Have courage to right the wrongs

June 23, 2006

Have courage to right the wrongs

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently called on the Muslim world and the Christian West to be honest and rational with each other and for both sides to have the courage to right the wrongs was timely and appropriate.

While his call to the international community was encouraging, it is also appropriate for our own leaders at all levels to take heed of his call to have the moral courage to right the wrongs in our own country.

As we call on the powerful West to be considerate to the plight of the poorer nations in their political and economical dealings, our government too should seriously look to the problems of the poor and the marginalized communities in the country. It has to rethink of its policies towards the minority groups, in the way they are denied the basic constitutional rights like education, health, job opportunities and religious freedom.

Wrongs in the country exist in the form of poverty, corruption, abuse of power, racial polarization, rising cost of living, increasing crime rates and a fading voice of the rakyat.The leaders and the rakyat must have the courage to right these wrongs. It is a moral duty of us all.

We should support the prime minister’s call on the media to muffle the voices of those who preach extremism and hatred and at the same time allow and encourage legitimate and constructive criticisms to be aired for the betterment of the nation. There should be no hesitation to take stern punitive action against those who advocate extremism and hatred in whatever form.

There is a dire need to stress the importance of dialogue to settle differences peacefully as that is what is demanded by all faiths.

Our own church community is riddled with some these wrongs such as racial segregation, selfishness, greed and like fading voice of the people. More and more things are done against the wishes of the people without their consultation. We should solve our internal problems in the way we want the government to solve ours with them.

As Christians, by our thoughts and actions we must strive to become the conscience in the hearts of those who are against us otherwise we would be no different from those whom we accuse of wrong doings.

Dr.Chris Anthony