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Friday, April 24, 2015

Taman Medan church still unsure about putting cross despite MB’s assurance

The cross outside the corner unit of the shophouse which houses the Community of Praise Petaling Jaya Church, before its forced removal last Sunday. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 24, 2015.The cross outside the corner unit of the shophouse which houses the Community of Praise Petaling Jaya Church, before its forced removal last Sunday. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 24, 2015.
The church in Taman Medan which removed its cross following a small protest last Sunday is weighing "safety concerns" before deciding whether to put the symbol back on its building.
Despite assurances from Selangor Menteri Besar, Mohamed Azmin Ali and the police, officials of the Community of Praise Petaling Jaya Church are still worried of the repercussions if the cross was put back in its original position on the building facade.
Petaling Jaya Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian, who is in close contact with the church, said church leaders and members will discuss among themselves to see if putting back the cross was a viable option.
This is despite assurances from the state government two days ago that the church had not broken any law and asked that it return the cross back to its place to "stop the precedent of mob rule by politically-aligned extremists".
"Yes, they can put it (the cross) up anytime but safety issues have to be considered too," Hee (pic, left) added.
Selangor's Committee on Non-Islam Affairs (Hesi) co-chair, Elizabeth Wong had said that churches were allowed to operate in commercial premises without a permit.
"MBPJ councillors also clarified that since 2008, the previous State Committee on Non-Islam Affairs (then known as State Committee on Non-Islam Places of Worship) has allowed churches to operate in commercial premises or offices without the need for application of permits, but only by way of notification to the committee.
"This is based on the principle that Article 11 of the Federal Constitution embodies freedom of worship," said Wong, the Bukit Lanjan state representative.
The church lodged a report on Wednesday over the protest, saying they had taken down the cross out of fear and has sought police protection to prevent similar incidents in the future.
A representative from the church told the police that she had been filled with fear by the angry demeanour of one of the protesters, who directly confronted her that day and demanded that she take down the cross.
“One of the other men was wearing a red baju melayu with a black songkok. He looked very angry and said to bring the cross down now (turunkan sekarang),” she told police on Tuesday.
On Sunday, some 50 residents protested outside the church to demand that it remove the cross affixed to the building's facade.
They said the cross was a challenge to Islam and would sway the faith of youth in the area.
But the Selangor MB said the church had no reason to be afraid as "they had done nothing wrong".
"The guideline is very clear. They didn't break any rules," said Azmin.
"The state government has given that assurance to them that, 'look we will protect the faith of all people in Selangor including the church and we want the police to ensure they conduct a thorough investigation to bring those responsible to justice'."
When reports of the protest first came to light, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar cleared the demonstrators, which included his own brother Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, of any wrongdoing, saying there was no element of sedition or violence.

“We do not see it as seditious as it did not touch on Christianity but only on the location of the church.
"The cross was taken down following the community's request. There was no violence," Khalid said on Monday, adding that the matter was deemed a community issue, and was up to MBPJ and the Selangor government.
But police sprung to action following statements from Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the action of the group was seditious.
On Wednesday, Abdullah, who is Taman Lindungan Jaya Umno branch chief, spent nearly three hours at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters as the authorities quizzed him over the incident.

Some 10 others have also been hauled up for investigations under the Sedition Act.
- TMI

1 comment:

  1. "Taman Medan church still unsure about putting cross despite MB’s assurance"

    Just to share this,,,

    https://twitter.com/NajibRazak

    Mohd Najib Tun Razak @NajibRazak • Nov 24

    In an interview w/ Mingguan M'sia, PM DS Najib Razak reiterated his stand on inclusiveness & justice for all. -

    “Justice is a Principle of Islam…

    Everything we do, its thrust is Justice…

    Being Just to Muslims and at the same time to non-Muslims, too.”

    What happened to his words...?

    ReplyDelete

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