Sunday September 20, 2009

Fine example of religious tolerance

By DIANA ROSE

The way communities of different ethnic groups and religious beliefs co-exist together in Sabah and Sarawak is a good model of the 1Malaysia concept.

WHEN he took over as Prime Minister several months ago, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made it known that the thrust of his government would be the 1Malaysia concept – mutual respect and trust among the numerous races in the country.

Last week, in his Malaysia Day (Sept 16) blog, he commended the people of Sabah and Sarawak for their incredibly strong and harmonious unity.

“My commitment to 1Malaysia – to the idea that our differences in race and religion are what make our country distinct – is inspired by what I have seen in Sabah and Sarawak,” he wrote.

Sabah and Sarawak are showing us the way to civil development, he added.

Of course, in Sarawak, we have our fair share of prejudices, crime and peculiarities but our level of tolerance and respect towards each other’s customs and beliefs is high.

Perhaps it has something to do with our state government as well. We laud it for its generosity in providing funding for the construction of all religious buildings and allocating land for them.

As a result, one will find a mosque and a Chinese Temple being constructed side by side here, and the two communities of different religious beliefs will help each other look after their places of worship.

A good example of this peaceful co-existence is found at Kampung Muara Tebas in Kuching, where the Surau Darul Ikhwan is located near the majestic Chen San Yan temple.

Visualise this – the cry of the muezzin from the surau dispels the silence at dusk, calling for Muslims to break fast during Ramadan. Seconds later, the call is joined by the soothing chants of devotees at the Chen San Yan temple.

Instead of creating disharmony, these two different spiritual calls enhance the ties of the people in this rustic Malay fishing village in Sarawak.

Kampung Muara Tebas, located at the estuary of Sungai Sarawak, is about 30km from Kuching. Its population of about 2000 is predominantly Malay fishermen with only 60 Chinese.

In 1995, when this writer interviewed the then headman, Penghulu Haji Ramli Yusuf, a descendant of the village’s pioneer, he said: “As far as we are concerned, the temple has been very much a part of us. We respect their religion and they ours. In fact, it is the best thing that can ever happen to us.”

He said his ancestors came first, followed by the Chinese in their wangkang (Chinese junk). They stopped at the village to rest and trade.

It was believed that between 1837 and1840, the Chinese immigrants who came to Kuching brought with them in their junk a statue of Buddha to protect them on their long journey. When they arrived at the estuary of the Sarawak River, they chose a high site and built a simple structure to place the Buddha and three other statues of deities there. The Chen San Yan temple now sits on that same site.

Tolerance came from both parties. On their part, the Chinese allowed the Muslims to pass through the temple’s compound when they needed to bury their dead at their cemetery behind the temple.

Chou Chii Miing, 65, committee chairman for the Chen San Yan temple, admitted that some of the temple’s current patrons have raised their concerns about this.

“But I told them not to be superstitious because these people have been doing it for many centuries,” he said.

“Furthermore, everybody has to bury their dead and if they cannot do it, then we will do it for them, or vice-versa.”

This deep-rooted friendship, Chou said, can be traced back to more than 200 years ago when both communities had to work side-by-side in order to bring up their families and develop the village.

For example, the temple committee sponsors the surau’s Quran recital competition every year and the Muslims have named the nearby rivers after Buddha.

This respect and support accorded by both sides for each other has been going on for years without fanfare. Perhaps it’s time to share their story with fellow Malaysians to show what religious tolerance truly means.

This scenario is not confined to Muara Tebas alone. It is common throughout the state.

Sarawak has an Indian population of only about 3,000 but their temples are found at various locations. In the Kuching city centre, for example, there are three Indian temples with devotees coming from all races in Sarawak.

So, be it mosques, surau, churches, cathedrals, chapels, Sikh temples, Bahai centre, Mormon church, SIB churches, Methodist churches –you name it, we have it.

There is also a Sai Baba centre in Dalat, a small district in Mukah Division. I find this rather curious as I can hardly find any individual of Indian descent there. Perhaps I will drop by one day just to check out who the patrons are.

Dalat also has a Roman Catholic cemetery on land that was once owned by a Muslim. This Good Samaritan had donated his land for the cemetery!

In support of Najib’s 1Malaysia campaign, it would be timely now to eliminate the “holier than thou” or “better than thou” attitude to strengthen respect and tolerance among the population.

And this needs to begin at home.

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