NO large crowds are expected at a revival gathering in Miri tomorrow as Sarawak churches had announced its cancellation two weeks ago, said pastors of a local Christian evangelical denomination amid a national debate over such gatherings.

Some 1,500 evangelicals are expected at The Rock, a Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) church in Miri for the three-day event which will feature praise and worship, the reading of scriptures and healing prayer sessions. 

“We are not able to make it big because of the earlier cancellation of the event. So because of that, we have to do it on our own,” Pastor Andy Anyi Wan said.

The number of attendees will be a far cry from the tens of thousands who were expected at a massive revival gathering themed, “All Borneo Revival Convocation”, which was to be held in the state before organisers decided to cancel it two weeks ago. 

The Association of Churches Sarawak had earlier cancelled the revival gathering in the state after a similar event, themed “Jerusalem Jubilee”, was banned in Malacca on the back of protests by several Muslim groups claiming that it was insensitive to hold the gathering in the month of Ramadan.‎

“This event is different and a bit low key,” said Reverend Augustine Saang, spokesman for the Good News Ministry based in Sabah.

“There will be several hundred people visiting from Sabah. These are parents whose children are studying at the Curtin University in Miri,” he said. 

Four revival gatherings were held without incident at four locations in neighbouring Sabah over the last two weeks, including one at Keningau where 10,000 Christians turned up to renew their faith.

Sarawak churches had earlier cancelled the event despite getting no objections from the state government, prompting National Unity and Integration Minister Joseph Kurup to question why the event was cancelled in Sarawak as the state had a large Christian population.

Andy said Sarawak churches were not vocal against the ban in Malacca, and subsequently calls to outlaw evangelicalism, as: “Sarawak is different. We have no problems.”

Instead parishioners pray for “blessings for the country and for leaders to administrate wisely” during church services, he said.  

Following the ban of the Malacca revival gathering, Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (Centhra) CEO Azril Mohd Amin called for the ban of evangelicalism. 

His call followed claims by conservative Muslim figures that some Christian groups were conspiring to “Christianise” Muslim-majority Malaysia, which bans propagation of any faith to Muslims. 

Sarawak PKR leader Baru Bian and the Sabah Council of Churches had described Azril’s comments, which were published by Utusan Malaysia, as “highly inflammatory” and “seditious”. – June 21, 2017.