Malaysian Insider（http://www.themalaysianinsider.com）
(1) ‘Tis the season to be jolly, with a police permit, 9 December 2011
by Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Around this time for the past 30 years, Catholic church groups nationwide will bring out their song sheets, check their musical instruments and tune their voices to sing in harmony as they ready to go a-carolling.
And get a police permit.
Because carolling is done in public and requires moving from one spot to another.
As Christmas approaches, parish priests or their church youth leaders seek a police permit to effectively visit their fellow church members and belt out “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night, Holy Night” and even “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.
For what is essentially a simple gathering to get into the spirit of the season and celebrate the birthday of their religion’s founder, carolling organisers are required to submit their full names as per their MyKad, identity card numbers, the details of their total participants, the dates, time and general areas of their visits.
Parish priests in Klang were alarmed to receive a memo from a district police officer this past week telling them to send in a list detailing the full names and contact information of the home owners they planned to visit this carolling season.
They are also required to inform Bukit Aman and the National Security Council, said an alarmed Rev Father Michael Chua, who told The Malaysian Insider he received the news from the parish priests of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Church of the Holy Redeemer earlier this week.
The irregular condition imposed by the district police officer is casting the spotlight on a recently-passed law to provide for peaceful assemblies that many groups, including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, the Malaysian Bar and various religious groups, say is more restrictive and regressive then the existing law it is to replace.
“Normally, we get the permits to go carolling without too many conditions imposed,” said Rev Father Lawrence Andrew, who heads the Church of St Anne near Port Klang.
“This is something new. It seems they are now trying to regulate worship,” he added, voice tinged with concern.
Lawrence felt the police were trying to regulate worship by imposing the new carolling conditions.
He said he had yet to apply for a permit and would not wait for the outcome of the two churches’ application before deciding his next move.
Rev Thomas Phillips, who leads the Mar Thoma church here and whose followers of the Syrian branch of Christianity also apply for carolling permits yearly, said he would be alarmed if the police imposed such conditions on him.
“Why do they want to know the details of all the heads of households for? That’s so tedious,” he said, adding that the carolling groups have moved around from the city to Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang, visiting three to four houses in the areas on average per day without issue.
“We do not apply for police permits before organising Christmas parties in the various homes of our church members.
“They’re private functions after all, so there’s no need to do so. We eat and chat just like in any ordinary party, except that we sing Christmas carols on this occasion,” an evangelical Christian from Petaling Jaya, who wished to be known only as Ms Boo, told The Malaysian Insider.
Klang appears to have a high density of Christians with the three Catholic churches there catering to an estimated 10,000 followers, Lawrence said.
Malaysia, which forged diplomatic ties with the Vatican earlier this year, has nearly a million Catholics out of its 28 million total population.
Religious groups all over the country have raised a furore after the Dewan Rakyat passed the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill, which bans “assemblies in motion” otherwise known as street demonstrations, two weeks ago.
In their various media statements, the country’s religious leaders demanded an explanation from Putrajaya over the lack of public consultation on the Bill, which was passed on the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) vote alone after the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact staged a walkout.
Lawrence, who is also the editor of the national weekly Catholic paper The Herald, related that police permits for carollers came into being after the controversial Ops Lalang exercise in 1987, when the authorities cracked down on dissenters, including opposition leaders and social activists.
He said there was a lot of concern because the law had been amended to define that a gathering of five or more persons required a permit from the police, under section 27 of the existing Police Act.
Catholic Malaysians, who make up the single biggest denomination of Christians in the country, told The Malaysian Insider the police usually respond promptly and issue the required permits without imposing too many conditions.
Former Catholic church youth leaders said the police usually advise carollers to wrap up their visits by midnight so as not to disturb the neighbours who do not profess their faith, and to make sure there are no Muslims onboard their chartered buses in granting the permits.
Sometimes, the police impose on carollers a 2km distance between the house they will be performing and the neighbourhood mosque or surau, which the ex-youth leaders say is nearly impossible to adhere to in a country where over 60 per cent of the population is Muslim.
According to Chua, who is an ecclesiastical assistant in charge of ecumenical and inter-religious affairs in the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur’s office, churches had previously only needed to name the area they are visiting in their permits and only if they had chartered a bus for carollers and not if they travel in cars.
The priest said he was checking with other parish priests in the Klang Valley and outstation over the permit issue, but found the additional condition peculiar to the two Klang churches.
“It could be an over-enthusiastic police officer,” he told The Malaysian Insider earlier this week, before sending a church representative to meet with the police to clarify the irregular request.
Some two hours later, he texted back to say: “They didn’t impose any further conditions. Matter settled after meeting.”
Attempts to get further information were rebuffed.
But Lawrence believes the police officer in question was likely confused about the existing law and the new law as to the provisions for processions and assemblies.
“What pertains to religious assemblies and processions? We don’t really know. Is going carolling considered an assembly? What if it happens in hotels and shopping malls?” Lawrence asked.
“We don’t know. The definition is too vague and religious leaders were not consulted,” he said.
He added that as a result, neither the police nor religious leaders know what to make of the situation.
Thomas said it would be a big problem if the police tried to restrict street assemblies from happening as he weighed in on the civil groups’ demand for Putrajaya to consult the public before enforcing the new assembly law.
He noted that it was not just Christians who held religious parades but the Hindu and Buddhist communities too, and noted further they were tourist draws.
(2) Respect carollers’ rights, Teresa Kok tells police, 9 December 2011
by Yow Hong Chieh
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — The police must respect and not politicise long-held religious customs like Christmas carolling, DAP national secretary Teresa Kok said today.
She said a recent request by Klang district police for two churches there to hand over details of homeowners they would visit while carolling indicated an attempt to clamp down on religious freedom.
“While the requirement of providing detailed info of carolling activities and participants, and obtaining a police permit is tedious in itself, Christian churches and groups have adhered to this rule since the late ‘80s and have gone about spreading joy and peace to members’ homes without disturbing public order nor infringing on the religious freedoms of others in Malaysia.
“The supposed current need for further information and restrictions on carollers, such as the requirement to provide the police with details of names and contacts of homeowners whom the churches’ carolling groups will visit, is simply unnecessary and an abuse of power by the authorities,” she said in a statement.
Kok urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to clarify the need for churches to inform Bukit Aman police headquarters and the National Security Council of this “insignificant information”.
“This should not be practised nor tolerated by the government of Malaysia and further clarification must be delivered by the authorities should this episode be merely an act of overzealous police personnel,” she said.
The Malaysian Insider reported today two churches in Klang had received a memo from a district police officer earlier this week asking them to submit the names and contact details of homeowners they planned to visit.
Rev Father Michael Chua said the two parish churches — the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Church of the Holy Redeemer — were also told to inform Bukit Aman and the National Security Council of their plans.
Carollers are usually required to submit their full names, identity card numbers and details of total participants, dates, time and general areas of their visits.
The irregular condition imposed by the Klang district police officer this year has cast the spotlight on a recently passed law that governs peaceful assemblies, which many civil liberties groups claim is more restrictive than the law it replaced.
Malaysia, which established diplomatic ties with the Vatican earlier this year, has nearly a million Catholics out of its 28 million population.
(3) Police say not restricting carollers, 10 December 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Police today denied restricting the movement of carollers in Klang this Christmas season despite changing the permit application process.
South Klang OCPD ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop told The Star district police began interviewing carolling groups that have applied for permits this year because of administrative issues.
“What happened is that Klang has now been split between north and south (districts), so we just wanted to know which areas they want to visit.
“It is not compulsory for them to give us a list (of places they will visit),” he told the English daily today.
Mohamad was responding to a report by The Malaysian Insider that carollers from two Catholic churches had been asked to give police the names and contact details of homeowners they intended to visit.
The two churches are the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang and St Francis Xavier in Petaling Jaya.
Father Lawrence Andrew, parish priest of the Church of St Anne in Port Klang, said he was informed by colleagues carollers from both churches had been asked to provide such lists.
Lawrence, who is also editor of Catholic weekly The Herald, said the requirement did not appear to be standardised, with some districts employing stricter rules than others.
Mohamad pointed out that permits have been issued to certain carolling groups in his area simply because they have been applying for permits for years.
“If you want to gather friends and family and sing songs at home, you don’t need a permit,” he said.
“A permit is needed only if it is a moving procession and even then, that is just to inform us where you’re going so we can look out for your safety if anything happens.
The Star reported that requirements appeared to be stricter in Petaling Jaya, where a senior police officer said carollers were required to tell police where they intended to visit.
Petaling Jaya deputy OCPD Supt Meor Hamdan Meor Mohamad said they had issued several permits to groups who wanted to go around singing Christmas carols.
“Both the OCPD and I have issued a number of permits and we also require a list of places that they will be visiting,” he said without elaborating.
(4) Hisham says no but local police say yes to carolling permit requirement, 11 December 2011
by Shannon Teoh
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said this morning that Christmas carollers will not need police permits despite reports that local police insist their permission is required.
The home minister said on micro-blogging site Twitter at about 9.30am today that federal police have told him no permit is required by Christians organising their musical visits over Christmas.
“No need permit. Confirm by Bkt Aman,” he replied to a query by another “tweeter.”
The Star had reported this morning that Deputy Home Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong also said no permit was needed despite it being a requirement for the past 30 years.
But the newspaper also wrote that local police in Johor and Klang had insisted that carollers must apply for permits before going ahead with their visits.
Lee was quoted as saying in Sarawak yesterday no permit was required as more freedom has been given for religious activities in the spirit of the recently passed Peaceful Assembly Bill.
“No permit is needed for Christmas carolling. You don’t even need to inform the police,” the English-language daily quoted Lee as saying in Sarikei.
However, Johor police insisted that carollers must apply for permits two weeks before going ahead with their musical visits.
The newspaper quoted Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff as saying that organisers should inform the police on the number of participants, the places they planned to visit and the time.
The Malaysian Insider reported on Friday that the police were asking Christians for more details than usual this year including the full names and contact details of homeowners whom they intended to visit this carolling season.
But Pemandu minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala, who has been the government’s pointman on Christian matters, was also unsure and said yesterday Hishammuddin needed to look into the matter.
The Malaysian Insider had reported that parish priests in Klang were alarmed to receive a memo from a district police officer this past week informing them of the requirement.
They were also asked to provide Bukit Aman and the National Security Council with the same information, said a concerned Rev Father Michael Chua, who told The Malaysian Insider he received the news from the parish priests of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Church of the Holy Redeemer earlier this week.
The police denied yesterday restricting the movement of carollers in Klang despite changing the permit application process.
South Klang OCPD ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop said district police began interviewing carolling groups that have applied for permits this year because administration of the district has been split in two.
Putrajaya pushed a law earlier this month that outlawed street protests and also demonstrations near houses of worship, schools and other public areas, leading to concerns that the carollers are being lumped under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011.
(5) Hisham unaware of police permit for carolling, 11 December 2011
by Shannon Teoh
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has asked the police to clarify if Christmas carollers need permits for their traditional music visits, after admitting yesterday he was unsure of the requirement which has existed for the past 30 years.
The home minister asked the police on micro-blogging site Twitter to clarify if carollers need permits after The Malaysian Insider reported the requirement by the South Klang police.
“Don’t think so bro but will check,” he wrote in reply to Datuk Seri Idris Jala, the minister in charge of Pemandu who has been the government’s pointman with regards to Christian affairs.
The Malaysian Insider had reported that parish priests in Klang were alarmed to receive a memo from a district police officer this past week informing them of the requirement.
They were also asked to provide Bukit Aman and the National Security Council with the same information, said an alarmed Rev Father Michael Chua, who told The Malaysian Insider he received the news from the parish priests of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Church of the Holy Redeemer earlier this week.
Police denied yesterday restricting the movement of carollers in Klang despite changing the permit application process.
South Klang OCPD ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop said district police began interviewing carolling groups that have applied for permits this year because administration of the district has been split in two.
Putrajaya pushed a law earlier this month that outlawed street protests and also demonstrations near houses of worship, schools and other public areas, leading to concerns that the carollers are being lumped under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011.
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