1. USA Today （http://www.usatoday.com）
Christian Malaysian tribe sues Islamic state, 15 January 2008
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Christian indigenous villagers have sued Malaysia's sole Islamic opposition-ruled state government for demolishing their church, which they claimed was sitting on ancestral land, a lawyer and activists said Tuesday.
Authorities in northeast Kelantan state tore down the church in June last year, shortly after it was built by members of the Temiar tribe in their remote jungle village, said lawyer N. Subramaniyan.
The village headman and three others have challenged the state government — controlled by the opposition Pan Islamic Party — in court, seeking a declaration that the land belonged to them and the demolishment was unlawful, he told The Associated Press.
The case was to be heard Tuesday but the high court postponed trial until May after ordering both sides to submit their arguments in writing, Subramaniyan added.
The Temiar community is among some 18 ethnic tribes collectively known as the Orang Asli, which means "Original People" in the Malay language, who make up less than 1% of the 27 million people in this mostly ethnic Malay Muslim nation.
Azlan Abdul Halim, the counsel representing the Kelantan government, said the church was illegally built on state land and villagers ignored notices to stop construction.
"By law, any building has to get approval," he told AP. "It doesn't matter if the building is a church or a house ... this has nothing to do with religion."
Malaysia faces many cases pertaining to tribal land rights. While Malaysian laws do not recognize or protect indigenous customs and rights to land ownership, the tribespeople argue they have a right over the land, which they have lived on for generations.
The Orang Asli are among Malaysia's poorest citizens. Most practice forms of animism, and many still live in or near the rain forest, where they mainly hunt and grow crops.
Pastor Moses Soo, whose Christian group helped the Temiar villagers build the church, accused the Kelantan government of discriminating against Christianity.
"Before no one visited them at all but the moment we start to build a church, the religious officers came in," he said.
Local authorities built a community hall to replace the church but villagers "don't want a community hall. They want a church," he said.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2. World Wide Religious News （http://wwrn.org）
"M'sian state sued for demolishing church: church leader", 14 January 2008
(AFP) Kuala Lupur, Malaysia - A GROUP of indigenous Malaysians has launched a suit against the country's only Muslim-ruled state for allegedly tearing down a church built on their property, a church leader said on Monday.
The church in northeast Kelantan was demolished by district officers in June last year, shortly after construction of the wood and brick building was completed.
Moses Soo, who was to have been the church pastor, said the case will be heard on Tuesday in the high court of state capital Kota Bahru.
'We are suing the state government and the Gua Musang municipality for tearing down the church. They have no right to tear down the church on orang asli land,' Soo told AFP.
The land belongs to the orang asli - original inhabitants of Malaysia - under traditional title, he added.
'The village headman sacrificed his orchard for the church,' Soo said, adding that they are seeking compensation from the state government to rebuild.
The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia has said it was told the church was torn down because it was built without permission.
Kelantan is ruled by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), the country's main Islamic opposition party.
Malaysian commentators have sounded alarm over the growing 'Islamisation' of the country and the increasing polarisation of the three main ethnic communities, who mix much less than in the past.
Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia - dominated by Muslim Malays living alongside minority ethnic Chinese and Indian communities - which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.
Recently there have been controversies over the banning of construction of a proposed Taoist statue on Borneo island and the destruction of Hindu temples by local authorities.
The orang asli make up less than one percent of the nation's population and are disadvantaged in terms of income, health, education and living standards.
Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
3. Malaysiakini.com （http://www.malaysiakini.com）
Submissions ordered in church demolition suit, 15 January 2008
by Fauwaz Abdul Aziz
Parties to a dispute over the demolition of a church in Gua Musang, Kelantan, have been given a month each to provide written submissions to the Kota Baru High Court.
Temiar Orang Asli villagers are suing the Gua Musang District Council head, the Gua Musang Assistant Land and District Officer and the PAS-led state government over the demolition of their church on June 4 last year.
According to Lum Chee Seng, a lawyer for the villagers, Justice Mohd Azman Husin issued the order this morning after deliberations in chambers.
Lum and N Subramaniyan - who are representing Kampung Jias village head Pedik Busu and three other plaintiffs - will have to deliver their submission next month, followed a month later by lawyers for the respondents.
The court has fixed May 26 for the hearing.
The villagers - who were baptised around February last year - contend that the land on which the church had stood had been in Pedik’s family for generations. Their legal action follows the failure of the authorities to keep a pledge to rebuild the structure.
In their suit, they have applied for declarations that they have a right over the land as well as the constitutional right to practise their religion, which includes the right to set up a church on the land.
They are also seeking a declaration that the issuance of notices against Pedik and the other villagers by the Gua Musang District Council head and Assistant Land and District Officer was unlawful.
The plaintiffs further want a declaration that the demolition was unlawful and that it was an act of trespass on Pedik’s property, an “abuse of power” and amounting to intervening in the religious rights of the Orang Asli. They also filed for damages and other costs.
The authorities have built a multipurpose hall on the site of the former church, but this has been rejected by the villagers.
In their defence, the Gua Musang authorities cited the application of Section 425 of the National Land Code and Section 72 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, both of which pertain to structures built without the permission of the authorities.
(END)
