I condemn the recent incident in Taman Medan where a group of protestors forced a church in the area to remove a cross from their building.
I take note of MBPJ’s recent explanation regarding the permit situation of the church. Nevertheless, this does not justify the protestors taking the law into their own hands as they could have brought their grievances to the authorities.
Moreover, the protest appeared to be on exclusively religious grounds and during the time the legality of the premise was apparently not made an issue of.
Need I remind that the right to practice one’s religion peacefully is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.
I cannot imagine how the public display of a cross would erode anyone’s religion—Muslim or not.
The protestors must seriously examine their own faiths if they feel something so trivial could challenge their belief in Islam.
Their actions are frankly an embarrassment to Muslims everywhere.
I am furthermore deeply disturbed by how the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has appeared to cavalierly dismiss the need to investigate the demonstration.
For one thing, isn’t the fact that the demonstration took place in the vicinity of a place of worship against the Peaceful Assembly Act?
At the same time, the very fact that a relative of the IGP played a role in the demonstration suggests that he should have excused himself from dealing with the matter and turned it over to one of his subordinates.
It is very disheartening when it appears that the law, as well as protection under the law, is not being equally applied in Malaysia today.
