Najib announces RM500,000 aid for gutted church

UALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today announced a government allocation of RM500,000 to rebuild the Metro Tabernacle Church, as his administration moved quickly to calm disquiet even as another church was attacked today.

Najib visited the partially-gutted Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati late this afternoon. It was the worst affected of three churches attacked yesterday.

The Life Chapel in Petaling Jaya suffered scorch marks while the Church of Assumption, the only Roman Catholic church attacked, was undamaged.

Earlier today, arsonists attempted to set fire to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Petaling Jaya, causing minor damage to the building, in what is the fourth attack on a Klang Valley Christian church over two days.

Church authorities said the building in Petaling Jaya Old Town was believed to be firebombed sometime between last night and this morning.

Visiting the Metro Tabernacle Church today, Najib was spearheading his administration’s damage-control exercise, after several of his ministers were dispatched yesterday to placate the Christian community and offer financial and other aid in the wake of the arson attacks.

Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala and Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon yesterday met pastors, Christian groups and visited the three affected churches in an attempt to convince Christians and non-Muslims that the Najib administration is sincere about resolving the Allah controversy amicably.

“I hope they will be able to rebuild the church in a new place for the purpose of worship. This is a sign of government’s sincerity,” Najib told reporters in front of the church after his visit there today.

He had earlier spent about 20 minutes visiting and talking to church leaders.

Citing a verse from the Quran, Najib also said that Islam does not condone such violent acts against churches.

He called on all parties to remain calm and to continue to maintain peace and harmony in the country.

The “Allah” controversy erupted on Dec 31 when the High Court ruled that the Home Ministry’s prohibition against the Herald using the word Allah was invalid, thereby allowing the Catholic publication to continue using the term Allah in its national language publications.

Umno politicians and Muslim groups criticised the decision and indulged in sabre-rattling. The threatening rhetoric culminated in the attacks on three churches, which is unprecedented in Malaysian history.

The police have since fanned out to secure all churches in the country and have warned against demonstrations of any kind for and against the ruling.

Christians have resorted to prayers and vigils in the wake of the attack in churches now under the watch of the police. Some churches in the Klang Valley have cancelled their service due to the tense situation and are hoping for a return to normalcy soon.

Christian groups now hope the government will take further steps to cool the situation and find ways to resolve the touchy subject of the Allah ruling.