Love Malaysia on our knees - October Focus- Selangor

NECF Malaysia <enquiries@necf.org.my> wrote:
From: NECF Malaysia <enquiries@necf.org.my>
Subject: Love Malaysia on our knees - October Focus- Selangor
Date: Monday, September 29, 2008, 3:02 PM

Dear Prayer Partners,
Thank you for loving Malaysia on our knees . Selangor will be the focus for the month of October

Serving with gladness,
Ann Low
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Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Abode of Sincerity

Capital Shah Alam (Royal Capital: Klang)
Sultan Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim

Statistics ( Malaysia Statistics Dept., 2005)
Population 4,736,100 (est.): Malay 50.73% (or 41%), Other Bumiputera 1.46% (Temuan, Mah-Meri), Chinese 28.07% (or 37%), Indian 13.45% (or 19%), Others 1.04%, Non-citizens 5.25% (Indonesian, Myanmar , Bangladeshi, Nepali, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese)
( Selangor State Govt., 2007) 4.96 million (est.): Malay 55.7%, Chinese 29%, Indian 14%, Others 1.3%

Religious breakdown (2000) Islam 55.7%, Buddhism 24.4%, Hinduism 12.1%, Taoism/Confucianism 2.0%, Christianity 4.3%, Tribal 0.3%, Others 0.4%, No Religion 0.5%, Unknown 0.3%.
Incidence of poverty (2004) 1.0%

Due to its rapid economic growth, Selangor is currently the most populous, riches, most industrialized and most urbanized of all the Malaysian states. It is the 2nd richest in terms of GDP per capita after Penang . On 27 August 2005 , Selangor was officially declared the first developed state in Malaysia .

Historical & Political Development in Brief

The rich tin reserves in Selangor attracted miners, immigrants and colonizers.
Among them were different bands of Bugis. By 1700 the Bugis dominated the state both politically and economically and established the present Sultanate of Selangor.

Economic boom and the growing importance of rubber drew an influx of Chinese migrants. However, the continuous in-fighting between the Bugis contending for control and the presence of rival Chinese clans had created social and economic havoc. In addition, conflicts among the Malay princes had threatened to bring about civil war. All these eventually opened a window of opportunity for the British.

Selangor was forced to accept a British Resident in 1874 and united with Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Pahang to form the Federated Malay States (FMS) in 1896. The capital of FMS was Kuala Lumpur . The state government was under British management except the administration of Islam and the appointment of religious officials (which remained in the sultans hands). The first British-backed sultan, Sultan Sulaiman, was installed in 1903. FMS later evolved into the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

In the 1969 elections, the ruling coalition (Barisan Nasional) suffered great setback. The opposition DAP and the then opposition Gerakan held the victory procession to celebrate their gain. They however deviated from the permitted route and headed through the Malay district of Kampung Baru, jeering at the people. This led to a rally held by UMNO, started from the home of Selangor menteri besar Harun Idris (Gordon, 1991). Clashes involving the Malays and Chinese soon broke out, which became the famously known May 13 Incident. The riots continued for a substantial period of time, and a state of national emergency was declared with suspension of Parliament until 1971.

In 1970, the city of Kuala Lumpur was relinquished to the federal government.
The Sultan is the constitutional head of Selangor, who plays largely a ceremonial role.
The 2008 March election ended the reign of the Barisan Nasional state government. The new state government is now under Pakatan Rakyat (a loose coalition of DAP, PKR and PAS) with Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim of PKR as the new menteri besar.

For the first time, a Chinese is being elected as the state assembly speaker, and a woman as a deputy speaker. The new state executive council has also opened a new historical chapter with half of ifs members being non-Malays.

The Church

It is said that sizable English-speaking churches with marketing savvy and hi-tech cum feel-good worship are found in the Klang Valley . They are financially well off, have the capacity to operate various ministries with attractive evangelistic activities and the ability to organise seminars featuring internationally renown speakers. In other words, they are self-sufficient. However, majority of the local churches in Selangor are modest. Though small in size, they quietly and faithfully serve the Lord and are actively reaching out in their own ways to their respective communities. Migrant ministries are flourishing.

Some of the challenges faced by the Church are: the performance-driven inclination, the complacent longtime believers and indifferent second generation Christians, the yet-to-be-reconciled tensions between the modernist-thinking leadership and the discontented intellectual youth with questions not answered, and the rampant consumerism within the church culture.

Pray
1) State government
a. Transparency, integrity and impartiality for menteri besar and all local authorities in governance
b. Effectiveness and competence in all policy-implementations.
c. Wise financial management and good stewardship
d. Prioritize public interests and public wellbeing
e. Committed to poverty-eradication
f. Appropriate development plans without affecting the poor and the environment.
g. Corrupt officials be removed

2) Religious freedom provided by the Constitution be upheld and respected by all.

3) Sensible religious authorities; against the spirit behind religious zealots.

4) Orang Asli be accorded just treatment and dignity

5) Decrease in crime

6) Sense of civic consciousness and environmental cleanliness in the communities; public health awareness to reduce disease-related illnesses (e.g. dengue).

7) The Church
a. Unity; Christ-centric instead of egocentric; Kingdom-centric instead of church-centre
b. awareness of challenges facing the Church and wisdom to address them
c. Effective role in issues affecting the community, excels for God in marketplace, passion in rural outreaches.

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This Aritcle has been intentionally shortened for easy reading.