Despite the authorities' refusal to permit the seminar from being held
at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, six religious groups declared
over the weekend their united stand on the human right to water.
At a Saturday forum in Kuala Lumpur, they inked their endorsement of a
'Merdeka Water Declaration' on the sacred right of access for all
peoples' to water.
The groups included the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD), the Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia (BMSM) and the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM).
"Water is God's gift to people, it is essential for life and belongs to everyone. People should enjoy this right without discrimination" read the declaration, which was also signed by the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) and the Malaysian Gurdwara Council (MGC).
About 40 other civil society organisations, including members of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), were represented at the half-day event attended by 200 people.
The seminar concluded without a hitch, although its organisers had to make last-minute changes after the police's initial permission to hold it at the National Mosque was revoked .
It was eventually held at the National Union of Bank Employees' (NUBE) headquarters in Brickfields.
'Ignominious setback'
During the seminar, scholars and representatives of the different faiths spoke on the importance and collective responsibility of the government and the people to conserve, preserve and protect water.
They also raised consternation at the outrageous number of households which had their water supply cut since the utility in Selangor was privatised in 2005.
"Several participants raised the concern that over 257,000 households in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya have had their water connection cut over the past two years," said Charles Santiago, coordinator for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, when met this morning.
Citing newspaper reports, Santiago - whose group Monitoring the Sustainability of Globalisation (MSN) spearheaded the Saturday forum - said of the 364,200 consumer accounts suspended over the past two years, 257,436 were home consumers.
Commenting on the revocation of the permit, Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang described it as a "shame" and an "ignominious setback" to the solidarity of religious groups.
"What a shame indeed! It should have been a major breakthrough for
Malaysia giving special meaning to the 50th Merdeka anniversary but it
has turned out to be an ignominious setback," he said in a statement
Friday.
At a Saturday forum in Kuala Lumpur, they inked their endorsement of a
'Merdeka Water Declaration' on the sacred right of access for all
peoples' to water.The groups included the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD), the Buddhist Missionary Society of Malaysia (BMSM) and the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM).
"Water is God's gift to people, it is essential for life and belongs to everyone. People should enjoy this right without discrimination" read the declaration, which was also signed by the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) and the Malaysian Gurdwara Council (MGC).
About 40 other civil society organisations, including members of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), were represented at the half-day event attended by 200 people.
The seminar concluded without a hitch, although its organisers had to make last-minute changes after the police's initial permission to hold it at the National Mosque was revoked .
It was eventually held at the National Union of Bank Employees' (NUBE) headquarters in Brickfields.
'Ignominious setback'
During the seminar, scholars and representatives of the different faiths spoke on the importance and collective responsibility of the government and the people to conserve, preserve and protect water.
They also raised consternation at the outrageous number of households which had their water supply cut since the utility in Selangor was privatised in 2005.
"Several participants raised the concern that over 257,000 households in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya have had their water connection cut over the past two years," said Charles Santiago, coordinator for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, when met this morning.
Citing newspaper reports, Santiago - whose group Monitoring the Sustainability of Globalisation (MSN) spearheaded the Saturday forum - said of the 364,200 consumer accounts suspended over the past two years, 257,436 were home consumers.
Commenting on the revocation of the permit, Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang described it as a "shame" and an "ignominious setback" to the solidarity of religious groups.
"What a shame indeed! It should have been a major breakthrough for
Malaysia giving special meaning to the 50th Merdeka anniversary but it
has turned out to be an ignominious setback," he said in a statement
Friday.
"It would have been the first occasions all religions in Malaysia
coming together in recent times to unite on common ground and speak on
the human rights to water," he added.
Lim blamed the police for having failed to see "the big picture" and having allowed "irresponsible and mischievous elements to scuttle the programme."
Abim deputy-president Azril Mohd Amin had noted, however, that it is not clear who was responsible for the cancellation of the permit to hold the seminar at the National Mosque.
While he was told by district police officers that the mosque's Head Imam had revoked his permission for the event to take place on its premises, mosque officials, in turn, said the revocation was based on the police's advice.
Lim blamed the police for having failed to see "the big picture" and having allowed "irresponsible and mischievous elements to scuttle the programme."
Abim deputy-president Azril Mohd Amin had noted, however, that it is not clear who was responsible for the cancellation of the permit to hold the seminar at the National Mosque.
While he was told by district police officers that the mosque's Head Imam had revoked his permission for the event to take place on its premises, mosque officials, in turn, said the revocation was based on the police's advice.
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