KUCHING: The Sarawak Evangelical Christian Association (SECA) has affirmed its hope for the continuity of Sarawak’s unique harmony, tolerance, and acceptance across ethnicities and religions.
Its chairman Pastor Greman Ujang said the association supports the Association of Churches in Sarawak’s (ACS’s) refusal to collaborate with the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) and TVS for the “A Christmas Carol, Sarawak in Diversity Programme”.
Greman in a statement today (Nov 25) said the issue transpired after TVS’s refusal to play “O Holy Night” and replacing it with “Jingle Bells Rock” instead for the programme.
“SECA is very upset and disappointed with such a decision since ‘O Holy Night’ is one of the most revered Christmas carols since 1840. While ‘Jingle Bells Rock’ is not a Christmas carol and has no Christianity element.
“As such, SECA is fully supporting and standing together with ACS on this,” he said in a statement.
He added that Sarawak is a multi-racial and religious territory full of tolerance and acceptance among its diverse populace.
“Any religious discrimination and extremism are strictly against the culture of Sarawak and we will not allow any forces to divide Sarawakians through religion.
“However, we are pleased to receive the clarification by TVS and UNIFOR on November 24, 2023 that ‘O Holy Night’ will be sung in this coming programme,” the statement added.
TVS and UNIFOR have denied that the carol ‘O Holy Night’ was excluded from the Christmas programme next week after the ACS pulled out of the event.
They said in a joint statement that there had been a ‘miscommunication’ over the issue, which has been spreading on social media since Thursday.
