by Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Published 31 Mar 2007 Source : Malaysiakini
Religious leaders in the country were challenged today to apply the teachings of their respective scriptures on water and declare their opposition to the 'profitisation' of the natural resource.
At the forefront of the call was Council of Churches of Malaysia's (CCM) general secretary Hermen Shastri, who urged church leaders to ink their objections to the privatisation of water treatment, supply, and management at a profit and at the expense of the people.
"Water was created by God as a gift for all people," Shastri told participants at a forum on Religion and the Human Right to Water held at Universiti Malaya (UM) in Petaling Jaya.
The event was organised by the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and several other non-governmental organisations.
These include the Coalition Against Water Privatization (CAWP), the All-Petaling Jaya Pro-Action Committee (APPAC), Condominium, Apartment and High-rise Committee (CAHC), Monitoring Sustainability of GlobalisatioN (MSN) and the UM General Staff Union.
Shastri and the other panelists who spoke on the perspective of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism as well as Orang Asli spiritual beliefs in relation to water, were unanimous in objecting to restricting access to water, especially to the poor, based merely on profit considerations.
One form of restriction is raising water tariffs to such an extent that
makes renders access to safe, clean water a burden to low-income
earners.
Director of Islamic party PAS' research centre Dr Zulkifli Ahmad ( left ) in his presentation underscored the general stand of Islam against the private ownership, and profit gained thereof, of water.
Barring such exceptions as water sources located within privately-owned land, Islam teaches that water, flora and energy are the collective possessions of society, said Zulkifli.
Met later, Zulkifli voiced hopes that Islamic-based NGOs and Muslim scholars' associations could also lend their support to efforts against the privatisation of water.
Declaration being drafted
CCM had signed on to the memorandum submitted by CAWP in January last year to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi which expressed concerns with the government's 30-year concession agreement on water supply in Selangor.
A declaration is in the midst of being drafted in cooperation with CAWP which CCM would work to get church leaders in particular to sign onto stating their objections to the privatisation of water, said Shastri.
Following the churches' assumption of an ethical stand on the issue, the declaration would also serve to "educate church communities on the need to live up to a life where we do not waste water," he said.
Shastri also called on the leaders of all religions to demonstrate their moral support to CAWP and MTUC's challenge of the government's decision not to reveal the Selangor water concession agreement by appearing in court together with the civil suit's 14 applicants.
Another panelist, Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia president Sarath W Surendre also welcomed Shastri's call, saying that it would be conveyed to the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism of which both are executive committee members.
Representatives of MTUC and CAWP said they received positively Shastri's and the other panelists' suggestions.
Religious leaders in the country were challenged today to apply the teachings of their respective scriptures on water and declare their opposition to the 'profitisation' of the natural resource.
At the forefront of the call was Council of Churches of Malaysia's (CCM) general secretary Hermen Shastri, who urged church leaders to ink their objections to the privatisation of water treatment, supply, and management at a profit and at the expense of the people.
"Water was created by God as a gift for all people," Shastri told participants at a forum on Religion and the Human Right to Water held at Universiti Malaya (UM) in Petaling Jaya.
The event was organised by the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and several other non-governmental organisations.
These include the Coalition Against Water Privatization (CAWP), the All-Petaling Jaya Pro-Action Committee (APPAC), Condominium, Apartment and High-rise Committee (CAHC), Monitoring Sustainability of GlobalisatioN (MSN) and the UM General Staff Union.
Shastri and the other panelists who spoke on the perspective of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism as well as Orang Asli spiritual beliefs in relation to water, were unanimous in objecting to restricting access to water, especially to the poor, based merely on profit considerations.
One form of restriction is raising water tariffs to such an extent that
makes renders access to safe, clean water a burden to low-income
earners.
Director of Islamic party PAS' research centre Dr Zulkifli Ahmad ( left ) in his presentation underscored the general stand of Islam against the private ownership, and profit gained thereof, of water.
Barring such exceptions as water sources located within privately-owned land, Islam teaches that water, flora and energy are the collective possessions of society, said Zulkifli.
Met later, Zulkifli voiced hopes that Islamic-based NGOs and Muslim scholars' associations could also lend their support to efforts against the privatisation of water.
Declaration being drafted
CCM had signed on to the memorandum submitted by CAWP in January last year to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi which expressed concerns with the government's 30-year concession agreement on water supply in Selangor.
A declaration is in the midst of being drafted in cooperation with CAWP which CCM would work to get church leaders in particular to sign onto stating their objections to the privatisation of water, said Shastri.
Following the churches' assumption of an ethical stand on the issue, the declaration would also serve to "educate church communities on the need to live up to a life where we do not waste water," he said.
Shastri also called on the leaders of all religions to demonstrate their moral support to CAWP and MTUC's challenge of the government's decision not to reveal the Selangor water concession agreement by appearing in court together with the civil suit's 14 applicants.
Another panelist, Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia president Sarath W Surendre also welcomed Shastri's call, saying that it would be conveyed to the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism of which both are executive committee members.
Representatives of MTUC and CAWP said they received positively Shastri's and the other panelists' suggestions.
"This would go far in getting mosque, church, and temple leaders, and
all leaders who regard themselves as religious, to put into practice the
teachings of their religions, all of which call for equal access to
clean, affordable water for the poor," MTUC financial secretary A
Sivanathan told
malaysiakini.
CAWP coordinator Charles Santiago echoed similar statements, adding that
the spearheading of such efforts by leaders of different religious
beliefs on the issue of water would go far in uniting the various
communities currently faced with divisive issues.
"Water can be a vehicle for uniting the religions at a time when many people are divided by religious issues," he said.
Santiago, who heads MSN, also said such an effort would serve to educate the followers of the respective religions on the need to conserve water resources.
"Modern society is a wasteful society. There is a need for people to learn to use water wisely and to use it in a sustainable manner," he added.
"Water can be a vehicle for uniting the religions at a time when many people are divided by religious issues," he said.
Santiago, who heads MSN, also said such an effort would serve to educate the followers of the respective religions on the need to conserve water resources.
"Modern society is a wasteful society. There is a need for people to learn to use water wisely and to use it in a sustainable manner," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment