News: Johor church ninth hit

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — The St Elizabeth Catholic church in Kota Tinggi, Johor, was vandalised this morning, with red paint splashed on its walls. This makes it the ninth church hit by firebombs, arson attempts or vandalism in the past week. Kota Tinggi OCPD, Osman Mohamamed Sebot said the attack was discovered by church authorities at about 8.30am this morning. A police report was subsequently lodged. “The damage is minor. The paint was splattered at the front part of the church and also [on] partial parts of the entrance door,” Osman told The Malaysian Insider.

“We will step up security measures and increase patrolling time around the area to try and prevent similar incidents from recurring,” he said. Osman stressed that the police would launch a thorough investigation. He also urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward and assist the police in their investigation. Osman said the police should not be blamed for the continuing attacks.“We cannot say that, [as] the attack is done by a third party. But we will try our best to beef up security. We would also need cooperation from the church and other parties,” he said. Before today’s incident, eight Christian churches and a convent school in Selangor, Perak, Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak had been hit so far in the attacks following the Dec 31, 2009 High Court decision allowing the Catholic Church’s Herald to use the word “Allah.”

On Tuesday, a glass sliding door to the entrance of a Sikh Temple in Sentul here was found cracked from a barrage of stones, making it the first non-Christian house of worship hit since the controversial landmark “Allah” ruling. The Sikhs also use the term to describe God in their Punjabi language and had unsuccessfully sought to be part of the Roman Catholic Church’s legal suit to use the name, a move that has sparked the anger of Muslims in Malaysia who claim it is exclusive to them. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the acts of violence and the authorities have urged the public not to speculate over the attacks. The worst hit church so far has been the Metro Tabernacle church here, which had its ground floor gutted last week. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said the situation was under control and the attacks were isolated incidents. He also vowed to use the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial, against those who stoke religious tension. Yesterday, Deputy Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar revealed that police now have a lead on the “physical attributes” of the suspects in last Friday’s firebombing attack on the Metro Tabernacle Church in Taman Desa Melawati here. Source: The Malaysian Insider & picture by The Star Malaysia 14/01/10