The Penang State Christmas Open House 2018

Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
During The Penang State Christmas Open House

9th December 2018 
St. Anne’s Church, Bukit Mertajam

Honourable Members of the State Executive Council

Mr. A. Arokiadass - Chairman of the Organising Committee & Chairman of the CFM Liaison Committee Penang,

Rt. Rev. Sebastian Francis - Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang

Rev. Sam Surendran - NECF Northern Region Representative

Rev. Christopher Tan - CCM Penang Chairman

And most of all, to everyone gathered here this evening: men and women, girls and boys, Malaysians and residents, visitors and tourists from all over the world

WELCOME.

On behalf of the Penang State Government, we would like to warmly welcome every one of you to our Penang State Christmas Open House 2018. The theme for this year is:
Yesus, Kurnia Tuhan kepada Dunia
Jesus, God’s Gift to the World

As many of you know, this is an annual event jointly organised by the Penang State Government and Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) Penang. I wish everyone here a very Blessed and Joyous Christmas.

Most Malaysians, if not all, somehow or other, believe there is a god. We may disagree on our many different ideas of what god really is like. But if there is a god who is also the creator, then everything there in this universe is created by him. More importantly, our lives and everything we have come from god. Unfortunately, while we may believe in god, we may not know what life is all about, and are troubled by what god has planned for us, for our lives, and for our children.

Christians believe that our God is loving, kind and compassionate, just like a perfect Father, who wants only the best for each of us. The Bible tells us that God sent His Son into the world to show us the way back to God and to promise of life with God forever. This is God’s Gift to the world, --His Son Jesus who has revealed God to us perfectly so that we may know our God and receive His love and life. Then we can have peace in our hearts.

Many people do not realize how important it is to have peace; and that is the reason why there is so much fighting and war and conflict. Once we have peace in our hearts, we can have peace in ourselves, and we can have peace with God. Then we can live in peace with all the people around us, --our families, our neighbours, our colleagues in the work-place and all our fellow-citizens. Once we know we are accepted by God, we can learn to accept ourselves and other people. We do not have to fight with them or try to control them, or even take advantage of them.

Just like the rest of the world, our country Malaysia needs peace. In a country with so many different peoples, religions, cultures and languages, we need to learn to live in peace and harmony with one another. We must all strive together for peace and harmony in our country. First of all, we must learn to accept one another as equals and co-workers to build up this beautiful and beloved country called Malaysia.

The Christians in the State of Penang have always celebrated our multi-coloured nation with our many differences. We thank our God for giving us this country where we can live and work together with all kinds of people. We want to share the love that God has given us and declare that God loves Malaysia and all the peoples of Malaysia, this love is shown supremely by His Greatest Gift to the world with the coming of Jesus Christ His Son from heaven to earth, so that He can bring us from earth to heaven one day.

So, we give thanks to our God for His indescribable gift!
(1 Corinthians 9:15) The Christian community of the State of Penang, and especially Seberang Perai, wants to share this gift with you, and pray that you too will know God’s love and blessings at this Christmas time and for the New Year.

We would like to thank the Organizing Committee, pastors, leaders and members of various churches represented here, as well as YB Chong Eng and her staff, and all those who have worked tirelessly to make this event a success.

We must also thank Bishop Sebastian Francis, the Vicar Rev Monsignor Henry Rajoo and the leadership of the St. Anne’s Church for allowing us to use the church grounds once again for tonight's celebration.

We especially commend the churches that have prepared for many weeks to present the items that reflect the spirit of Christmas tonight.

HAVE A VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FILLED WITH

HOPE AND PEACE, GRACE AND TRUTH!

Thank you.