国会辩论教宗言论记
Saturday, 23-09-2006上星期，当媒体报道教宗本笃16世在德国的演讲引起世界各地回教徒的抗议之后，我已预料到国会肯定会有回教徒的议员提出辩论这课题的紧急动议，即使回教党的议员不提，巫统的议员也肯定会提出。
不出所料，回教党议员沙拉胡丁在本星期一便向议长提呈这课题的紧急动议，议长次日便批准下议院对这课题进行辩论。由于这课题属国际议题，所以由外交部回答或总结。外交部长赛哈密当时在纽约，副外长沙朗是来自沙拉越的天主教徒，为了避免在下议院里发表违背良心的话，因此他刻意避嫌，而把总结辩论这任务交给来自巫统的政务次长沙比里茨负责。
沙拉胡丁的动议的原文看来措辞谨慎，他说有鉴于教宗的演词经已引起世界各地的回教徒的不满，他担这会引发大马宗教社群之间，特别是回教徒和基督徒之间的矛盾，因此国会有必要辩论这课题。
在沙拉胡丁的紧急动议的演讲里，他说，回教徒尊敬耶稣这位先知，当年把耶稣钉死在十字架上的是犹太人，不是回教徒。因此，基督徒和回教徒其实应该联合起来共同对抗犹太人。此外，他也指美国总统布殊最近的声明，似乎要成为教宗的代言人。他呼吁教宗不要陷入美国所设的陷阱，而批准布殊逼害回教徒。他也质问美国是否要制造文明冲突，而把梵蒂冈拉来与回教徒为敌？
沙拉胡丁似乎忘了历史背景，在耶稣在世的时代，回教还没出现。此外，他把教宗在一个学术演讲里引用影射到回教圣战的例子，牵连到质疑美国是否要拉拢梵蒂冈来逼害回教徒？这种论述也实在令人‘佩服‘。
接着是公正党主席旺阿兹沙发言。我以为公正党拥有多元种族和宗教的党员，该党应该可呈现较中立和讲理的立场，但是很令人失望的，旺阿兹沙的演词依然是一面倒的谴责教宗，呼吁教宗收回他的言论，以免分裂回教徒和基督徒的关系。
轮到笔者发言时，我分析教宗9月12日在德国的里根斯本大学的学术演讲的真正讯息，是《理由在信仰里有很重要的角色，而神学在大学里也占有重要的角色》，教宗是因为在演词里举了一个拜占庭皇帝和波斯学者针对回教对话的例子，而引起争议。但是教宗已经澄清他在该演词的例子，并不代表他本人的立场，同时梵蒂冈和教宗本身都已对这事件分别致歉。梵蒂冈在其声明里，更特别阐明教会对回教徒的最崇高的敬意。但是很令人遗憾的是，国会在天主教会和教宗致歉两次后，还要辩论这个议题。
在笔者准备讲词前，几位朋友和党同志告诫我，要以中立和不情绪化的方式来演讲，我尽可能做到这点，但是要在一个回教徒议员占大多数的议会里为教宗作澄清和辩护，是非常困难的事。笔者在演讲时频被巫统的议员打岔，笔者言毕后，我便面对回教党和巫统的议员排山倒海般的反击。
令人惊讶的是，身为天主教徒的沙巴州伯鲁然区国会议员竟然起来抨击教宗，说教宗的言论引起回教徒和基督徒的愤怒，他呼吁教宗收回其言论。大概由于他是基督徒的关系，他的演讲得到好些巫统议员拍桌欢迎。唉，这是另一个没阅读过教宗原文的基督徒议员的声音。
在巫统议员们对教宗和笔者大肆批判时，我环顾下议院会议厅，许多国阵的基督徒议员都不见人影，我党内的非天主教徒的同僚都因事不关己而溜到议会厅外去。我恍悟到我在孤军作战。突然间，我感到一阵孤寂。
面对回教徒议员的连声无理谴责，我记取友人之前的劝告，尽量以理服人，避免在这事件与这些回教徒议员纠缠，以免被媒体歪曲我的言论。
紧急动议辩论完毕后，步出会议厅外，巫统的议员和部长还在揶揄笔者为教宗辩论，一些即使看来很理性的议员，也还在强烈的不认同我的演讲，他们还是坚持教宗不应该引用有关的例子，完全忽略那是一个学术演讲。在笔者撰写此文之际，回教党率领一群回教徒在甘榜巴鲁的回教堂针对教宗的演讲示威。
梵蒂冈和教宗经已相继道歉两次，咱们回教徒政治人物仍然不愿罢休。唉，只要涉及宗教，再理性的人也会变得难以理喻。这种‘政治资本‘落到玩弄权术的政治人物手里，则更将没完没了了！
（22-9-06）
List of racial discriminations in Malaysia, practiced by government as well as government agencies. This list is an open secret. Best verified by government itself because it got the statistics.
This list is not in the order of importance, that means the first one on the list is not the most important and the last one on the list does not mean least important.
This list is a common knowledge to a lot of Malaysians, especially those non-malays (Chinese, Ibans, Kadazans, Orang Asli, Tamils, etc) who were being racially discriminated.
Figures in this list are estimates only and please take it as a guide only. Government of Malaysia has the most correct figures. Is government of Malaysia too ashamed to publish their racist acts by publishing racial statistics?
This list cover a period of about 49 years since independence (1957).
List of racial discriminations (Malaysia):
(1)Out of all the 5 major banks, only one bank is multi-racial, the rest are controlled by malays
(2)99% of Petronas directors are malays
(3)3% of Petronas employees are Chinese
(4)99% of 2000 Petronas gasoline stations are owned by malays
(5)100% all contractors working under Petronas projects must be bumis status
(6)0% of non-malay staffs is legally required in malay companies. But there must be 30% malay staffs in Chinese companies
(7)5% of all new intake for government army, nurses, polices, is non-malays
(8)2% is the present Chinese staff in Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), drop from 40% in 1960
(9)2% is the percentage of non-malay government servants in Putrajaya. But malays make up 98%
(10)7% is the percentage of Chinese government servants in the whole government (in 2004), drop from 30% in 1960
(11)95% of government contracts are given to malays
(12)100% all business licensees are controlled by malay government e.g. Approved permits, Taxi permits, etc
(13)80% of the Chinese rice millers in Kedah had to be sold to malay controlled Bernas in 1980s. Otherwise, life is make difficult for Chinese rice millers
(14)100 big companies set up, owned and managed by Chinese Malaysians were taken over by government, and later managed by malays since 1970s e.g. MISC, UMBC, UTC, etc
(15)At least 10 Chinese owned bus companies (throughout Malaysia, throughout 40 years) had to be sold to MARA or other malay transport companies due to rejection by malay authority to Chinese application for bus routes and rejection for their application for new buses
(16)2 Chinese taxi drivers were barred from driving in Johor Larkin bus station. There are about 30 taxi drivers and 3 are Chinese in October 2004. Spoiling taxi club properties was the reason given
(17)0 non-malays are allowed to get shop lots in the new Muar bus station (November 2004)
(18)8000 billion ringgit is the total amount the government channeled to malay pockets through ASB, ASN, MARA, privatisation of government agencies, Tabung Haji etc, through NEP over 34 years period
(19)48 Chinese primary schools closed down since 1968 – 2000
(20)144 Indian primary schools closed down since 1968 – 2000
(21)2637 malay primary schools built since 1968 – 2000
(22)2.5% is government budget for Chinese primary schools. Indian schools got only 1%, malay schools got 96.5%
(23)While a Chinese parent with RM1000 salary (monthly) cannot get school-text-book-loan, a malay parent with RM2000 salary is eligible
(24)10 all public universities vice chancellors are malays
(25)5% – the government universities lecturers of non-malay origins had been reduced from about 70% in 1965 to only 5% in 2004
(26)Only 5% is given to non-malays for government scholarships over 40 years
(27)0 Chinese or Indians were sent to Japan and Korea under “Look East Policy”
(28)128 STPM Chinese top students could not get into the course that they aspired e.g. Medicine (in 2004)
(29)10% place for non-bumi students for MARA science schools beginning from year 2003, but only 7% are filled. Before that it was 100% malays
(30)50 cases whereby Chinese and Indian Malaysians, are beaten up in the National Service program in 2003
(31)25% is Malaysian Chinese population in 2004, drop from 45% in 1957
(32)7% is the present Malaysian Indians population (2004), a drop from 12% in 1957
(33)2 million Chinese Malaysians had emigrated to overseas since 40 years ago
(34)0.5 million Indian Malaysians had emigrated to overseas
(35)3 million Indonesians had migrated into Malaysia and became Malaysian citizens with bumis status
(36)600000 are the Chinese and Indian Malaysians with red IC and were rejected repeatedly when applying for citizenship for 40 years. Perhaps 60% of them had already passed away due to old age. This shows racism of how easily Indonesians got their citizenships compare with the Chinese and Indians
(37)5% – 15% discount for a malay to buy a house, regardless whether the malay is poor or rich
(38)2% is what Chinese new villages get compare with 98% of what malay villages got for rural development budget
(39)50 road names (at least) had been changed from Chinese names to other names
(40)1 Dewan Gan Boon Leong (in Malacca) was altered to other name (e.g. Dewan Serbaguna or sort) when it was being officially used for a few days. Government try to shun Chinese names. This racism happened in around year 2000 or sort
(41)0 churches/temples were built for each housing estate. But every housing estate got at least one mosque/surau built
(42)3000 mosques/surau were built in all housing estates throughout Malaysia since 1970. No churches, no temples are required to be built in housing estates
(43)1 Catholic church in Shah Alam took 20 years to apply to be constructed. But told by malay authority that it must look like a factory and not look like a church. Still not yet approved in 2004
(44)1 publishing of Bible in Iban language banned (in 2002)
(45)0 of the government TV stations (RTM1, RTM2, TV3) are directors of non-malay origins
(46)30 government produced TV dramas and films always showed that the bad guys had Chinese face, and the good guys had malay face. You can check it out since 1970s. Recent years, this tendency becomes less
(47)10 times, at least, malays (especially Umno) had threatened to massacre the Chinese Malaysians using May 13 since 1969
(48)20 constituencies won by DAP would not get funds from the government to develop. Or these Chinese majority constituencies would be the last to be developed
(49)100 constituencies (parliaments and states) had been racistly re-delineated so Chinese voters were diluted that Chinese candidates, particularly DAP candidates lost in election since 1970s
(50)Only 3 out of 12 human rights items are ratified by Malaysia government since 1960
(51)0 – elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (UN Human Rights) is not ratified by Malaysia government since 1960s
(52)20 reported cases whereby malay ambulance attendances treated Chinese patients inhumanely, and malay government hospital staffs purposely delay attending to Chinese patients in 2003. Unreported cases may be 200
(53)50 cases each year whereby Chinese, especially Chinese youths being beaten up by malay youths in public places. We may check at police reports provided the police took the report, otherwise there will be no record
(54)20 cases every year whereby Chinese drivers who accidentally knocked down malays were seriously assaulted or killed by malays
(55)12% is what ASB/ASN got per annum while banks fixed deposit is only about 3.5% per annum
There are hundreds more racial discriminations in Malaysia to add to this list of “colossal” racism. It is hope that the victims of racism will write in to expose racism.
Malaysia government should publish statistics showing how much malays had benefited from the “special rights” of malays and at the same time tell the statistics of how much other minority races are being discriminated.
Hence, the responsibility lies in the Malaysia government itself to publish unadulterated statistics of racial discrimination.
If the Malaysia government hides the statistics above, then there must be some evil doings, immoral doings, shameful doings and sinful doings, like the Nazi, going on onto the non-malays of Malaysia.
Civilized nation, unlike evil Nazi, must publish statistics to show its treatment on its minority races. This is what Malaysia must publish……….
We are asking for the publication of the statistics showing how “implementation of special rights of malays” had inflicted colossal racial discrimination onto non-malays.
Comment by human book — Tuesday, 26-09-2006 @ 07: 50.49
I think they just want to take the opportunity to complaint about what the pope say. This just a nonsense as Pope only adopt what the other people say, but not his thought. The Islam not matter Malaysia or world wide like to find Christian weakness and try to make people angry with Christian but not Islam. I think they thought the world belongs to them, and any body touch little bit of Islamic, they will try to make it serious.
Only Christianity have such wonderful teaching, try to help all the people in this world without count any return like World Vision, mother Teresa for example.
Any how don’t be frustrate, God will know everything and there also a lot of people pray for you I believe. I will also pray for you once a while.
Comment by hwings — Monday, 02-10-2006 @ 20: 28.34
I have not followed closely about this but I think the disputed quote is only a few lines in a long speech that preached goodness.
The Pope could have highlighted a controversial quote to bring forth a discussion of good and bad, right and wrong.
It is dodgy to get so worked up from such a speech but what about non-muslims’ reaction over the following:
The destruction of Buddhist cravings by the taaliban
The frequent peaches by al-Qada over their intention to kill non-muslims
The constant criticism that Chinese (non-muslim) causing Malays (muslim) to lad behind economicaly.
Well the reaction that I can see do not consist of riots, display of public disorder
Dear Theresa, again I praise your courage and strong will.
Comment by lee wee tak — Saturday, 07-10-2006 @ 08: 57.50
You have done what you need to do. I am sure that with great clarity, you have reiterated what the Pope truely meant. And I thank you with all my heart, that you have done so in the Parliament. Although not much of your comrades has supported you in the Parliament when you stand up against irrational voices, but pls rest assured that all Catholics and rational person in Seputeh supported you.
Remember what happened in Gethsemane before Jesus is arrested? When Jesus truly need supports, all of his disciples was asleep. I guess he felt pretty lonely then.
God bless you, and He remembered your effort.
Comment by weikeat — Monday, 18-12-2006 @ 22: 48.57