Malaysian Church Leaders Call for Apology Over Priest-Nun Joke

Malaysian Church leaders have called for an immediate and unconditional apology over a joke involving a Catholic priest and nun made by an UMNO politician during the party’s general assembly.

The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) chairman, Anglican Bishop Datuk Danald Jute, said sacred Scriptures and religious figures should never be used for political humor.

Danald called on the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the politician involved to publicly retract the remarks, apologize to the Christian community and pledge not to repeat them.

“Sacred Scriptures and consecrated religious figures of all religions are not material for cheap political comedy, nor should they ever be abused as props to score fleeting political popularity,” Danald said.

He urged politicians across party lines to avoid rhetoric that disparages any faith, saying Malaysia needed “peace, healing, understanding and genuine unity” rather than religious division.

Danald also urged Christians to respond to the controversy without hatred or malice.

“Let us not respond with hatred or malice but with love and truth,” he said.

Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh said he was deeply saddened by the incident, describing the joke as inappropriate and hurtful to priests and nuns who are held in high esteem by many Malaysians.

“Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious nation where people of all faiths strive to live in peace, harmony and mutual respect. In this spirit of mutual friendship, jokes of this nature have no place in any official assembly in Malaysia,” Archbishop Poh said.

He highlighted the contribution of generations of women religious who had served in hospitals, welfare institutions and schools for Malaysians of different races and religions.

“It is entirely understandable that many citizens were offended and have called for legal action, a public apology, a retraction of the joke and an adequate redress of this offence against public religious sensitivity,” he said.

Sarawak lawmaker Baru Bian, an Evangelical Christian leader, also condemned the remarks, saying a sexually suggestive joke involving a priest and nun had no place at a national political convention.

“Political leaders, particularly those speaking before a national audience, have a responsibility to uphold standards of decency, dignity and public morality,” Baru said.

He also rejected the attribution of the joke to Psalm 129, saying the biblical passage contained no reference to a priest and nun.

“There is simply nothing in Psalm 129 that says what was attributed to it,” he said, adding that the psalm concerned endurance through suffering and God’s protection of his people amid oppression.

“Religious scriptures should never be used as props for crude political humor,” Baru said.

The Church leaders issued their statements as Malaysia marked Malaysia Day on September 16, commemorating the formation of the federation in 1963. Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious country comprising Peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo.