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KUALA LUMPUR, Mon: Last Friday night January 6 was yet another rainy night in Kuala Lumpur, but the weather could not keep away some 50 participants of the candlelight vigil, many of whom had turned up night after night since Dec 29, 2005.

There was an air of sombreness as one-by-one they came forth to light a candle, then moved on to stand by 2 banners in quiet reflection.

The month-long vigil, held in front of the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Appeals and Special Powers Division) between 8:00-9:00 p.m., was organised by an interfaith organisation, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS) to express the non-Muslim community’s desperate unease at the lack of access to justice to non-Muslims living in Malaysia.

Since the High Court’s decision on December 28, to deny any remedy to Madam S Kaliammal, the grieving widow of M Moorthy, whom the Syariah Court held to be a Muslim without hearing evidence from M Moorthy’s family, the MCCBCHS decided to invite all citizens of Malaysia to attend the vigil to show their concern at not having any legal recourse or remedies to challenge Syariah Court decisions, which are made in the absence of the non-Muslims.

As one participant of the vigil on Friday night remarked, “the downpour is as if the heavens are weeping with us at the injustice to Moorthy’s family and other families who have gone through similar problems”.

Certainly the solemn occasion was not lost on those who passed by, whether on foot or in a vehicle. Many tooted their horn or gave the 'thumbs-up', as a show of support, as they drove on. A couple of pedestrians stopped to enquire about the vigil and left a little more enlightened.

Umbrellas open, candles lit and protected from the driving rain, the participants were undeterred in their silent but common call for the government to seriously consider the feelings of the minority groups with regard to their respective religions. When asked, another participant declared that the basic tenets of all the major religions vis-à-vis good and bad, right and wrong are the same. Injustice is not sanctioned by any of these religions.

Hence, Malaysians citizens of all religions stood in unity, as they had for the past week, their spirit and desire for a truly united and harmonious Malaysia, undampened.

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