Police complacency in acting against two Al-Islam reporters who entered a Catholic Church to spy on a prayer service contributed to the recent arson attacks, claimed a human rights activist.

In an open letter to the prime minister, K Sudhagaran Stanley said it was because of inaction by the authorities “that there are people brave enough to (fire)-bomb churches”.

“Is your government against Christians in this country? What are the police waiting for? Are they waiting for someone to be killed?” he asked Najib Abdul Razak.

NONE The letter, emailed and posted to Najib, was also sent to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Koh Tsu Koon, Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and police chief Musa Hassan.

Sudhagaran had lodged a police report in June against the two journalists who, on the pretext of checking out a claim that Muslims are being converted to Christianity, entered a Catholic church and took part in holy communion.

In August, Sudhagaran was told that investigations had yet to be completed despite “solid proof” in the form of the journalists’ first-person accounts published in Al Islam .

The journalists had received holy communion, and soon after spat it out to be photographed for publication purposes.

This act, Sudhagaran said, warrants a charge under the Penal Code Section 295 or 298(a) ‘for causing disharmony, disunity, hatred or ill-will, or prejudicing etc, the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion’.

He added that the act was as an affront to those of the Catholic faith who consider holy communion as the ‘body of Christ’.

“The journalists entered our church and humiliated the most sacred part of our worship, and even published the barbaric act in their magazine, which belongs to the Utusan group,” he said.

Other incidents

Sudhagaran further said the nationwide church attacks and the Al-Islam article were preceded by a protest at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Silibin, Ipoh.

He said the protestors had acted on a SMS-rumour stating that the church was converting Muslims to Christianity. Those responsible for rumours have yet to be brought to justice.

NONE The government’s relative lack of action in all these incidents affecting the Christian community is suspicious, he added.

Today, however, police detained eight people in connection with the arson attack on the Metro Tabernacle Church in Kuala Lumpur.

The church, part of the Assemblies of God movement, was attacked on Jan 8, razing the first floor of the three-storey building.