PETALING JAYA: Tributes, memories and tears continue to flow for Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez who died yesterday, leaving an enduring legacy for the next generations.
Fernandez, who succumbed to tongue cancer at age 88, played an outsized role in the realm of religion in Malaysia.
He stood high on social justice, moral issues and interfaith dialogue in the face of religious bigotry and injustice.
He aroused various faiths to collectively fight oppression, corruption and greed.
Fernandez was an outspoken critic of detentions without trial and declared the Internal Security Act (ISA) as “immoral”.
As an advocate of human rights and the marginalised, he championed justice and peace issues within the church as well as in the wider society.
However, his work to promote social justice programmes under the National Office for Human Development of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference invited trouble.
Several church workers and volunteers were detained during Operation Lalang on Oct 27 in 1987, a crackdown that came in the wake of mounting dissent from civil society and opposition parties.
He loved Malaysia. In an effort to promote the national language, Fernandez pioneered the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the church.
He exhorted the Christian community to use Bahasa Malaysia widely, “not merely because our children are more proficient in the language, but as a sign of our commitment to and love for our country”.
The church, he added, should pay more attention to the national language and culture if it were to remain faithful to the post-Vatican Council II idea of inculturation.
Fernandez was the first bishop to use Bahasa Malaysia in his episcopal motto, “Keadilan dan Keamanan” (Justice and Peace) when he was ordained Bishop of Penang in 1986.
The motto is powerfully reflected in his pastoral priorities and projects that included reaching out to the Orang Asli communities and people with disabilities.
When he was elected as the president of the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism in 2001, he expressed his hope for unity and understanding among the religions.
He said: “The fabric of our nation is composed of rich cultures and of various religions. Any religion that imposes its teachings with less respect for other religions destroys the very fabric itself.”
It is no surprise that his close friends included people of other faiths and Christians from other denominations.
He held a progressive view about politics and the church.
A complicated situation arose about two years before the 2013 general election when mainline churches were accused by some parishioners of bringing politics to the pulpit.
He told this writer then that religion, citizens’ rights, education, business, culture and the rule of law were politically intertwined in Malaysia.
Criticism from the church was meant to prod the government of the day in its responsibility to the people, he said.
The church, he said, had an important part in nation building and should highlight issues that affected the wellbeing of its community.
The visit of then prime minister Najib Razak to the Vatican in July 2011 to establish diplomatic ties further strengthened Fernandez’s view of how a government and a religious authority could co-exist in harmony.
Sungai Petani-born Fernandez’s trademark warmth, humility, enthusiasm and resoluteness stems from his boyhood days in his birthplace and Taiping.
He met people on the margins during his time as a hospital dresser in Kuala Ketil estate in Kedah and as a hospital assistant at the Penang City Council’s tuberculosis centre at Perak Road from 1947 to 1954.
His main priority as a young man after his father’s death was to care for his mother and ensure that his younger brother would get a proper and uninterrupted education.
At 26, he joined the priesthood at the encouragement of the late Monsignor IJ Aloysius and the late Archbishop Dominic Vendargon.
In 1966, he was ordained as a priest and rose to become a bishop, archbishop and finally Malaysia’s first cardinal in 2016.
Fernandez has gifted us with joy of interfaith living with the core virtues of mutual respect and acceptance.
We must build on the precious legacy and ensure it does not get lost.
The wake will be at the community centre of the Cathedral of St John, Jalan Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur, today from noon to 9pm, and tomorrow from 8am to 9pm.
Due to the lockdown, only 20 visitors are allowed at a time for 15 minutes each.
Those wishing to pay their last respects should register online at https://wake.archkl.org.
The funeral mass on Saturday at 10.30am will be live streamed over https://Tv.ArchKL.org
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