GEORGE TOWN, Dec 24 ― Malaysians must band together and champion the rights of those who are too sick, poor and weakened to speak up for themselves in order to deny opportunists the chance to take advantage of any cracks in society to breed extremism, DAP's Lim Guan Eng said today.

The Penang chief minister noted some political leaders have attempted to split the country along racial and religious lines with their hate-filled remarks, though he did not name anyone.

He noted that there are still non-Muslims and moderate Muslims who have courageously stood together for moderation against these forces of extremism.

“For the fight for moderation over extremism to succeed, we need to show that justice only has meaning when there is also justice for the poor, voiceless, ill and the weak,” he said in his Christmas message today.

The Bagan MP added that freedom is not limited to freedom of the arts or expression but only exists when every person has the freedom of opportunity to fully realise their potential and be the best they want to be.

Lim's call follows another year of religious tension between fundamentalist Muslims and Christians in Malaysia over the “Allah” word, which first flared after the Catholic Church challenged the Home Ministry order in 2008 prohibiting its publication in the the church newspaper, Herald.

Since then, a series of incidents that included the seizure of non-Islamic published material bearing the word “Allah” and other Arabic words deemed exclusive to Islam, the latest being the seizure of 31 hymm books — titled “Mari Kita Memuji Allah Kita” or Praise Be To God — in Johor on December 5.

Though the hymm books have been returned two weeks later, it did not lessen the heightened sensitivity over the “Allah” issue.

Lim himself was targeted by Malay rights group Perkasa and Umno leaders with countless reports lodged against him when he stated that legally fatwas banning non-Muslims from using the word Allah do not apply on non-Muslims.

This led to a demonstration against him by Perkasa members last week and an active police investigation against him for alleged intention to provoke a breach of the peace.

Even as Christmas draws near, the local chapter of international hardline Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir warned Muslims against the “dangers” of Christmas that is seen as a ploy by the Christian community to convert Muslims.

More recently, an activist from local Islamist group, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, has called on fellow Muslims not to wish Christians “Merry Christmas” or to join in celebrating the religious festival.