God Bless Malaysia. Amen.

We are fighting for the right to use the word ‘Allah’ because the Home Ministry wanted to ban the Catholic Herald on the grounds that it used ‘Allah’. If the ban is greenlighted, every single church service, literature, and copy of the Bible written in local languages including Malay Iban and Baba Nyonya (which also uses ‘Allah’) are automatically illegal.

Please listen to us — we’ve been trying to communicate for so long, since this issue started in 2007. If you want us to change the usage of the word, you cannot do so by force of law. We are fighting for the right of our weakest and poorest members of our religion to simply worship their God in the only language they have been using before Merdeka.

If you are looking to preach & convert Malays and Orang Asli, then go and fight for the right to do this.

Otherwise, getting riled up for the right to use a term is a waste of time and tax ringgit.

I am a Buddhist, and I would like to stand together with my Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters (and those of other faiths and beliefs) in denouncing the terrorists that have made these attacks on these sacred places.

Their attack is an affront to the dignity of life, the most precious of all treasures. Let us all take time to reflect on the direction of this country, and ask ourselves on how we can turn the tide around.

I am heartened that Malaysians by and large have condemned these cowardly attacks and the perpetrators. These attacks are un-Islamic, un-Christian, un-Buddhist, un-Hindu, un-Sikh, un-Taoist, un-Ba’hai, un-Jain, un-atheist and un-human.

Let us commit ourselves to dialogue and converse in resolving the differences among us. Let us take time to know more about the various beautiful beliefs that people in our country and the world practice. Iranian Muslim scholar Majid Tehranian wrote, “Dialogue is both an end and a means to human understanding. In dialogical communication, we try to enter their world of meaning through an open-ended process of communication and exploration. Dialogue is premised on mutual respect and learning. In dialogue, we change through mutual appreciation, symphathy and emphathy. This is not the easiest method of human communication, but it is the most fruitful.”

Once again, I would like to state my support for my fellow citizens who are against hatred and bigotry. May these terrorists be brought to justice soon!

What the hell are they trying to prove?

That they are better than the rest of the human race?

That they are so good they can destroy the House of God?