Never going to happen.

There are high hopes for Malaysia to someday be rid of ethnic and religious friction, but right now, that day is nowhere to be seen. As long as there are different policies that are set aside for different ethnicities, there will always be a sense of injustice to the lesser races.

The issue of Himpun and prostelysizing Muslims has gotten a way out of hand. Whether the crime is actually being committed, no one can say. The issue here is whether there is a need to respond with a rally. The rally feels like a show of power, so to speak. Riling up the people is only bound to create a sense of conflict between the religions and intensify the already strained relationship between Islam and Christianity. While its easy to outline the intentions of the rally, what happens on the actual day might be totally different.

We need not look any further than the events that ocurred on July 9. It was intended to be a peaceful march as agreed by both parties. Yet, there are reports of cops being violent towards the marchers, and tear gas being fired into the Tung Shin Hospital compound. It might not be the intention of both parties as a whole, but these parties are made up of individuals, and these individuals have minds of their own. What they never realize is that while they may act on their own judgement, they act while wearing the colours of a party. Then the entire party is blamed.

Who's to say that events at the Himpun rally won't descend into a hotbed of violence? We've seen religious scrimmages happen before, and they have not been pretty. Suffice to say, we really don't need anymore incidents.

I'd be glad if the intentions of Himpun are truly to reinforce the faith of its practitioners, but one bad apple spoils the bunch. With such a sensitive issue, all that's needed is a spark, a small coming together, and it could light up like the 4th of July.