CHRISTIANS APPALLED BY JAIS CHURCH RAID

This is the Press Statement issued by the Bishop Ng of CFM.

CHRISTIAN FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA
(PERSEKUTUAN KRISTIAN MALAYSIA)

4th August 2011

CHRISTIANS APPALLED BY JAIS CHURCH RAID

The Christian Federation of Malaysia is deeply shocked and appalled at the raid by the officers of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) and the police conducted on the premises of the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on the evening of 3rd August 2011.

The dinner function organised by Harapan Komuniti, a community development NGO, is an annual thanksgiving celebration to commemorate its efforts on its numerous community projects for the benefit of Malaysians.

It is ironic that such a celebratory gathering of volunteers, leaders, supporters and members of the community should be disrupted by the high-handed and repugnant actions of the state religious enforcement officers.

This arbitrary action of the JAIS and the police officers is an affront to the values of mutual respect and harmony which should be accorded to every person, regardless of religious, cultural or ethnic background in Malaysia.

We also wish to question the legality of the raid and the subsequent interrogation and harassment of the guests present at the dinner as to whether the officers were acting within their legal jurisdiction.

Christians are shocked and saddened at this deplorable action. In recent times, we have witnessed an increase in incidences where Christians have been singled out and targeted with unjustified accusations and prejudice from various groups as well as certain mainline media who have made inflammatory statements against the spirit of 1Malaysia.

We call upon the relevant authorities, including His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, to conduct a thorough investigation over this unjustified raid.

We also call upon the government and all Malaysians to work together to build a truly cohesive and harmonious society based on mutual respect, dialogue and understanding.

In this holy month of Ramadan, we Christians wish to extend our heartfelt greetings and felicitation to our Muslim friends.

Yours sincerely,
Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing
Chairman and the Executive Committee,
Christian Federation of Malaysia