by Maria Begum, Wong
Choon Mei
Christian groups have called on Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid
Ibrahim to speed up the release of the Jais report over its raid against the
Damansara Utama Methodist Church, which it had conducted without any search
warrant accusing Church officials of trying to proselytize Muslims.
"It is only fair that
after levelling such heavy accusations that the Mentru Besar reveals the
contents of the report transparently and in full and above in the fastest
possible time," Ramon Navaratnam, the past president of Transparency
International and a lay Christian leader toldMalaysia Chronicle.
"There should be no hint of any cover-up or attempt to
'save' any group or party embarrassment. Explanations over details such as the
absence of a search warrant must also be made clear.Those who did wrong should
be punished and where relevant, an apology must obviously be made."
Prove
you are different, MB Khalid told
Another Christian lay leader, who attends the Wesley
Methodist Church, in Kuala Lumpur said he was still upset over the matter.
Due constant Christian bashing by Umno-linked groups,
Christians in the country have the view that they are political bait used to
scare-monger Muslims into voting for Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party.
That the latest incident happened in Selangor, which is
governed by the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition, the community expects a
higher standard from Khalid in solving the issue. Christians form about 10 per
cent of Malaysia's 28 million population.
"We have always been
given the runaround by the authorities. Everybody knows Christians are bullied
in Malaysia. Now, it is up to Khalid to prove that things will change under
Pakatan. If he is scared of the Sultan or cannot manage the religious
authorities, then what is the difference between him and Khir Toyo (the
previous BN MB)," the lay leader told Malaysia Chronicle.
Christian
bashing
On Agust 3, a group of officers from Jais or the
Selangor Islamic Religious Department had burst into the Dream Centre building
in Selangor where the DUMC is sited, zooming in on a charity dinner held at one
of the event rooms. The organiser Harapan Kommuniti, an AIDS NGO, was holding a
fundraising dinner. The attendees were of mixed races, and 12 Muslims were
present.
Despite their lack of search warrant, Jais officers seized
leaflets and song-sheets, and interrogated the organizers. The next day, amid a
public uproar, Jais insisted they were justified in their actions and stuck
with their story that the 12 Muslim guests were being proselytized. This
despite denials by the Church officials and organizers of the event.
Hassan
Ali and report to be out next week
Speculation was rife that the incident was instigated by
Umno, with a view to discrediting the Pakatan state government. This was
especially so when PAS councillor for religious affairs Hassan Ali, who is also
known for his Umno links, supported Jais against the rest of the state council
including MB Khalid over the rash Jais move.
The issue intensified, with Umno and its newspaper Utusan
twisting the incident out of context. To save face, Jais even hauled up the 12
Muslims to the Syariah court to explain their presence at DUMC. So far, none of
the 12 have said they were being proselytized at all.
"From what I know, the
Chuch has not been charged, nor the Harapan Kommuniti. None of the 12 Muslims
have been charged either. So I don't expect the report to be controversial,
just an explanation from Jais as to what happened," MP for Shah Alam
Khalid Samad told Malaysia Chronicle.
Meanwhile, MB Khalid has said he will hold a press conference
on the Jais report next week.
Casino Classic
Source : MC
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