1. NECF（http://www.necf.org.my）
(1) CFM
CHRISTIAN FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA (PERSEKUTUAN KRISTIAN MALAYSIA)
4th August 2011
CHRISTIANS APPALLED BY JAIS CHURCH RAID
The Christian Federation of Malaysia is deeply shocked and appalled at the raid by the officers of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) and the police conducted on the premises of the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on the evening of 3rd August 2011.
The dinner function organised by Harapan Komuniti, a community development NGO, is an annual thanksgiving celebration to commemorate its efforts on its numerous community projects for the benefit of Malaysians.
It is ironic that such a celebratory gathering of volunteers, leaders, supporters and members of the community should be disrupted by the high-handed and repugnant actions of the state religious enforcement officers.
This arbitrary action of the JAIS and the police officers is an affront to the values of mutual respect and harmony which should be accorded to every person, regardless of religious, cultural or ethnic background in Malaysia.
We also wish to question the legality of the raid and the subsequent interrogation and harassment of the guests present at the dinner as to whether the officers were acting within their legal jurisdiction.
Christians are shocked and saddened at this deplorable action. In recent times, we have witnessed an increase in incidences where Christians have been singled out and targeted with unjustified accusations and prejudice from various groups as well as certain mainline media who have made inflammatory statements against the spirit of 1Malaysia.
We call upon the relevant authorities, including His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, to conduct a thorough investigation over this unjustified raid.
We also call upon the government and all Malaysians to work together to build a truly cohesive and harmonious society based on mutual respect, dialogue and understanding.
In this holy month of Ramadan, we Christians wish to extend our heartfelt greetings and felicitation to our Muslim friends.
Yours sincerely,
Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing
Chairman and the Executive Committee,
Christian Federation of Malaysia
(2) MCCBCHST (Majlis Perundingan Malaysia Agama Buddha, Kristian, Hindu, Sikh dan Tao/Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism)
MCCBCHST MEDIA STATEMENT
8th August, 2011
The Nation Must Be Led with Understanding, Truth, Compassion, Justice and Respect
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) unreservedly condemns the unwarranted raid on the premises of the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on the evening of 3 August 2011 by officers of the Selangor lslamic Religious Department (JAIS) and the police which clearly breached the constitutionally guaranteed, and internationally recognised, sanctity of a holy place of worship - an event which has been confirmed by the Malaysian AIDS Council to have been organised to raise funds.
MCCBCHST fully supports the statements already released by the Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Khalid lbrahim; by Prof. Datuk Hamdan Adnan, Deputy Chairman (on behalf of the Exco) of the Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Manusia (Proham); by the Chairman, Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing, and the Executive Committee of the Christian Federation of Malaysia; by Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri, General Secretary of the Council of Churches Malaysia and similar sentiments (that this action sets a dangerous precedent and makes a mockery of the sanctity and inviolability of all religious places in our beloved country) yet to be expressed by all other responsible, just and right-minded Malaysians (and organisations) of every race, faith and political inclination.
MCCBCHST is especially heartened by the prompt action of Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Khalid lbrahim and the Selangor State Government on this fiasco by JAIS. We are further encouraged by his statement that "the State is always open to engagement and dialogue regarding the harmonious and mutually respectful co-existence of different religious communities and appreciate the efforts of all who seek to build a more united society."
We are astonished as to how using the words "Quran" and 'nPray" in speech can amount to proselytising towards Muslims when these very words are used every day by Malaysians when conversing with each other.
JAIS' action sets a dangerous precedent which must be stopped and condemned by all peace-loving Malaysians. The constitutionally guaranteed and internationally recognised sanctity of all places of worship cannot be compromised, and this unprecedented violation must be investigated and those responsible, appropriately punished.
The Press (Berita Harian and Harian Metro of 6 July, 2011) reported that "Muslims questioned that night confirmed that they had been asked to convert." These reports, to the best knowledge of the MCCBCHST, did not identify the claimants nor state the basis for their making such statements. Such witnesses must be made available to an independent lnquiry, which must be instituted immediately, to determine their qualification to bear such witness, to corroborate such evidence and to verify it.
We urge the Federal Government to expeditiously launch a thorough investigation into this fiasco. lf the newspapers in question are found to have published false statements likely, or meant, to incite religious or racial hatred between Malaysians, the authorities must initiate the necessary action to punish them to the full extent provided for in our laws. All 120 guests who attended this multi-racial appreciation dinner deserve an unconditional apology from the raiding parties. The government of the day must also come forth to assure the Malaysian non-Muslim communities that such untoward incidents will never recur.
The MCCBCHST must highlight the systematic and deliberate attempts this year by many of "those who walk the national corridors of power" to create conflict among the citizens of different races and religions in our beloved country by driving wedges between them. There is ample evidence in "the lnterlok controversy" (January); "the Alkitab issue" (February); the unproven and ludicrous accusations in the media of attempts to "make Christianity the official religion" (May); the even more ludicrous charge against the illegally detained Sungei Siput MP, Dr. Michael Jayakumar and others, of "waging war against the Yang DiPertuan Agong" (June); the absurd charge of "reviving Communism" on the PSM 6 under Section 3(1) of the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969," (July); profiling leaders of Bersih as "traitors to the nation" (July) and unfounded allegations against the Christian church of "proselytizing Muslims" (August). These insidious efforts must be stopped forthwith if we are to preserve the hard-earned peace and harmony between our peoples of the past half-century.
Finally, the MCCBCHST calls on all leaders of all faiths to dedicate every Friday, from 16 August till 16 September,2011 during the month-long celebrations of our 54 years of lndependence as Malaya and 48 years as Malaysia to pray in their respective places of worship that the leaders of our nation have it in their hearts and minds to find the understanding, truth, respect, compassion and most of all, the wisdom, to justly govern this blessed, bountiful and beautiful Malaysia, home to us all, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Constitution, the supreme law of the land.
Reverend Dr. Thomas Philips
President, MCCBCHST
Daozhang Tan Bon Sin, AMN
Deputy President, MCCBCHST
Sardar V. Harcharan Singh, JMN
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Venerable Ming Ji
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Mr. RS. Mohan Shan, JMN, AMK, BKM, PJK
Vice President, MCCBCHST
Mr. Prematilaka KD Serisena
Honorary Secretary General, MCCBCHST
(3) NECF
Statement by the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia
August 12, 2011
With regard to the article in the Malaysian Insider, "Evangelist group calls church split 'wild allegations'" by Boo Su-Lyn, the Chairman of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) of Malaysia, Rev Eu Hong Seng, who was quoted in the article, would like to make the following clarifications:
1. NECF is an organization of evangelicals not evangelists.
2. The NECF is a member of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), which represents the three main Christian groups in Malaysia, namely the Council of Churches of Malaysia, the Roman Catholic Church and the NECF.
The CFM meeting last Tuesday in Penang was represented by all three Christian groups, including the Roman Catholic Church and not as stated in the article, where only CCM and NECF were mentioned.
The bishops and heads of all the churches have always had a good working relationship and a great respect for each other. A lone dissenting voice is not a sign of discord and the Malaysian Church is mature enough to accept differing views.
3. With regards to the statement in the article "After being pressed further on whether such groups proselytised Muslims at all" and his reply, "They always share. Anyone shares the message. They share the message", Rev Eu wishes to clarify that people of all religions share their messages with others when asked and Christians are no exception and should not be singled out. No one is forced to accept the message that is shared. There is definitely no coercion, undue influence nor misrepresentation.
Rev Eu Hong Seng
Chairman
National Evangelical Christian Fellowship
2. Good Times（http://www.goodtimes.my）
NECF:Don’t single out Christians, 12 August, 2011
by Gertrude Pereira
The chairman of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, Rev Eu Hong Seng said that like the people of all religions, Christians share their religion when asked and should not be singled out for doing so.
“No one is forced to accept the message that is shared. There is definitely no coercion, undue influence nor misrepresentation,” he said in a statement today.
He was referring to an article today on an online media portal that quoted him as saying that Christians “share the message” in response to a question as to whether Christian groups proselytized Muslims.
“All this is about politics not religion, and we are just being used to score points,” he told GoodTimes.my.
“The Church in Malaysia is maturing, and our focus is in doing good works. Our mandate is Ephesians, where we are created for good works. And the Church has been involved in good works since Calvary. This is not a new thing,” he said.
He said that the Church does not expect anything in return for the good works it does as “our reward is in heaven and that is our real motivation.
“Many examples, when the Tsunami hit Indonesia, with the collapse of the apartments in Ampang, Christians came to the fore to help where we could. And many deeds were ‘unnoticed’ and ‘we are perfectly happy to be anonymous’,” he said.
“Not only do we do good works, but we are happy to join hands with others to do good works,” he added.
In another press statement, the Senior Pastor of Damansara Utama Methodist Church, Dr Daniel Ho, said that the holding of the Harapan Komuniti thanksgiving dinner at its premises has been misunderstood.
“We reiterate the fact that JAIS (Selangor Islamic Affairs Department) and police officers came in to the Dream Centre without a search warrant.
“They intruded into the thanksgiving dinner and interrupted the programme. The took photographs and videos when they came in.
“The JAIS and police officers did exit the hall, but remained in the corridor just outside the hall, still taking videos. JAIS officers issued several stern warnings to the organizers for refusing to cooperate with their demands.
“In the meantime, many plainclothes personnel rode into the Dream Centre compound with motorbikes and some of them went around the compound.
“We respectfully submit that this trespass, search and seizure by JAIS and police actions were without proper authority under the law,” Ho clarified in the statement.
He said that as Christians, the Bible commanded the community of faith to walk humbly, seek justice and do good. He added that DUMC maintained that in all its community work its members sought to practise their faith and to serve the community as Christ commanded them to do regardless of creed, race or religion.
“As always, DUMC will humbly seek to help the poor and the needy with no conditions attached. Apart from playing our roles as citizens of our beloved nation, we will continue to work and to partner with all who share our values,” he said.
(End)
