Towering Malaysian & Bar Council Debacle

I was going through Disquiet by Malik Imtiaz Sawar. He is a lawyer. I do not know him personally but I have been keeping up with his thoughts through his blog for quite some time now. I am always heartened when I read his posts cos I feel people like him proves that there is still hope yet for our country. Lately he has been writing in The Malay Mail too. His most recent post, A Towering Malaysian touched base with me, sort of. In it he gave sort of an eulogy to his former teacher, Mr. Tan Har Yong whom, if I read correctly have left a great impact on him and countless others who passed through his hands.

I quote him,

Over time, we learnt of his (Mr. Tan HY) uncompromising adherence to fairness and right over wrong. He was rigid at times but for all the correct reasons. His even temperament, compassionate nature and sometimes strange sense of humour ameliorated what few effects there were of this characteristic. He reinforced what many of us were being taught at home. To him, it did not matter that we were Chinese, Indian, Malay or of any other ethnicity. He made us see that though each of us was unique and different, we were all the same for each of us being deserving of the respect of the others.

I occasionally heard Pastor Tan over the pulpit. I don't know him personally but there are many like him, Christian teachers who go into full-time ministry. These are a special breed of people who answer to a higher calling. It's not that they are special because they are Christians but because they live out their faith. Their faith is reflected in the way they live their lives and by the fruits they bear. And try to live it, they do, till their very last breath. They hold true to these verses from the Bible....

Tim 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Reading Malik's piece affirms the life of Pastor Tan...he thinks it befitting to call him a towering Malaysian. May God Bless Pastor Tan's soul.

The Bar Council Debacle... read this and this by Farish Noor for some insights to it. I think many of us are aware of that. I think too that those who overzealously reacted to the forum may have forgotten that the principle of fairness is espoused by all faiths. And that we should carry ourselves with dignity and compassion so that we become witnesses of our faiths as asked of the believers. By closing all doors to dialogue and discussion, we close even our own doors because we are so filled with our own fears, mostly unseen.

I think when God created man, he created man with a free will...so that he'd be free to choose. So who are we, mere mortals to dictate what other mortals choose to believe in. Our first calling....to lead a life that is pleasing to God....unless you're telling me that the God you believe in says calling people deragoratory names is what He wants his children to do! My two sen tonight!