Najib speaks with a forked tongue, M'sian Christians warn Pope

In a telling sign of the changes sweeping Malaysian society, a group of Malaysian Christians warned the Pope and other foreign leaders against Prime Minister Najib Razak's forked tongue and his growing disconnect with reality.

"The conduct of Prime Minister Najib and his Barisan Nasional government at home, at least recently, has been anything but moderate! In our Malaysian colloquialism, we might say of the prime minister that dia cakap tak serupa bikin, meaning that ‘he does not do what he preaches’, or that ‘he does not walk the talk’!,"  the group said in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI.

"In this regard, we are very concerned about the timing of this official visit which follows immediately after recent repression of civil society groups which are fighting for clean and fair elections. We are also deeply concerned that some top leaders of this democratic initiative have been painted unjustly as ‘anti-Islam’ by the authorities without any basis whatsoever."

The group of 365 Catholics and other Christians in Malaysia, including a string of priests and religious leaders, signed the joint letter expressing their concern over Prime Minister Najib Razak’s official visit to the Vatican on 18 July 2011 in view of recent developments in the country.

The letter also highlighted concerns about the lack of democratic rights and religious freedom in Malaysia to enable the Pope to “understand more critically and comprehensively the political and social realities” lest the pontiff is “presented with a one-sided view of developments” in the country.

An Open Letter to the Pope - From a Malaysian Catholic

I am a Catholic, writing from my blessed and beloved country, Malaysia, a land of poignant diversity, pitiful contradictions, pathetic leadership and plentiful opportunity. It is a nation which I am proud of, one where anything and everything is possible – from the most virtuous to the most vile and venal.

Very soon our Prime Minister (PM) Najib Tun Razak will be paying you an official visit at your summer residence Castel Gandolfo. He will no doubt put on a “grand show” in Ganddolfo, in spite of having suffered from “heat stroke” after a recent summer of discontent in Malaysia.

The Star, an established (i.e., one dictated by the establishment) newspaper has described the scheduled visit as one “making waves among Roman Catholics” in Malaysia. Strangely the only “wave” still etched in the minds of many Catholics is a “political tsunami” that took place in 2008.

After the flop with Queen E, Najib looks to the Pope to rebuild his image

The state of the Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state, whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares or 110 acres, and a population of just over 800.

The Pope is the head of state of Vatican City. The term Holy See refers not to the Vatican state but to the Pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the Roman Curia. His official title with regard to Vatican City is Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City.