Media Statement
by Lim Guan Eng

(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): To all my Christian friends and fellow Malaysians, especially those in Sarawak and Sabah. On behalf of the DAP, I wish you all Good Friday, and Happy Easter, as this Sunday you and billions other Christians all over the world will celebrate the Holy Easter, the foundation of your faith. Sunday is the day of the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
 

Being part of a multi-ethnic party, I share the celebration of all festivities in Malaysia, just like most of us here in our beloved country. This is in line with our acceptance of the secular 1957 Malaysian Constitution, which is instilled with the principles of democracy, freedom, rule of law, and respect of human rights; and imbued with the ideals of accountability, equality, justice and human dignity.

These principles can be a force of unity and integration not only between our nation's disparate races, religions and cultures but also between East and West Malaysia. Let us think Malaysian First where we refused to be divided by race or religion but are united by a common identity as Malaysians and shared destiny based on values of democracy, freedom, justice, integrity and human dignity.

To me, the Holy Easter means justice, forgiveness and love. As Christians believe that the message of Easter is the message of the Risen Lord, of his triumph over sin and death, I too share this hope for all Malaysians and for humankind.

DAP firmly believes that Jesus’ message of hope to the weak, oppressed and marginalized is relevant for Malaysians when so many poor Malaysians are left out from the mainstream of economic development, whether they are poor Malays, orang aslis and native people of Sabah and Sarawak, poor Indians or poor Chinese.

In the spirit of Easter, let us learn to make sacrifices for the greater good of our nation. Instead imposing obstacles like turning a secular Malaysia into an Islamic state or practicing racial discrimination, or polarizing East-West Malaysian divide, let us sit down together to find ways on how everybody can gain equitably.

Let us not forget that Easter is also a story of Judas. He was a follower of Jesus and he was the one who betrayed his Master. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver – the legal price of a slave at that time – for greed and ambition.

This is the time for all us, Christians and non-Christians alike, to meditate and to reflect, whether we have done our part in building this nation, or we have turned ourselves into modern-day Judases.

I believe that by espousing good ideals, Malaysians can move forward where democracy and economic development goes together; where freedom does not mean oppression; where equality of opportunity is preferred to equality of outcome; where rule of law ensures social justice; where wealth creation is accompanied by equitable wealth distribution and where spreading economic prosperity does not breed rampant corruption.

Happy Easter!