It is BIG, it is LOUD – No to ISA

Over at Malaysiakini, there is an article that the Bar council has rejected ISA.

Meanwhile, Cathedral of the Holy Spirit has taken the initiative to set up a corner in the church grounds to allow parishioners and other visitors to pray for the abolishment of the ISA.

There are two huge banners which can be seen from far away.  The prayers are :

• Pray for the release of ISA detainees
• Pray for the abolishment of the ISA
• Pray for free speech and expression
• Pray for unity and harmony
• Pray for courage for our faith to be put into action
• Pray for our leaders in government

The below is an excerpt of the message from the parish priest, taken from Cathedral of the Holy Spirit weekly bulletin. Allow me to highlight why each and every one of us must do our part. I shall bold the sentences for easy reference.

WE MUST OVERCOME!
Your response to the mass for the ISA
detainees, calling for the abolishment of the
ISA and praying for our beloved country was
overwhelming. Your presence and heartfelt
participation contributed to the electrifying
spirit that we experienced during the whole
mass and especially at the end. Once again I
would like to reiterate that the ISA violates
basic human rights and makes a mockery of
the teachings of Christ. And therefore we
must keep the momentum of continuing
active prayer and participate in any form of
individual and collective action aimed at
abolishing this law.

The mass was a testament that we can be
united – I am sure many of you felt as I
did… the feeling of true unity, solidarity and
a sense of belonging was pervasive.  So
often we remain untouched by issues, though
important enough, but because they do not
affect us directly we tend to become blasé.
But not in this case. Your outpouring of
concern was genuinely felt and added to the
vibrancy of the atmosphere.

Prayers come in many forms. Though each of our faiths teach us different ways to pray, we are actually unified with our intentions. The similarity is our desires to see justice. The lighting of a candle is a physical action that is not necessary in our Christian prayers. However, some of us prefer to do it because it is an action that is an extension of our inner thoughts.

I feel comforted that when I am standing in the vast church grounds, with all the buzz of cars leaving, people talking and children running around, I could reach out to light a candle and while doing it, my mind is focused on the prayers above.

I noticed that some quarters have seen the candlelight vigil as a ‘Christian thing’. It is not. When you are in the darkness of the place where people gather, that candle is to provide us light. Let me bring you back to the DAP candlelight vigil in Gurney Drive on Tuesday night.

I mentioned that Liew Chin Tong said the two large candles can burn continuously for five days and he said he hoped Teresa Kok will be released by then. Those candles were symbolic of DAP’s hope and were like a time keeper. (yes, Teresa Kok was released within five days)

You may want to read more views on anti-ISA.  Malaysiakini has another article call “ISA – one for the dustbin of history”.  Are you going to join in the call to abolish ISA?  Like our parish priest said, we are not against the government by calling for the abolishment of ISA and in giving the detainees a fair trial.  We are merely against injustice and and unjust law of detaining people without trial.  Do not be afraid.