New Christian group (CPHM) jump starts interfaith dialogue in Malaysia

Confident it has the support of the silent majority, the newly-formed Christians for Peace and Harmony Malaysia (CPHM) is excited about the activities planned in the next few months, beginning with a dinner with Perkasa, the Malay rights group which has accused Christians of proselytizing among Muslims and even called for the burning of Bibles.

Jun 17, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR: Confident it has the support of the silent majority, the newly-formed Christians for Peace and Harmony Malaysia (CPHM) is excited about the activities planned in the next few months, beginning with a dinner with Perkasa, the Malay rights group which has accused Christians of proselytizing among Muslims and even called for the burning of Bibles.

CPHM chairman Rev Wong Kim Kong said that his organization and Perkasa’s leadership would be having a roundtable discussion followed by dinner next month.

The group also plans to break fast with Muslims, including communities in Taman Medan and Kota Damansara, in the month of Ramadan.

Taman Medan made headlines two months ago when a group of 50 Muslim residents protested in front of a shop lot where the Community of Praise church was located, demanding that the cross affixed to the building facade be taken down.

They said the cross was a challenge to Islam and would sway the faith of youth in the area.

According to Wong, other activities being planned over the next few months include a sports event in Taman Sinar Muda, Shah Alam initiated by its residents association and a dinner event in Segamat, Johor.

He said they were also collaborating with the government's Committee to Promote Understanding and Harmony among Religious Adherents in organizing a peace walk to places of worship.

CPHM is also working with Muslim scholar, Professor Hashim Kamali who heads the Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS), organizing a roundtable discussion on human and religious values shared by Muslims and Christians.

With all this in place, Wong stressed that CPHM did not have any other agenda than to promote peace and harmony.

"We are not collecting votes for the government,” he said. "Every NGO plays a different yet important role in engaging the society at different levels.”

"No one NGO has all the answers to the issues,” he added.

Prime Minister Najib Razak launched CPHM earlier this month amid heavy criticism that the movement was the government’s tool to win over Christians.

Aware of the criticism, Wong said that even before the launch, people had pre-conceived ideas about the group, with some even questioning the movement's use of the word "Christian" in its name.

He said this was because those with negative views tended to articulate their thoughts on social media while those who were supportive were more personal.

"The silent majority do not normally go to the press, for instance, because what the Bible tells us is, if you sin against your brother, go and talk to him," he said.

Wong added that almost every weekend, he has been meeting hundreds of Christians who have expressed their support for the movement.

"You don't see or hear them, but to say that more people object to us rather than support us may not be the true picture," he added.

Wong also said that although Christian groups such as Christian Federation of Malaysia and National Evangelical Christian Federation (NECF) have not openly pledged their support, he believed they were beginning to warm up to CPHM, playing a complementary role to their efforts.

As for those who have questioned the need for the new movement given that they are already groups like CFM and interfaith group Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), Wong said CFM had a very important role as the official representative of Christians in Malaysia in defending the rights of the faith.

He said CPHM was a grassroots movement to engage all citizens in efforts to promote peace and harmony.--The Malaysian Insider

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