority religions in the country. For the defender of the law, surely this can be easily honoured and followed as Malaysia also guarantees religious freedom as per Article 11 of the country's constitution. But then there will always be some square pegs who will insists on behaving otherwise with the justification that they represents the majority.

One should not only uphold the principle of majority rules but respect the minority rights, that is majority rules should not lead to the tyranny of the minority.. - Loka

Extract from the U.S. Department of State publication, Principles of Democracy.

On the surface, the principles of majority rule and the protection of individual and minority rights would seem contradictory. In fact, however, these principles are twin pillars holding up the very foundation of what we mean by democratic government.

• Majority rule is a means for organizing government and deciding public issues; it is not another road to oppression. Just as no self-appointed group has the right to oppress others, so no majority, even in a democracy, should take away the basic rights and freedoms of a minority group or individual.

• Minorities – whether as a result of ethnic background, religious belief, geographic location, income level, or simply as the losers in elections or political debate – enjoy guaranteed basic human rights that no government, and no majority, elected or not, should remove.

• Minorities need to trust that the government will protect their rights and self-identity. Once this is accomplished, such groups can participate in, and contribute to their country's democratic institutions.

Religious land saga

Incidents of Malay-Muslims residents protesting against the building of places of worship other than their own in their backyard would not stop re-occurring even if the Hindu temple issue in Section 23 Shah Alam is solved in the next few days.

Protests against the building of places of worship for adherents other than Islam as in the Section 23 incident will not be an isolated case. These incidents happens not because of anyone's God instruction but are human created  due  to intolerance towards others religionists and weak understanding of one's own religion.

When the country's population increases every year, more and more housing facilities are required to accommodate the expanding population especially those in the urban areas. More land are required to build houses, public infrastructures and transportation, commercial and industrial lots and recreation and community facilities. When this happens, existing places of worship located in estates and sub-urban areas which has been in existence years before the arrival of development faces the threat of eviction and relocation.

Basing the on the demographic growth of different religions and races in this country, the time will come when only a few residential areas which majority of the residents are not non-Muslims. By then where can the non-Muslims have their place of worships and practice their devotion in a peaceful atmosphere but at the midst of Muslim majority areas. Muslim majority states like those in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis are already having many non-Muslims place of worships in their areas where non-Muslims are less than Muslims. If Muslims in these states can live with the Buddhist temples and Thai Wats built nearby their villages for so many centuries, why Muslims in a premier state like Selangor are having issue with it?

The human factor in creating this problem to the people and the government happens when the town planners and developers did not take into serious considerations the need of allocating ample lands for the building of places of worship other than Islam. Civil servants in state planning agencies and land offices who are mostly Muslims may not be motivated and enlightenment enough to look into the religious needs of the other communities.

To enable them to obtain the necesssary development approvals, developers will adhered to the official requirement to designate a piece of land for the building of a surau or a mosque but will be not be driven to set aside a piece of land for those other than Islam as it may not be in the development order requirements.

Even if the developers do take this need into consideration, they will most probably be allocating just one piece of land for religion other than Islam, which means the Buddhist, Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Taoists and Sikh would have to scramble for the miserable piece of land.

The Federal and State governments need to develop a policy which will ensure lands are to be made available for the building of places of worships not only for Muslims but also people of other faiths to practice and manage their respective religion as per guaranteed in the Federal Constituition. It will not help if fire fighting methods are activated whenever a similiar issue arises from time to time.

The writing is already on the wall. There is no other choice but to acknowleged and accept that this country comprises a multi-religious society. Everybody have to live with each other, respect one another and accept the differences in each religious beliefs and learn to live peacefully- within and without disregarding one's personal belief and political affiliation.

The government have to come out with a long-term concrete plan to safeguard and ensure the religious needs of all faiths are well taken of. A law must be drawn to ensure town planners allocate land for all religions in specific area of new development in their town planning and developers must be compelled to fulfill their obligations. If it fails it will not be surprising if similiar incidences like the one in Shah Alam will be replicated elsewhere by bigots copycats. - Loka

Candle in the heart

The cow head protesters marches to the State secretariat

Hishammuddin (left pic) the Umno Home Minister did not give any surprises when he met with the cow head protesters yesterday. He further enhanced his image as a cow's brain politician when he became the protesters apologist and defends their action of stomping and spitting on a severed cow head which the protesters brought to the entrance of the Selangor State Secretariat front gate last Friday.

Being the minister previously in charge of the education and youth and sports ministries before his assumption as home minister, he should know very well that cows are sacred in Hinduism and the intention of the protesters bringing the severed cow head during their demonstration is clearly an attempt to provoke and incite hatred and ill feelings amongst peace loving Malaysians. But then, what more can be expected from someone with a big mouth. ( I just replicate this words used by a former Umno Selangor State Exco who co-incidentally was seated beside Hishammudin during another meeting with a Malay-centric NGO the day before the cow head protesters met Hishammudin)

The so-called protesters who claimed to be residents of Section 23 in Shah Alam had protested against the relocation of a Hindu temple from Section 19 to to Section 23. They objected to the temple being built in their vicinity which they argued is a Muslim majority area.

In the name of democratic process and respecting the freedom of movement and assembly, it is the right of the cow head protesters to assemble and march to highlight their concerns and objection to the temple but please do it with utmost decency and self respect as a fellow human being. The moment any group starts to ridicule and blasphemed other religion, it says all and sundry to the whole world how shallow and narrow minded these people are. By claiming to represent a certain religion which proclaimed to be a religion of peace, it really brings disrepute and shame to their own religion.

If a person of any religion claims that the building of a place of worship other than his own, in close proximity to his place of residence will challenge his commitment to his own religion, it is time for him to have self reflection on his personal cultivation. If by virtue of taking the argument that close proximity to a place of worship other than his own will affect one's faith, many in this country include many past and present Cabinet ministers would have left their original faith or converted to Christianity because many had studied in schools runs by the La Sallian Brothers and Catholic nuns.

A La Sallian school - Saint Anthony School in Teluk Intan

Churches and chapels were usually situated nearby these schools and some are even within the school compound. Those in the older generations would have studied or interacted with the La Sallian Brothers priests whom were famous with their strict discipline and academic acumens. What's more can be said of those that studied in western countries where the populations are predominantly Christians. Hishammudin himself was western educated but did he renounced the religion of his forefathers after many years surrounded by churches and Christians symbolism? No. He still declares himself as a Muslim.

By defending the cow head protesters, is he trying to tell everybody that he is having doubts on the protesters resilience towards external influences? One's faith and commitment towards any religion are just like a lighted candle in the heart, no outsiders will ever be able to snuff it out or reduces its illumination unless the person concern allows it to happen. - Loka

Mind is the forerunner of all states,
Mind is chief, mind-made are they.
If one speaks or acts with pure mind, because of that,
happiness follows one, even as one's shadow that never leaves.

- Dhammapada verse 2

RM1 for Religious Land

Those responsible for the management of places of worship should take the necessary action to ensure their land where the viharas, temples, churches or religious centres are erected are designated for religious purposes ( tanah untuk kegunaan rumah ibadat). This is especially important for centres which conducts regular religious service and sermons in their premises.



If the land use is still designated as commercial, residential, industrial or agriculture, the religious bodies will be paying quit rent rates based on the respective type of land usage which can be substantial if the size of the land is big. Land designated for religious purposes usually do not have to pay quit rent but just a nominal fee as low as one Ringgit per year for each lot.



For instance, the states of Selangor and Penang charges only a nominal fee of RM1 per year on land for places of worship. Therefore, the management of places of worship other than Islam should take the opportunity to convert their land to 'tanah kegunaan rumah ibadat" if there is a place of worship erected on that particular piece of land. The amount saves from the annual quit rent can be use for other religious education or welfare services. - Loka