Cow head protest: Churches want quick solution

Malaysia Council of Churches today called on the Selangor government to urgently work towards an acceptable solution for all parties.

"We find it hard to comprehend that demonstrators had to resort to using the head of a cow, which is sacred to Hindus, to protest at the authorities for the construction of a Hindu temple in their vicinity in Shah Alam.

"At best, it was morally and socially inept, and at worst, it was a blatant show of religious insensitivity," said Council of Churches General Secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri (left) in a statement today.

Stressing that incitement of religious feelings of one community against the other should not be tolerated in a multi-racial society, he urged the authorities to bring to book those found guilty.

He added that harmonious religious coexistence can be achieved if people of different faiths are prepared to hold a dialogue and work together towards finding an amicable solution.

A group of protesters, claiming to be Muslim residents of Section 23 in Shah Alam, held a demonstration after Friday prayers last week, outside the Selangor state secretariat.

This followed the state government's decision to relocate a 150-year-old Hindu temple from Section 19 to their area.

The protest sparked controversy when some of the participants brought along a severed cow's head and placed the head outside the gates of the state secretariat building, before removing it.