ABOUT 15 years ago, an over-zealous religious official declared that it was haram to buy Francissca Peter's album because it carried a picture of her with a crucifix around her neck.

The ruling, however idiotic it may have sounded then (and even now) was a cause of concern for every non-Muslim.

Instead of coming to the hapless singer's defence, the powers-that-be remained silent.

Three years ago, in the middle of the night, a few thousand copi! es of a supplement of a daily newspaper had to be destroyed on the orders of its editor-in-chief.

The reason? The supplement carried a feature on angels which he described as "unacceptable in Islam".

Although it cost the company thousands of ringgit, not forgetting the man-hours spent in writing, editing and designing the supplement, a re-print was ordered, substituted with another article sans the angels and miracles.

If any good came out of the Asian tsunami disaster, it is that in a global effort to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced survivors, race and religion -- at least in this country -- have been blurred.

Malaysians of all walks of life have rallied towards their fellowmen who suffered as well as those in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a portfolio for National Unity and Integration in the Prime Minister's Department, in his maiden cabinet in March, ! he revealed his priorities as the nation's chief executive.

While economic development was important, nothing is possible if the 25 million Malaysians are not united, and there is scant respect for one another's beliefs.

In restructuring the cabinet, Abdullah placed racial integration directly under his purview, doing away with the National Unity and Social Development Ministry.

Abdullah also initiated the setting- up of an inter-faith council under his department to foster better understanding of the nation's multi-religious communities.

In Parliament, a Special Select Committee for National Unity and Integration was formed.

The committee included members of the Opposition, where all faiths are represented.

These initiatives proved that Abdullah's declaration that he was "the prime minister of all Malaysians" was not merely lip service.

The declaration, made during the Umno General Assembly -! - a platform which holds the attention of the Malays which make up 64% of the population -- was Pak Lah's strategy in reminding the Malays that being in the majority, they are responsible for ensuring that the rights of the Chinese, Indians and other minorities are not compromised.

At the cinemas, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ played to packed houses.

Tickets were sold through churches to ensure only Christians viewed them, as it was against Islam to have a prophet portrayed in life.

However, feedback reveals that a number of Muslims also watched the movie on the big screen with tickets bought by their Christian friends.

An evolution of sorts is taking place in Malaysia, where a higher level of acceptance and tolerance for one another, once only portrayed in Leo Burnett commercials, is being more commonplace.

If you study the speeches of the nation's leaders, almost all centre on the need to be united.

At the same time, a desensitising of the masses is taking place.

The past year, issues considered taboo were comprehensively discussed in Parliament, the courts and the mass media.

The open discussion of racial and religious rights and for this paper, the absence of memos and phone calls from the authorities over what might be considered sensitive topics, highlights a level of maturity, hitherto seldom seen among Malaysians.

One of the first things that set off the debate of equal rights was the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision to refer a custody battle between a Hindu woman and her husband who had embraced Islam and converted their two young boys, to the Syariah Court.

Rights groups and even ministers regarded this ruling as absurd since non-Muslims do not have recourse in the Syariah Court.

On appeal, she was granted full custody but -- in a judicial first -- was ordered to bring up her sons as Muslims, otherwise she will lose custody.

The mother has since slipped out of the country with her sons.

Risking contempt, many groups and media organisations lambasted the decision. Religious councils were also aghast.

The matter was brought up in Parliament, with calls from MPs -- including from the BN -- to amend the respective laws.

Although the Parliamentary debates centred on creating more rights to mothers, the underlying issue was doing away with religious supremacy.

And only because of this, we may not see any changes in this department anytime soon.

In Putrajaya, the Appeals Court is hearing another case which may set a precedent, of a Muslim woman who converted to Christianity, to have the word "Islam" removed from her identity card.

In the civil service, the low number of non-Malay government servants, especially in the police and armed forces continued to be a topic of heated debate, when certain parties a! ccused non-Malays of being less patriotic.

The retort from the minorities were claims that there was a quota (some conjured up discreetly by department heads) for non-bumis, especially in the security forces.

There have also been no let-up in issues surrounding Chinese schools, as groups like Dong Jia Zong keep harping on the threat to the mother tounge as the government emphasises on Bahasa Malaysia and Vision schools.

While the MCA embraces the extra two periods of the national language for Year Three pupils in Chinese primary schools, some -- including those within the party -- view this as another attempt to stifle the growth of Chinese education, probably because time for other Chinese lessons is cut by 15 minutes to accommodate the 90-minute additional Bahasa lessons.

Dong Zong and others do not have to worry as Pak Lah himself has preached the benefits of learning another language, especially Mandarin, since China is an emerging economic superpower.

Meanwhile, the National Service programme which went into its second year, promises to be more successful, with more non-Malays signing up to volunteer.

Back in Parliament, the unquestionable rights of the Malays was cautiously discussed as failed and defective government projects amounting to billions of ringgit put bumi contractors in the spotlight.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu deflected the attention and blame off himself, as PMCs and GLCs were added to our vocabulary.

Section 51 of the Federal Constitution which provides for the irrevocable rights of the Malays and prohibits one to question those rights, was all but ignored as disastrous infrastructural projects were attributed to Project Management Consultants (PMC)s and Government-Linked Companies (GLC)s.

While some politicians played the race card, others merely looked at the issue at hand and recognised the need for a more open tender system based on a simple, time-tested principle -- anyone who can do the job should get the job -- irrespective of the colour of their skin.

The Ninth Malaysia Plan which takes off in 2006 seem to address this as the equity of the non-Malays is boosted by 3%.

Not much, considering the nation's wealth accumulation in the past 10 years, but still, it is a start.

While a section of the majority and the nation's leaders may be more sensitive to the rights and needs of the minorities, the latter should at the same time be mindful of the unwritten social contract that has assured us of peace and stability for 47 years.

While the contract should include a clause saying that the right to get what you want should not be at someone else's expense, Malaysian minorities must not be too overwhelmed by the sudden surge in empathy and the acknowledgement that they may have been receiving the shorter end of the stick since Independence.

Gentle persuasion always wins over combative demands.

As the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day, and neither will Bangsa Malaysia, but if events of the past year are any indication, then we have something to look forward to this year.