KUALA LUMPUR: Teresa Kok today issued a strident statement saying that Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Khalid Abu Bakar made an error when he said that the church protest was about location and not a move against Christianity.
The church is in a largely Malay-Muslim neighbourhood.
On Sunday, April 19, a group of 50 protestors gathered to get church officials to take down their cross.
Their reasoning was that the publicly displayed cross was a challenge to Islam. The church then complied.
“How could it not be about religion when the protestors demanded that the cross be removed?,” queried the Member of Parliament for Seputeh.
“Khalid’s statement is therefore most baffling and unacceptable,” she said.
“Malaysia is a multiracial, multi-religious nation where mutual respect and tolerance must always prevail and the constitutional right of freedom of religion for all must be protected.”
Teresa also quoted Malaysiakini’s report on July 17 last year, which said that a Nezha deity statue standing more than 10 metres tall at a temple in Kampung Tembioh, Johor, was taken down after concerns raised by Kota Tinggi Umno Youth.
A representative from the party reportedly said it was due to the temple’s proximity to a surau located 50 metres away.
Admittedly, the temple did not apply for approval from the local authorities to build the statue which had cost them RM500,000 to ship from China.
However, what should be noted here and in the case of the church protest is the reasoning, said Teresa.
The statue was deemed objectionable because of its proximity to a surau. The cross posed a challenge to Islam.
Though the Prime Minister has talked a great deal about moderation, incidents like these still happen with little or no censure.
However, said Teresa, it is heartening to see the snowballing support of Malaysian individuals and groups — many of whom are Muslim — speaking up against the behaviour of the church protestors.
The Taman Medan church is not alone.