Thursday January 28, 2010
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has expressed his disappointment over desecration of mosques with wild boar heads.
“I am extremely disappointed by the disrespectful actions of a few Malaysians at places of worship,” he said in his Facebook posting yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has asked Muslims to remain calm and not jump to conclusions.
“We have seen in the arson attempt on two surau in Muar that those responsible for acts against places of worship need not involve those of other faiths,” he said.
He condemned the insensitivity, saying the acts, which could raise the anger of Muslims, could only have been carried out by those who were insane.
“I have asked the police to find the culprits and bring them to justice,” he told reporters after attending the Asean Ministers of Education Organisation Council Conference in Cebu.
In PUTRAJAYA, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein promised stern action against the offenders.
He said he had directed Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to personally oversee investigations into the case.
“We have proven that we were quick in taking action against culprits who attacked the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati and the two Muar surau,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and the Security Services Association of Malaysia to pave the way for Rela and Civil Defence personnel be employed as security guards.
Asked if the offenders had a bigger agenda, instead of merely seeking public attention, he said this had not been determined but he did not rule out that it was intended to create havoc, judging from the location of the attacks in Kampung Medan.
Meanwhile Umno Youth wants more police patrols in the residential areas where the two mosques are located. Its chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the police should station officers at the affected mosques to keep the situation calm.
“We have to admit the reality that the situation now is quite heated so we have to try to calm it down,” he told reporters after visiting the mosque in Taman Dato Harun yesterday.
Khairy said both the Umno and Barisan Nasional Youth wings condemned the wild boar head incidents but urged the public not to point fingers at any groups.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/28/nation/5563805&sec=nation
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