The parents of four teenagers who allegedly threw red paint and liquor bottles at surau in Seremban have apologised to the surau committee and all Muslims over the incident.

The apology was tendered during a meeting organised by the Negeri Sembilan MCA, which saw the parents shaking hands with surau committee chairperson Mohd Hasbi Ismail.

NONE According to Bernama , the parents - Cheng Kok Foo, 38, Wong Seow Wai, 43, Loh Teck Ai, 53, and Leong Foong Kuen,

53 - apologised to Muslims, particularly those in Taman Pulai Impian, a Sikamat residential area.

"We admit that our children have committed a serious offence and we, on behalf

of our children, would like to apologise for what they have done. We are sorry

and we regret the incident," they said. 

Present were state MCA chairperson Dr Yeow Chai Thiam and Taman Panchor Jaya Umno branch chief, who is also the Sikamat constituency service centre coordinator, Arshad Jawi.

Mohd Hasbi said he appreciated the apology and thanked MCA for organising the meet, which he said would serve to sooth simmering ethnic tensions.

"I hope that after this, the parents can shape the attitudes of their children so that this does not recur. Advise them on what is right, especially on sensitive matters such as religion," he said.

"This should not happen to any place of worship. This is a sensitive issue which can affect the feelings of all Muslims in the country," he added.

MCA: Lesson for all of us

Yeow said that he hoped the incident would serve as a lesson that Malaysians need to be extremely vigilant in order to maintain social harmony.

NONE "For the sake of unity, I organised this meeting for those involved to apologise. This happened because the four suspects did not understand what they were doing," he said.

He said MCA would be organising a buka puasa event tomorrow at the same venue, where a multi-ethnic crowd of 500 is expected.

According to the police , the surau was vandalised during the wee hours of Aug 23, involving several teenagers who were earlier chided by the mosque committee members for playing with fireworks.

They were arrested the following day and their remand expires tomorrow.

Prior to the revelation that the four teenagers were of Chinese origin, an MCA central committee member had called for the government to strip the citizenship of those responsible for the incident.