Group: Stem tide of extremism

25 prominent Sabahans send open letter urging Govt to act on growing threat

KOTA KINABALU: A group of prominent Sabahans is urging the Federal Government to stem the tide of extremism in the nation.

The open letter is signed by 47 individuals and lawyer Gayle Jokinin said the letter came about after a group of 25 eminent Malays spoke out against extremism as well as the growing religious and racial divide in the country.

Gayle, who drafted the letter, said a major concern was how the country was tilting towards extremism.

“Our founding fathers did not agree to any religion or race to be supreme over others,” said Gayle, who added this was being seen in some policies.

“We felt that it is only right to speak up,” she said.

The signatories included former Sabah state secretary and Suhakam vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, former Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Mohd Noor Mansor, former senior civil servants Datuk Wilfred Lingham and Datuk Gregory Joitol and former state Attorney-General Datuk Stephen Foo, as well as a handful of politicians, environmentalists, trade unionists, and lawyers.

In their letter, the Sabahans said there there must be mutual tolerance and respect for one another’s background and beliefs.

“Ideologies promoted by political parties and especially their leaders must be based on fairness, tolerance and respect for others,” they said.

“Politicisation of a particular religion for narrow partisan gains simply has no place in this pluralistic society of Malaysia,” they added.

The group said they were concerned over the “aggressive” Islamisation in Sabah, whether covert or overt, targeted at the natives.

“Conversion ceremonies are being carried out under the guise of providing ‘financial assistance’ to poor natives and native school children especially those living in government hostels,” the group said.

Another worrying phenomenon was the National Registration Department’s move to quietly insert “bin” or “binti” into the MyKad, even for Christians.

“We are not against conversions out of free will, but we condemn conversions through deceit, intimidation and bribery,” the group said.

“We Sabahans know that at the heart of it all is an exercise to suppress the voice of the majority genuine non-Muslim Sabahans, and to degenerate our native population and our freedom of religion,” the group further claimed.

The signatories also allege that government departments and bodies have been asserting authority beyond their legitimate powers for far too long, and such unlawful and oppressive practices must cease immediately.

“Extreme and misguided actions in the name of Islamisation and religious intolerance is nothing but a threat to our national peace and stability”.