Local authorities moved in last Thursday and demolished a church frequented by the Orang Asli community at Kuala Masai, Johor prompting the latter to lodge a police report.

According to the report, a copy of which was made available to malaysiakini, the seven agencies involved in the demolition were the Internal Security Ministry, Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA), Religious Affairs Department, Johor Baru Tengah Municipal Council, Johor Water Company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Public Works Department.

Reverend Yeoh Hang Chye (right), pastor of the Christian National Evangelisation Commission in Skudai, said the community had woken up last Thursday morning to find themselves surrounded by enforcement teams, police and bulldozers.

He said the 300-member team spent two hours to demolish the church which took the Orang Asli three months and RM40,000 to build. "Just the day before, the community was busy making last-minute preparations for this weekend's church dedication cum Christmas celebration," he said.

The demolition team told community representatives that the land on which the church was situated was owned by the state government but failed to show any documents or court order to the effect.

Yeoh, who helped to build the church, said that eight out of the some 20 families in the Orang Asli village are Christians. "They stayed in Stulang Laut on their own land with their own church before being forced to move to Kuala Masai due to development in Stulang Laut. However they were not given land in Kuala Masai."

"This is not only about the freedom of religion but also about the land rights of the Orang Asli," said Yeoh.

Permission sought

He showed malaysiakini a letter from the Kuala Masai Orang Asli Christian Association to the JHEOA and Johor Bahru Land Administrator applying for permission to build a church for them at Kuala Masai.

They then received a letter from the department and administrator rejecting their application on the ground that the land belonged to the government. The association then replied stating that they have a right to a place of worship.

"Before we moved from Stulang Laut, we had our own place of worship. But now, not only we did we not get our land, the authority has also failed to deliver on their promise to allow us to have our own place of worship."

"If the place we live is under the authority of the land administrator, why is it that we do not have proper drainage and sewage system? When will the rubbish truck come to our village (to collect the rubbish)?" their reply stated.

Yeoh said the villagers were also seeking help from the Sultan of Johor. "They will bring the case to court if the sultan cannot uphold their rights," he said.