(1)“Daily News & Analysis ”(http://www.dnaindia.com)
Malaysian state sued for demolishing church: Leader
AFP, 14 January 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: 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 said.
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.
(2)“Christian Today”(http://au.christiantoday.com)
Christians challenge Malaysian government for demolishing church
by Christian Today Australia, 16 January 2008
Christian indigenous villagers are suing the sole Malaysian Islamic State government for destroying their church, claiming it was an illegal act since the church was located in their land and not public land.
The villagers’ lawyer, N. Subramaniyan, stated the church was demolished in June last year where the Kelantan state government alleged it was built illegally on state land. The Temiar tribe, one of the ethnic aboriginal tribes in the Muslim-state, is hoping the court will declare the land to be legally theirs which will thus give them the right to build the church without the danger of it being torn down by authorities.
Pastor Moses Soo, whose Christian group had helped the villagers to build the church, told the Associated Press news wire that the wilful destruction of the church by the State government was a sign of discrimination against Christians.
The court case was heard on Tuesday by the Malaysian High Court though the trial was postponed to May this year.
Malaysia has recently gone through a period of high-profile court cases to protect the secular identity of the multi-racial state by the minority population. Just a while ago, a Malaysian man launched a legal case alleging the Malaysian Islamic Council was trying to perform the Muslim rites on his dead Christian wife.
Copyright © 2008 Christian Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(3)“Compass Direct News” (News from the Frontlines of Persecution) (http://www.compassdirect.org)
24 January 2008
MALAYSIA: INDIGENOUS GROUP SUES OVER DEMOLISHED CHURCH
Local authorities tore down building citing lack of construction permission.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, January 24 (Compass Direct News) – An indigenous church community has filed a lawsuit against local authorities in the state of Kelantan over the demolition of their church building on June 4, 2007.
The state claims that the building was constructed on state land without proper approval. The church of indigenous Temiar Orang Asli people in Gua Musang disputes this, arguing that the building was built on land belonging to village headman Pedik bin Busu, who had donated it to the Temiar Orang Asli community for erection of the worship structure.
According to local media reports, Pedik claimed that nearly everyone in the village had become Christian in February 2007.
The church group is seeking a declaration that they have rights to the land as well as the constitutional guarantee to practice their religion, which includes the right to build a church on their land. They are also seeking a declaration that in demolishing their church building, local authorities violated their rights under the Orang Asli Act (Indigenous People Act) and the federal constitution.
Pastor Moses Soo, who has been providing spiritual guidance to the community since it became mostly Christian last February, reportedly said that they merely wanted to build “a small church to mark their faith.” Following consultation with the Village Development and Security Committee and the Department of Orang Asli Affairs, the villagers began construction of the church building in March 2007 with the help of volunteers.
On his website, Soo said that during construction villagers had received three stop-work orders from local authorities. Officials told the Christians that if they did not comply, they would be fined and/or jailed. In the final letter dated May 24, 2007, the villagers were told the church building would be demolished.
Soo claimed that he and others involved in the construction had been subjected to various acts of intimidation during that time.
The Rev. Wong Kim Kong, secretary-general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, responded by writing two separate letters to local authorities, citing the villagers’ constitutional right to construct the church building under Section 2, 6(1) and 7(1) of the Orang Asli Act 1954.
Despite these protests, local authorities tore down the church building last June 4.
In the weeks following the demolition, and following media exposure of the case, local authorities removed the rubble from the demolished church building site. In its place, it built a smaller multi-purpose hall.
Soo claimed on his website that construction of the multi-purpose hall took place against the villagers’ wishes, as what they wanted was a church building. The villagers then proceeded to file a suit against the local authorities.
The suit, which was scheduled for hearing on January 15, has been postponed to May 26. High court judge Mohammad Azman Husin ordered both parties to submit written arguments of their case.
Many local observers see the church demolition incident as yet another case of overzealous Muslim authorities riding roughshod over the rights of non-Muslim communities.
The case is the latest in a series of lawsuits launched by Christian groups against the government in recent months over the issue of freedom of religion in the country.
On December 7, 2007, the publisher of a Catholic newspaper, Herald, filed a suit against the government over its right to use the term “Allah” in the Malay segment of its publications. The publisher had received numerous directives from the Internal Security Ministry prohibiting it from using the Arabic word “Allah” for God and was threatened with closure if it persisted to do so.
The government had argued that use of the term might cause confusion among Muslims, who make up about 60 percent of the population.
The Evangelical Church of Borneo (Sidang Injil Borneo, or SIB) is also suing the government for disallowing it from importing Christian educational books for children containing the word “Allah.” A customs officer had seized a consignment of books that arrived at the low cost carrier terminal in Sepang on August 15, 2007.
The case was scheduled for hearing on December 26 but was postponed pending efforts by several outside parties to help resolve matters. The out-of-court settlement failed, and SIB is proceeding with the case.
On January 16, High court Judge Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim ordered both sides to submit written arguments of their case for hearing on Tuesday (January 29).
Copyright © 2008 Compass Direct
(End)
