Swamped by messages and calls by worried residents, PKR’s Moyog assemblyperson Terence Siambun wants the state to verify if a mosque is being built within the compound of the Penampang district police headquarters.

 

Residents in Penampang are mostly Christian, with 12.3 percent Malay, according to the 2010 census. The town is about 16km from central Kota Kinabalu.

 

"These concerned residents of Penampang informed me that word is spreading that there is a plan to build a mosque, but no one can be certain about it since there is no signage available at the site for inspection,” he said in a statement.

 

Siambun ( left ) said if it is indeed a mosque, Penampang district councillors should lodge a complaint, given that many of the councillors are nominated by Upko.

 

“I particularly mention Upko on this issue because it has been portraying itself all the while as the vocal defender of Christian faith...,” he said.

 

When contacted, Penampang District Council (PDC) executive officer Matthew S Gumpil said the local council had received no application for the construction of a mosque.

 

“But if the construction is within the Royal Malaysian Police compound, then I will need to check with them first,” Gumpil told Malaysiakini .

 

Surau to be upgraded

 

The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) in a 2013 visit to IPD Penampang acknowledged that the police station’s surau should be upgraded to a mosque. A surau generally refers to a prayer room.

 

Despite a sizeable Muslim minority, Siambun believes there is no need to build a mosque in Penampang because the state mosque is less than 10 minutes’ drive away.

 

"I cannot see how questioning the construction of a mosque in the middle of an area which is predominantly Christian tantamounts to being racist or anti-Islam. This is purely a question of necessity,” he said.

 

Minority places of worship have been a point of contention in various parts of Malaysia.

 

In Shah Alam in 2009, a Muslim group marched with a cow’s head to protest the presence of a Hindu temple in a predominantly Muslim area.

 

A Malay rights group also protested the construction of a church in Seri Setia last year.