Monday, April 15, 2013

Voting on Sunday: A veiled insult at the Christians?

At 10% of the population of Malaysia, Christians are a sizable minority which is usually very politically apathetic. Mainly concentrated in the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, they have usually backed the BN-led government with the exception of the PBS government of the late 80s and early 90s (however, PBS returned to BN fold later in the 90s). 

However, over the recent years, the awakening of Christians in terms of its influence on the political scenes in Malaysia has led to BN worrying over the particular vote bank which is pro-BN becoming more vocal and leaning towards a more reformed role in the society. Apart from the Allah issue, the Malay language Bible is also a target for right wing Perkasa and its ilk. 

The most recent slap in the face of the Christians is the setting of the election date on a Sunday (5 May 2013). As most Christians revere Sunday as an important day for Mass and Prayers, this will cause some difficulties for parishioners to go to Mass and also go vote. Some ministers, pastors and priests are already having to give up voting alongside church leaders and helpers. 

This article written by a Malay Muslim highlights the hypocrisy of the Rukun Negara and the inconsiderate actions of the EC:



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