THE Association for Community and Dialogue welcomes the statement by former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz that there has been too much talk on religion and not enough on good values and principles in Malaysia.

She said the focus has been on religion itself and not what religion teaches. Religion is all about good values.

She has been voice of reason in the context of continuous bigotry against non-Muslims whether from a political party or civil society that stems from the power play for Malay-Muslim support by ethno-religious parties such as Umno, PAS and Bersatu.

The question is how could one obtain the right values if there is an absence of a pluralistic spirit?

Religion provides value to society through words of wisdom and action. Such wisdom is derived from multiples sources of religious philosophy and steers a direction towards what is good and valuable for human living. 

Actions rooted in wisdom speaks louder than words because the right means of action reconciles and transforms society. But at the same time there is a double-edged sword where there could also be regression, leading to exclusivity and confrontation as we witness in the country today.

In the Christian gospel there is a saying by Jesus that if one does something good, people will see it and praise God.

Good does not emerge from a single dimension, it has a pluralistic dimension. Good works of love and compassion can be observed from all irrespective religion and race.

To come to this end, it is vital to take a completely different view of religion from identity and rituals base to principles of pluralistic spirit that embraces what is beautiful and good in others rather drawing a line between people.

It is not about being a Malay and entitled to attend an exclusive ethno-religious conference. It is whether such conference will lead to a multi-ethnic unity and wisdom for the common good or lead to greater polarisation in society.

If one takes an objective view of history of religion there always been a pluralistic synthesis of values and learning.

For example, Christianity derived much of its foundation from Judaism, and Christian Scholars helped Muslim scholars to interpret Greek works, besides sharing the common prophets in the Old Testament.

The fundamental concern in this country is about mainstream ethno-religious leaders not adhering to right values that are derived by pluralistic spirit in governance, social structure and the economy.

They are caught up with exclusive religious privilege and identity that is thicken and domineering, that tends to look at the world from a threat basis.

Every issue is viewed from a black and white ideological point of view. The end seems to be the obsession with power rather religion in authentic sense.

Therefore, it is time that current mainstream values in this country is re-examined to see whether we have embraced the pluralistic spirit which is vital and critical in governing a nation that is multi-ethnic and religious.

The Rukun Negara states about the belief in God in a plural sense and not in an exclusive sense. The founding fathers had pluralistic spirit in them that created the foundation that made Malaysia relatively peaceful country over the decades.

Let’s embrace pluralistic spirit in nation-building and reject ethno-religious exclusivity. – October 29, 2019.

* Ronald Benjamin is secretary for the Association for Community and Dialogue.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.