KOTA KINABALU, June 30 — A Catholic church here has allowed its car park to be used by visitors to an adjacent food bazaar set up for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
For its discreet show of multi-religious harmony, the Church of Mary Immaculate in Bukit Padang has drawn praise from many Malaysians, especially natives who hailed it as typical of the state.
“(This is) the reason why I love Sabah... tolerance, cooperation , understanding, unity and love is all we need, yes it here. Its in Sabah (sic),” said Daniel Doughty in a Facebook post lauding the church’s generosity in offering its parking lot for visitors of the bazaar.
His public post has gained thousands of “Likes” and shares, mostly from Sabahans who support the church’s action and praised the tolerance of Sabahans while condemning racists and religious politics.
“Well done. That should be the way. Do not allow narrow minded politicians to ruin this,” commented Allen Jeyarajasingam.
“Saya pigi pasar ramadhan... parking sana bah dlm tu parking church. Pagar terbuka luas utk kami tumpang parking our car...thanks to the church management (I go to to the Ramadan bazaar and park in the church. Its open wide for us to park our cars. Thanks to the church management),” said Rozie Alya Haikal.
Although priding itself for religious tolerance, there have been recent reported cases of interfaith friction in Sabah.
Most involve allegations of surreptitious conversions of natives without their knowledge or consent.
The most recent case was the objection of a cross on the building façade of a mission school in Sandakan by the school’s Muslim-majority Parent Teacher Association.
