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The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is seeking police protection ahead of a protest march planned by Muslim groups against the use of the word 'Allah' by Christians in Klang, Selangor this Sunday.

Welcoming police warnings against the march, CFM hopes police will be present at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church to ensure safety of the worshippers and church.

“We call upon the police and the relevant authorities to do their sworn duty to protect and defend the rights of the Christian minority in Malaysia and to ensure that the sanctity of our places of worship and the safety of our members are not in any way violated.

“It is incumbent on the police and the relevant authorities to ensure that our places of worship are not desecrated or defiled and our worship services not disturbed by these protesters and their threatened actions,” CFM chairperson Eu Hong Seng said in a statement.  

He also called for calm among Christians while continuing to defend their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

Likewise, Klang MP Charles Santiago ( right ) has sought a meeting with Klang district police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat to “develop a safety plan for church goers” this Sunday.

He said that this followed anxiety from church leaders who fear for the congregation's safety.

The MP said he had also received phone calls and Facebook messages from “a number of church-goers” fearing the same.

Absolute breach of cabinet's promise

The Klang Muslims Solidarity Secretariat, which includes Umno divisions, said it will march to Our Lady of Lourdes Church this Sunday to hand over a memorandum against the use of the word 'Allah' by Christians.

This comes after the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) raided the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) yesterday, and seized more than 300 copies of the Bahasa Malaysia and Iban Bible which contain the word 'Allah'.

Meanwhile, CFM condemned the raid as a “continuing saga of repeated violation of freedom of religion of the non-Muslim community” in Malaysia.

It said the raid and arrest of two BSM officers contravened Article 11 of the federal constitution and an “absolute breach” of the Cabinet's 10-point solution regarding the use of the Bahasa Bible, the Alkitab.

“The Cabinet's 10-point solution...stated that Christians can import, print and distribute the Alkitab under certain conditions, all of which have been complied with by BSM,” he said.

The 10-point solution among others states that Alkitabs used in the peninsula must have the words 'Christian publication' and a cross sign printed on its cover so as to not confuse Muslims.