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With Christmas in Bethlehem this year a symbol of injustice and oppression instead of peace, love and justice, a National Inter-Religious Council should be formed to build inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and respect in plural Malaysia and be a model for the world Christmas Message by Lim Kit Siang (Penang, Tuesday): Christmas this year in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, will be a most somber one - under curfew in the midst of military jeeps and fear, with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat banned for the second year in a row by the Israeli Cabinet from attending the Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity. As a result, Christmas in Bethlehem this year has become a symbol of injustice and oppression when it should stand for peace, love and justice. This should be food for thought and reminder to all Malaysians of the importance and urgency to build inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and respect in plural Malaysia which had been sorely tested and tried by recent local and geopolitical developments and events. If multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia can be a model of inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and respect, then we have an important message for the troubled world. As a first step, a National Inter-Religious Council should be established represented by all the major religions in the country to promote inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and respect not only in Malaysia but also in the world. There is an urgent need to re-establish a Malaysian Inter-Religious Council represented by all the major religions in the country to carry out such an agenda for the nation and humanity. The fact that an inter-religious religious council could only function in the first few years of the nation's independent nationhood raises the question whether Malaysia could be a pioneer of inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and respect for the rest of the world. This should be a test and challenge to all Malaysians of goodwill, vision and humanity, regardless of faith. The 2001 United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilisations was a great failure, shattered into smithereens by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States followed by an unabated war on terrorism which has threatened to plunge the world into a "clash of civilizations". Let the 2002 Christmas pave the way for the establishment of a dynamic, visionary and committed Malaysian Inter-Religious Council to lay the basis for inter-religious and inter-civilisational understanding, tolerance and respect among Malaysians as a contribution to global peace, tolerance and harmony. Best Christmas wishes to all Christians and all other Malaysians who share in the spirit of festivity and goodwill of all the important religious occasions in the country as part and parcel of our proud national heritage. (24/12/2002) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman