The spate of recent attacks on churches in the country reveals, once more, the fault lines that have plagued our nation since its founding. The deep cleavages of ethnicity and religion still haunt us today.1 Although the government has made efforts towards nation-building, particularly after the May 13 incident, nonetheless the efforts have been largely wasted as we are still as divided along the racial and religious lines.
The reasons for this failure are legion and it is not my intention here to delve into them. Suffice to say that when the foundation of our nation was being laid, it was based on a communal vision of society. The various ethnic groups that collectively make up this nation was seen as engaging in a zero-sum game over political and economic resources that was mitigated by the social contract. And upon this foundation, our current political system was built upon.
Looking back in hindsight, the events of recent years, e.g. the UMNO Penang protest over the new PR Chief Minister’s statement on the abolishment of the NEP in the state, the cow head protest and the recent protests on the court’s judgement on the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims, have demonstrated that the whole political and social structure is collapsing. Hindsight, as they say, is perfect vision. It is not my intention to criticize what our founding fathers might or could have done.
The urgent question that needs to be answered in our time is simply this: What alternative vision of society can we articulate and build upon to create a nation that will simply see past the barriers of ethnicity and religion that divides us? The answer is not simple but one that requires everyone (and not just the politicians) who have a stake in this country to come together to share each other’s fears and hope for the nation and to understand one another away from the biases and prejudice that have kept us divided.
Christians, as part of the larger community, have an obligation to participate in this great project of re-imagining an alternative and better vision of who we are as a nation and how we could achieve this vision, if not for ourselves then at least for our children and grandchildren. For a long time, Christians tend to congregate among themselves in the church minding their own business rather than participating in the public life of the nation. In so doing, have we then contributed to the status quo?
Again, I’m not interested to find faults but rather to make a plea that Christians must collectively begin to take steps in participating in this project and not hide behind the comfort zone behind the walls of the church. In so doing, the royal law of loving your neighbour would have been fulfilled (Mk. 12:31; Rom. 13:8).
P.S. J’accuse – I accuse the author, who as a Christian, have been too comfortable in hiding behind the walls of the church. Mea culpa (I am guilty).
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
