KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s long-established tradition of religious and cultural coexistence should be taken into account in any decision over the proposed appearance of American gospel singer Israel Houghton in the state, says former High Court judge Datuk Nurchaya Arshad.

Nurchaya said while concerns raised by the Royal Malaysia Police over public order should be respected, there must be a clear distinction between genuine security threats and public sensitivity, objection or disagreement.

“The Police have an important responsibility to safeguard public order, and any genuine and credible security threat must naturally be taken seriously.

“However, we should be careful not to confuse public sensitivity, objection or disagreement with an actual threat to security,” she said in a statement.

Nurchaya said Sabah’s social, cultural and religious landscape was markedly different from many parts of Peninsular Malaysia, with people of different races, ethnicities and religions having lived peacefully alongside one another for generations.

She stressed that such diversity was not merely reflected between communities, but often existed within Sabahan families themselves.

Inter-racial marriages and extended families comprising Muslims, Christians and followers of other faiths, she said, were a common and accepted feature of Sabahan society.

“We sit at the same family table, attend one another’s weddings and important occasions, celebrate together, grieve together and remain family despite professing different faiths.

“This is not something Sabahans have recently learnt to tolerate. It has been our way of life for generations,” she said.

According to Nurchaya, this everyday interaction between people of different faiths had helped shape a society grounded in moderation, understanding and mutual respect.

She said it was against this uniquely Sabahan social background that the proposed appearance of Houghton should be assessed.

Nurchaya also addressed sensitivities surrounding the singer’s first name, “Israel”, amid Malaysia’s lack of diplomatic relations with the State of Israel and the country’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.

While Malaysia’s national position must be respected, she said a distinction must be made between the State of Israel and an individual whose given name happens to be Israel.

“Israel Houghton is an American gospel singer. His name does not make him a representative of the Israeli Government, nor should his name alone turn his presence into a security issue,” she said.

Nurchaya said if legitimate concerns existed over political views or statements attributed to Houghton regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, they should be assessed objectively based on the facts.

However, she said the singer’s name, Christian faith or performance of gospel music should not be conflated with the policies of a foreign government.

Similarly, she said disagreement with an individual’s political views did not automatically mean that person’s presence constituted a threat to public order.

“If the Police possess credible intelligence of a genuine security threat surrounding the event, then naturally the necessary and proportionate security measures should be taken. The safety of Sabahans must always remain paramount,” she said.

However, Nurchaya cautioned against allowing objections from certain quarters to become the determining factor in whether an otherwise lawful religious or cultural event could proceed.

She said doing so could establish an “unfortunate precedent” where the threat of protest or objection alone could deprive another section of society of the opportunity to hold a peaceful religious or cultural gathering.

Nurchaya said Sabahans had demonstrated over generations their maturity in living with differences in religion, race and opinion.

Sabah’s religious harmony, she added, was not achieved by separating communities but through people of different backgrounds becoming neighbours, friends and, in many instances, members of the same family.

“That is perhaps the most powerful testimony to the Sabah way of life,” she said.

Nurchaya therefore hoped that any decision regarding Houghton’s proposed performance would be made objectively and based on genuine and demonstrable security considerations, while recognising Sabah’s unique social fabric and longstanding tradition of religious coexistence.

“We should not allow a person’s name, religion or differing opinion, without something more, to divide a society which has spent generations proving that diversity need not lead to division.

“In Sabah, our diversity begins within our own families. It is not our vulnerability. It is our strength — and it is a strength we must continue to preserve,” she said.