.jpg "PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man speaks to reporters at Parliament in Kuala Lumpur July 11, 2019. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — A DAP leader’s speech to a forum held at the Mega Chinese Methodist Church in Kota Damansara, Selangor last week supports claims the predominantly Chinese party was trying to Christianise the nation, PAS alleged today.
PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man claimed Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong was zealously promoting the “Kingdom of God”, a Christian concept of a spiritual realm over which God reigns or the fulfilment of God’s will on Earth.
Sim allegedly espoused the idea alongside other Christian topics such as the “Jesus Manifesto” at the “Naratif Malaysia Baru” (New Malaysia Narrative) forum on Saturday.
Today, Tuan Ibrahim used these allegations as rebuttal to descriptions of the PAS-Umno alliance that was sealed last weekend.
“PAS would like to remind the DAP and Pakatan Harapan not to bandy about the bogeyman propaganda that the unification of the ummah as a klepto-theocracy, talibanism, racism and extremism,” Tuan Ibrahim said in a statement.
“When at the same time DAP is zealously promoting ‘The Kingdom of God’ and ‘The Jesus Manifesto’ as asserted by YB Steven Sim Chee Keong... at the forum on September 14.
“What PAS and Umno are fighting for is the unification of the ummah that is inclusive by emphasising Malay-Muslim unity without prejudice towards other races... how about DAP? Is the Christianisation agenda in Malaysian politics appropriate?”
The phrase Kingdom of God, or Kingdom of Heaven, occurs frequently in the New Testament, primarily attributed to Jesus Christ in the first three Gospels.
Tuan Ibrahim allegations appear to be from a column published in Harakah Daily, PAS’s official organ, in which political analyst Kamarul Zaman Yusoff claimed Sim had spoken at length about Christianity’s Kingdom of God while criticising the PAS-Umno pact.
He said the DAP leader’s criticism of the cooperation between the country’s two biggest Malay Opposition parties was duplicitous as the latter was also riding on religion by promoting Christianity.
Kamarul claimed Sim’s praises for the Kingdom of God underpinned the party’s alleged campaign to Christianise the country.
“It is ironic that Steven Sim himself was politicking with religion, particularly for wanting to establish a Christian God government (Kingdom of God) and abusing the church for politics,” the analyst wrote.
“In his speech, Steven Sim spoke at length about how wonderful the Kingdom of God is, abiut the shape of the Kingdom of God and the kind of politics Jesus was talking about when he talked about politics.”
This is not the first time Kamarul has made such allegations. Two years ago, the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) lecturer accused Women, Family and Community Deputy Minister Hannah Yeoh of promoting Christianity through her autobiography.
Yeoh, who was the Selangor State Legislative Assembly Speaker at the time, denied this and called the accusation malicious before subsequently lodging a police report. The status of the investigation remains unclear.
In November last year, Kamarul also lost a RM5 million defamation suit filed by current Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa. The civil action was settled outside of court after the UUM lecturer openly apologised for defaming Mujahid.
Malay Mail could not independently verify the purported speech Sim gave at the September 14 forum.
