Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Murphy Pakiam (left) had called on his faithful to dedicate each Friday to pray for the leaders of our nation to have it in their hearts and minds to find the understanding, truth, respect, compassion and most of all, the wisdom, to justly govern Malaysia in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Constitution.
Through his pastoral letter dated 11 Aug 2011 to all the parishes in the Archdiocese, the Archbishop shared concern over the recent raid by Jabatan Agama Islam (Jais) at the thanksgiving dinner held by Damansara Utama Methodists Centre (DUMC) on 3 Aug 2011.
The Archbishop’s call is in line with the request by the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST). In their press statement dated 10 Aug 2011, they had condemned Jais raid of DUMC. They have set out other incidents which MCCBCHST has highlighted as ‘systematic and deliberate attempts’ to create conflict among the citizens of different races and religions, by ‘those who walk the national corridors of power’.
MCCBHST has called on all religious groups to dedicate every Friday, during the month-long celebrations of Malaysia's Independence from 16 August till 16 September, 2011 to pray in their respective places of worship for the nation's leaders to respect the Federal Constitution.