Malaysia, the Vatican establish diplomatic ties

Najib (left) presents Pope Benedict with a painting
after a meeting at the Pope's summer residence in
Castelgandolfo July 18, 2011. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Malaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties to promote mutual friendship and strengthen co-operation between both countries, Wisma Putra announced today.

The announcement came following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome today. The head of the Roman Catholic Church usually spends the summer outside the church’s capital Vatican City.

Najib said Malaysia had agreed to establish diplomatic relations as it was keen to share its experience and promote world peace and harmony with like-minded countries like the Vatican.

“The world is at a crossroads. The forces of irrationality and discord are threatening our long-cherished and hard-gained stability and prosperity,” he said in a statement issued after the meeting.

Conflict over the “Allah” issue remains unresolved. — file pic
Najib’s visit, the second by a Malaysian prime minister after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s official meeting with Pope John Paul II, follows several incidents that have heightened religious tension in Malaysia.

Putrajaya’s relationship with Christians remains strained following the Home Ministry’s decision to bar the Catholic Church here from using the word “Allah” in the Malay-language edition of its newspaper, The Herald.

The case is pending a Home Ministry appeal of the 2009 High Court ruling allowing the Church to use the word, which some Muslims argue should be reserved for Islam.

Several churches across the country came under arson attacks in January last year following the ruling.

Matters were further brought to a head when 35,100 Malay-language bibles were seized by the Home Ministry, causing outrage among the Christian community.

The bibles were later released after a flurry of negotiations between church leaders and Putrajaya ahead of the Sarawak state election, on the condition that they be marked with a cross and the words “Christian publication”.

Christians form close to 10 per cent of Malaysia’s 28 million population, and account for nearly half the 2.4-million-strong population in Sarawak, traditionally seen as a vote bank for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

Many Catholics, however, remain unconvinced by Najib’s attempts to pacify the community, as evidenced by a widely-circulated letter to the Pope accusing the prime minister of manipulating religious sentiment.