Severe Floods in Cambodia

Special Addition @ 30 October 2011.

This letter was forwarded to us by a regular reader. As this plight is also appealing for donation to help flood victims in Cambodia, we highlight Asia Outreach's appeal here. Please extend help if you are able to.

Please note that this letter was not sent directly to Berita Calvary and as such we have no direct connection with Asian Outreach. If you need further clarification or if you want to view the supporting documents mentioned in this letter, please contact Asian Outreach directly.

Asian Outreach (M) Bhd
No 81, Jalan SS 2/75,
47300 Petaling Jaya

Tel : +603 7876 6789

Fax : +603 7876 6221

Email : ao89pjm@unifi.my

_______________________________________

Can you help?

This is a Forwarded email to us, requesting that we send to all who are willing to extend financial help. As we are now in the time of the year where we are preparing to celebrate the Season of Giving in December, we highlight here a plight that is worth our help. 

Many today, especially in Malaysia, have employed domestic helpers from Cambodia. This is a good way to extend our Christian charity to the people from whom God has placed in our homes to help us with our domestic chores. Let us show our love and care by supporting the work of those who have availed themselves by being physically there in Cambodia to carry out their Mission as God has laid upon their hearts to do. 

Not all of us can go to the Missions field to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ but all of us can give a little to those in the Missions field so that the Great Commission of our Lord can be fulfilled.

We have furnished links to their relevant websites. Please check out first before you Donate.

___________________________________________

From: Denis Kugler <denis.kugler@yahoo.com>

Date: Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 5:11 PM

Subject: Deadly floods in Cambodia

To: 

Dear Brother, Sister

More than 260 people died in the floods, and many are still missing.

In some areas the floods reach 3 meters high.

A few hundred Christian families need your help.

2 NGO ( Seapc and Nho ) and Agape Life Ministries want to help.

With US 50 dollars we can feed 8 people, for one month by giving them rice, noodles, soy sauce and canned fish.

May the Lord bless you all for your help and your prayers

Denis Kugler

Agape Life Ministry

Please read our link below:

http://agape-life-ministries.org/Can_You_Help.pdf

Can You Help? Severe Floods 

Posted by Tina Tomes 

The current flooding in South East Asia is the worst in several decades. 

Several countries are affected by this devastating flood, including 

Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Hundreds of people have died due to 

flooding related problems such as starvation, lack of clean water, lack of 

sanitation, and snake bites. Entire families are stranded in their homes 

because they do not have a boat to leave. Other homes are covered 

completely. People and animals are gathering in any dry place they can 

find. Crops have been destroyed. Schools are closed because they are 

flooded. The situation worsens by the day and is expected to last until 

sometime in mid-November. 

In Cambodia, Fellowship Word of Life Church, led by Pastor Sinai, is 

wanting to share the gospel and love of Jesus by distributing food supplies 

to these affected people.  They have figured out that they can help feed a 

family of 8 people for one month for just $50. That’s right….$50. This  

Money would purchase and distribute a 50kg bag of rice, a carton of soy 

sauce, a box of noodles and a carton of canned fish. 

Their goal is to help at least 700 families – 100 at the Mekong River 

Church, 100 in the province of Prey Veng, 300 in the province of Kampong 

Chhnang and 200 in the province of Banteay Meanchey. Pastor Vanna, the 

pastor at FWOLC in Phnom Penh is the chairman of this project and is 

being assisted by several SEAPC-Cambodia/NHO team members – Pastor 

Sinai, Sothea, Sitha, Sokhom, Rathana and Piseth. They are also working 

in partnership with Denis Kugler of Agape Life Ministries in Phnom Penh to 

bring together the needed provisions and funding. 

Pastor Sinai and Sitha visited the affected area in Kampong Chhnang just 2 

days ago. They said that while they were there, a funeral was being held 

for a child who had died because of the flood. Many, many children are 

affected. The Cambodia Daily has reported that there has been no help so 

far from the government or NGO’s (non-profit organizations). Let’s show 

Cambodia that Jesus and His people are concerned and are helping to 

provide relief. 

To donate  you can choose following organisations : 

In the USA...... “South East Asia Prayer Centre” (www.seapc.us) 

         Mail to: info@seapc.us      

              

In Cambodia.....  “New Hope for Orphans” (www.nhoasia.org) 

         Mail to: sinainewhope@hotmail.comk 

Bank transfer details 

Intermediary Bank: HSBC Bank, U.S.A., New York, N.Y. 10018 

SWIFT: MRMDUS33 

Routing Nº: 021001088 

CHIPS ABA: 0108 

Account with Institution: ACLEDA Bank Plc., Head Office, 

Phnom Penh, Cambodia 

FIELD 57A: SWIFT CODE: ACLBKHPP 

CHIPS UID: 415637 

Beneficiary Customer Name: NEW HOPE FOR ORPHANS 

FIELD 59:Account Nº: 0001-20-168934-1-5  

In Singapore...  ‘Agape Life Ministries” (www.agape-life-ministries.org) 

         Mail to: denis.kugler@yahoo.com 

Bank in Singapore 

Bank                      OCBC 

Acc. Name             Agape Life Ministries 

Branch Number     7339 

Acc. Number          629 012261 001 

Swift add.              OCBCSGSG 

                          ------------------------------------------------ 

 Click here for link to :  Agape Life Ministries

Jais-DUMC row by Dr Ng Kam Weng

This is another interesting opinion penned by Dr Ng Kam Weng taken from The Malaysian Insider. (Click on title for original source)

* Dr Ng Kam Weng is research director at the Kairos Research Centre (Click on Name to link)

Jais-DUMC row: Sultan not properly informed — Dr Ng Kam Weng

OCT 12 — The Christian community has waited with anticipation for DYMM Sultan of Selangor to come out with a statement that will help resolve the inter-religious crisis sparked off by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church on August 3, 2011.

We welcome the Sultan’s wish that religious harmony should continue in the state and his decree that there be no prosecution against any of the parties involved.

However, the Sultan’s statement does raise a few issues of serious concern for the non-Muslim community as there are views expressed therein that suggest that the Sultan may not have been properly informed by his advisers.

First, the statement suggests that “the actions of Jais were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor,” as they “are in line with the jurisdiction provided under Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment (2003), Syariah Criminal (State of Selangor) Enactment, 1995 and the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment of 1988” (herein referred to as the “Selangor Enactment”)

With all due respect, I beg to differ from this interpretation of the state enactments. In the first place, the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion.

Such power to control or restrict propagation cannot be understood as absolutely prohibiting any conduct or activity on the excuse of some unspecified complaint that they are for the purposes of propagation of religion. Such power cannot be taken as licence for officials to intrude or trespass into a function conducted within the premises of what is clearly a non-Muslim religious institution (in the present case a Christian institution) without legal authority

There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows Jais officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by Jais are Sections 12 and 13, which specify that “an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence.”

He may also apply for warrants of arrest from a Magistrate to require the attendance of witnesses. There is, however, simply no unilateral power to carry out an entry and search under the Propagation Enactment or for that matter even to apply for a search warrant.

If the officer responsible for the raid intends to conduct an entry and search, he must base his power from some legal source. Jais officers appear to have acted under Syariah Enactment that does NOT apply, however, to non-Muslims and cannot be imported into the Propagation Enactment.

While superficially this provision seems to grant disturbing power to this “authorised officer”, the enforcement must be consistent with the more fundamental provisions under Part II of the Federal Constitution relating to fundamental liberties and the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593) relating to search and arrest which presumes that a search warrant should have been sought as a matter of course, and that the warrant is granted only upon reasonable suspicion that a seizable offence has been committed at the DUMC premises. The requirement of a search warrant is a fundamental recognition of the right to privacy within one’s own domain and space.

More importantly, given the sensitivity of inter-religious relations and the sanctity of religious places of worship, such a warrant should be granted only by a magistrate or judge from the Civil Court and only upon firm and clear grounds.

The fact remains that Jais carried out the raid with disregard for established provisions and procedure of law — the leader of the Jais party failed to present relevant identity documents to confirm he was indeed “an authorised officer”, specify the offence(s) or suspected offence(s) relating to propagation under the Selangor Enactment that was alleged to have been committed and that he had obtained a search warrant from a Magistrate or the High Court, especially when a church was the target of the raid. For these reasons, it may be argued contrary to the Sultan’s statement, that prima facie, Jais had not acted lawfully within the bounds of law when it raided DUMC.

Second, it should be noted that the statement claims “there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken.”

The plural word “attempts” suggests Christians at DUMC were guilty of subverting Islam not only on August 3, 2011, but that they were repeatedly committing the alleged offence. This is a most unfair and misleading accusation that imputes guilt to DUMC without offering any evidence that could be verified or refuted.

It may be noted that the English version of the Sultan’s statement uses stronger words than the official Bahasa version — it translates the word “memesongkan (distort, deviate) fahaman dan kepercayaan fahaman orang Islam” with the word “subvert the faith and belief of Muslims”

The statement unwittingly exposes the feeble foundations of its accusations when it concedes that there was insufficient evidence obtained for further legal action. In simple terms, this must means that Jais had FAILED to make a prima facie case against DUMC.

I may add that despite the attempt to hide behind the legal term of “insufficient evidence”, the reality is that there was simply NO evidence of subversion of the Islamic faith. Beating a hasty retreat from the threat of prosecuting DUMC was the best option left for Jais.

Third, it is alarming that the statement describes the activities of DUMC as subversion of the Islamic faith. This charge is injurious to the integrity of Christians with regard to their profession and practice of faith.

Regarding integrity of profession of the Christian faith: Christians at DUMC have never pretended to be teaching any religion other than Christianity. DUMC is, after all, a church. Christians have every right to uphold their beliefs and practice their faith and while doing so, should not be judged as subverting or deviating /“memesongkan fahaman” Islamic beliefs on account of the doctrinal differences between the two religions. Following the logic of Jais, Christians could equally have charged Muslims for subverting the Christian faith when Muslims preach a faith different from Christians.

Regarding practice of faith: Christians are well known for their social work that flows from their belief in the love of God for the poor and needy. As the Bible says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). Hence, the press statement from DUMC says, “DUMC conducts all its activities to serve the community and for the welfare of all Malaysians regardless of creed, race or religion.”

It is therefore alarming when Jais casts aspersions against the charity work done by Christians and claims that Christians are subverting Islamic beliefs on account of their good works. It may well be the case that some needy Muslims have availed themselves to the good services offered by DUMC, and DUMC obviously cannot turn them away simply because they happen to be Muslims.

DUMC may well be charged for promoting religious disharmony if it makes religion a factor before anyone can receive welfare. On the other hand, Christians may well be advised to stop their work that may incline a Muslim to view the Christian faith favourably since this would incur the wrath of Jais officials.  At best, the Sultan’s statement can be misconstrued by mischievous parties and exploited to misrepresent the altruistic intention of Christians; at worst, it maligns the welfare work of Christians.

Therefore, we welcome the announcement made by the mentri besar of Selangor, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, that the Selangor government will set up a special committee to fine-tune the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) followed by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) in handling attempts to proselytise Muslims.

We hope the committee will come up with recommendations that will 1) ensure Jais fully understands and observes the bounds of its authority, that is, that it has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims, and 2) any investigation of non-Muslims leading to intervention by the Islamic authorities should follow a proper procedure and law, including obtaining a search warrant granted by senior judicial officials from a religiously neutral institution such as a Magistrate or a High Court judge.

Otherwise, the government ends up surreptitiously investing illegitimate and excessive authority to Islamic officials over non-Muslims. The consequences will be abuse of power, and insensitive and provocative actions against non-Muslim believers as seen in the case of the Jais raid of DUMC.

We do well to listen respectfully and sympathetically to the appeal from the victim of religious abuse, in this case DUMC, when it says in its media statement, “We sincerely ask that all religious communities and places of worship be treated with utmost respect and not be intruded upon.”

Closure to JAIS-DUMC issue

Finally we see a closure to the issue on the raid conducted by the JAIS officers into DUMC grounds during a thanksgiving dinner held at the latter's premises. We thank God for the decision made by the Sultan of Selangor which provided a definite closure to this unpleasant episode experienced by Pastor Daniel Ho and the congregation of DUMC. 

It cannot be denied that the JAIS-DUMC issue has sparked off a massive uproar in the nation but looking back at the events that had taken place, we see the hand of God at every juncture in this episode. While we cannot speak of the experiences of Pastor Daniel Ho and his congregation but as fellow Christians in this nation, we see the unity among believers of Jesus Christ, coming together to pray for Pastor Daniel Ho and those involved, be it in prayer meetings in churches or small group fellowships and even in the personal prayers of many individuals in their private devotion time. There was a unity in spirit among  Christians from all walks of life and from different Churches in the whole nation, uniting as one and in one spirit, crying out to our Almighty God for wisdom and deliverance.

Not only did this episode see the Churches in Malaysia uniting in prayer, Pastor Daniel Ho was heard saying that he had received encouraging messages and support from Christians from overseas too. So this episode even went global and harnessed the prayer support of Christians abroad.

We believe that God has a greater purpose for our nation of Malaysia and He is uniting the Christians here to band together as one, through various difficulties, so that we will be prepared to fulfill His great Commission as one body - the Universal Church of Jesus Christ. The Churches and the Christians in Malaysia have come out and stood by our fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ in crisis. 

Jesus said,  “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14).  

Let us continue to shine together for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Coming back to the JAIS-DUMC issue, we have collected some related articles for your reading taken from The Star Online.

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Monday October 10, 2011 

DUMC issue: S'gor Sultan rules no action against parties involved

SHAH ALAM: The Sultan of Selangor has ruled that no group should be prosecuted over a controversial incident on Aug 3 where the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) conducted a search on a thanksgiving dinner event held at the Dream Centre Complex belonging to the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC).

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah also commanded that Jais provide counselling to the Muslims who were present during the dinner which was organised by a non-governmental organisation.

"After carefully deliberating the report by Jais and after obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, we are in agreement that there would be no prosecution against any parties.

"Even so, we command that Jais provide counselling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the religion of Islam," he said.

Following is the full text of the Sultan's statement Monday:

We, the Head of the Religion of Islam in the State of Selangor, take great concern over the actions by the Enforcement Division of the Selangor Department of the Religion of Islam (Jais) which carried out a search at the Thanksgiving Dinner event which was held at Hall 3, Dream Centre Complex, Section 13, Petaling Jaya on Aug 3, 2011.

We hope that the people of Selangor, regardless of race and religion, do not misconstrue and dispute the actions of Jais before knowing exactly the true facts of the actions taken.

As the State Department responsible for the enforcement of Islamic Laws in the State, Jais has the heavy task of ensuring that the Religion of Islam in Selangor is always protected and given prestige, in line with its position as the Religion of the State of Selangor under Article XLVII of the Laws of the Constitution of Selangor, 1959, as well as the religion of the Federation under Clause (1) Article 3 of the Federal Constitution.

Jais has submitted to Us the full report of the search carried out at the Dream Centre Complex, Section 13, Petaling Jaya as well as the subsequent actions taken by Jais. We have thoroughly read in detail the said report and We are satisfied that the actions of Jais were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor.

The actions of Jais are in line with the jurisdiction provided under Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment, 2003, Syariah Criminal (State of Selangor) Enactment, 1995 and Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment, 1988.

The Religion of Islam as practiced in Selangor is one of tolerance. Muslims are always encouraged to respect the believers of other religions. However, persons or parties cannot take the opportunity to spread other religions to Muslims. This is in line with Clause (1) and (4) Article 11 of the Federal Constitution and Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment, 1988, which prohibits the spread of other religions to Muslims.

Article XLVII of the Laws of the Constitution of Selangor 1959, Clause (1) Article 3 and Clause (1) Article 11 of the Federal Constitution have given the freedom to believers of other religions to practice their beliefs in peace and harmony. This freedom has been practised in harmony in this State. We wish that this harmony, which has existed for a long time, will continue to exist. Protect your rights and religion and do not attempt to subvert the belief and faith of Muslims.

Based on the investigations by Jais, there is evidence that there were attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims but that the evidence obtained would be insufficient for further legal actions to be taken. Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by Jais and after obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, We are in agreement that there would be no prosecution against any parties.

Even so, We command that Jais provide counselling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the Religion of Islam. We also command Jais to carry out preaching to Muslims in a more regular and organised manner so that their belief and faith towards Islam is protected and enhanced.

We hope that after this, any and all activities being carried out or which are going to be carried out for the purposes of spreading other religions to Muslims in Selangor must be ceased immediately and no further activities or anything similar to them are carried out in the future.

We, the Head of the Religion of Islam in the State of Selangor, are gravely concerned and extremely offended by the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims in the State of Selangor. We command that Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (Mais) and Jais always conduct thorough observations and to take necessary actions without hesitation in line with the jurisdiction allowed under the law.

We also wish to take this opportunity to thank all parties who were concerned with this issue and to those who have given their cooperation and undivided support to Jais.

H.R.H. Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj
The Sultan of Selangor

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Wednesday October 12, 2011

DUMC welcomes Sultan of Selangor’s statement

By LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The Damansara Utama Methodist Church welcomes the statement by the Sultan of Selangor that no one would be charged in connection with a Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) search at the church two months ago.

Senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho stressed that activities organised by DUMC were meant to serve the community and welfare of Malaysians regardless of race, creed or religion.

“We sincerely ask that all religious communities and places of worship be treated with the utmost respect and not be intruded upon,” he said.

Dr Ho said the church had worked within the boundaries of law and public order.

“We call on all Malaysians to continue to live in peace, tolerance and harmony. We also call on all Christians to continue to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God,” he said.

Jais carried out the search during a function, organised by non-governmental organisation Harapan Komuniti, at the Dream Centre Complex belonging to DUMC on Aug 3 following a tip-off about an alleged attempt to proselytise Muslims at the dinner.

On Monday, the Sultan ruled that no group would be prosecuted over the search.

Bar Council chairman Lim Chee Wee said that Malaysians must respect the Federal Constitution which provides for states to control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among Muslims.

However, he voiced concern over the Non-Muslim Enactment which gave wide powers to the relevant officers to arrest, even without warrant, on suspicion that a person has committed an offence.

“The exercise of such powers can be subject to abuse and can constitute a restriction of Malaysians' rights of freedom of assembly and association,” he said.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism president Tan Hoe Chieow said it accepted the Sultan's ruling that no group should be prosecuted and that non-Muslims were free to protect their rights and religions.

He said that Jais has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims and due to the sensitivity and sanctity of worship places, they must first lodge a police report if there were cases of proselytising, and the police must obtain a search warrant from the courts to enter religious places of worship.

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Tuesday October 11, 2011

Council of Churches accepts Sultan’s ruling

PETALING JAYA: The Council of Churches Malaysia has accepted the Sultan of Selangor's ruling that no group should be prosecuted over a controversial church search in August.

Its general-secretary Reverend Dr Hermen Shastri said the council took the view that Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had settled the matter.

“We consider the Sultan's statements a closure of the DUMC (Damansara Utama Methodist Church) case,” he said yesterday.

He was commenting on the search conducted by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) during a dinner held at the DUMC Dream Centre on Aug 3.

“In the interests of peace, we hope that people will not speculate about or aggravate the situation further,” he said.

Meanwhile, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said a committee would be set up by the state government to study ways to strengthen the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department's (Jais) standard operating procedures.

He said in a statement that the special committee would be headed by legal and religious experts.

Khalid added that Jais should strengthen its administration when conducting religious checks, adding: “This issue only shows that Jais has space for improvement.”

State PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad described the Sultan's command to not prosecute any party and to provide counselling to Muslims present at the dinner as a good way to restore belief in Islam.

“Taking legal action and applying force to change one's mindset, especially in religious matters will not work,” he added.

“An individual's belief should not be handled with force. It should be handled in a more delicate manner. Hence, the Sultan's announcement to provide counselling is the best way in restoring belief in Islam.”

Selangor religious affairs committee chairman Datuk Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali said they would use hi-tech gadgets to prove their cases in the court.

“I will make sure that a high-performance management system and sophisticated equipment are used to defend every case,'' he said.

He said the ruling was an indication that the Sultan wanted both Jais and the Selangor Islamic Religious Council to act “professionally”.

Meanwhile, Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the Sultan, in his royal wisdom, had defused the situation.

“By further ensuring no parties will be prosecuted will allow the matter to be put to rest,” he said.

What was important now was for Jais and other agencies to review their practices on raids especially when it involved a non-Muslim place of worship, Dr Koh said.