Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today questioned if the Selangor Islamic Department’s (Jais) raid on a church on Wednesday was legal and constitutional.

The Bar Council, Human rights NGO Suaram and the organisation of former Suhakam commissioners, Proham, today said that the lack of a warrant during the raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church makes it “unacceptable”.

pj old town good shepherd lutran church arson attempt “We would like to ascertain the legal basis of the raid from Jais. We believe that since no warrant was presented to the parties, Jais acted arbitrarily and without due process,” Suaram coordinator Sarah Devaraj said in a statement.

She added that not only were Jais “intimidating” the guests of the dinner, they had also infringed on the freedom to assemble and associate peacefully as enshrined under Article 10 of the federal constitution.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee added that nothing illegal had occurred at DUMC, even if there were Muslims present at the thanksgiving dinner, as claimed by Jais.

He said that by video recording the event, taking down the particulars of Muslims and even going through the trash, JAIS had acted as if a law has been broken.

“We know of no prohibition in law against Muslims entering the premises of a Christian church, nor of being part of the audience in a thanksgiving event held in such a place, even if such an event were to contain certain religious elements such as prayer and singing,” he said.

hamdan adnan interview 280706 talking Echoing him, Proham deputy chairperson Hamdan Adnan ( left ) also expressed concern over the role of the police in the raid.

“While the police have indicated that they merely accompanied Jais officers, the presence of the police and their visibility implicates them as being part of the raiding party, thereby leaving the Christian community without an independent enforcement unit to appeal to.

“Proham calls on the inspector-general of police to review the role of the police in such action as these negatively implicates PDRM,” he said.

‘Interfaith department needed’

Proham also called on the PM and state governments to establish an “inter-religious department for non-Muslim faith communities” that, Hamdan said, must be consulted in any action that impacts human rights and interreligious matters.

Meanwhile Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia’s (Abim) Selangor branch called on all quarters to refrain from being hasty over the matter.

Inter-Faith Council “Abim Selangor urges all parties to leave it to the relevant agencies to carry out their investigations and find the truth over the incident that has taken place,” said state Abim president Khairudin Abas in a statement

Khairudin called for the enforcement agencies to be respected, so long as they are operating according to the laws.

“Abim is confident that the agency involved has acted through the right channels... therefore any external pressure and interference will only jeopardise efforts to uncover the facts and the truth behind the case,” he said.

“We also regret the media reports that have revived issues such as the use of the word Allah (in the Malay Bible), the church arson incidents and the impounding of the Malay Bible that only serve to disrupt the religious harmony that we have so far enjoyed.”

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