Stones thrown at Sikh temple in Sentul

The attacks on places of worship in Malaysia escalated with yet another attack - this time against a Sikh temple in Sentul where stones were thrown damaging a glass door.

Police found about 20 golf-ball sized stones near the cracked window pane of the entrance door to the 100-year-old Gurdwara Sahib Sentul temple yesterday evening.

Temple volunteers who were doing gardening said they heard sound of broken glass at 6.45pm and went to investigate. One of the volunteers, who is a police officer, informed the police about the attack.

Temple committee chairperson Gurdiall Singh, 57, said that no one spotted the assailants. He said that the Sikh scripture use the contentious word ‘Allah’. Temple officials are urging devotees to remain calm.

He added that the members were upset that this had happened and would be more vigilant.

"Members have volunteered to watch over the place at night as a precaution," he said when met at the temple today. He also said that the police have pledged to beef up security in that area.

Gurdiall (right) also said that they have forgiven the perpetrators and hoped that it does not happen again.

Malaysian Gurdwara council president V Harcharan Singh, 75, however declined to comment, saying that the police have advised them to stay calm and not to speculate.

"Let us see how the government handle the matter," he said when met today.

The latest attack came in the wake of a spate of fire-bombings against churches across the nation, triggered by the High Court's Dec 31 decision to lift a government ban on non-Muslims using ‘Allah’ as a translation for ‘God’.

The ruling in favour of Catholic newspaper Herald, which argued for the right to use ‘Allah’ in its Malay-language section, was suspended last week pending an appeal, after the government argued that ‘Allah’ is exclusive to Malay Muslims.

Exco and MP visit temple

At least nine churches have been attacked in Malaysia since last Friday in the wake of the High Court decision.

Seven churches were firebombed - four in the Klang Valley, two in Taiping and another in Seremban.

The worst hit was Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, where the ground floor of its three-storey building was gutted.

An additional two churches were attacked - a church in Malacca was splashed with black paint, while stones were thrown at a church in Miri, Sarawak, breaking one of its glass windows.

Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong and Selayang parliamentarian William Leong (photo below) visited the Gurdwara Sahib temple at 10.30pm. DAP chairperson Karpal Singh and his son Gobind Singh Deo also visited the temple later today.

The Gurdwara Sahib building was extensively renovated in 1988, during which a new three-storey building was constructed next to it. Known as the Sikh Centre Malaysia, the new building is home to the Malaysian Gurdwara Council.

‘Allah’ in Sikh holy book

At the court hearing of the Herald case, Malaysian Gurdwara Council president Jagir Singh filed the application seeking an intervention.

In his application, he said the word ‘Allah’ was contained in the Sikh holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Jagir said the Sikh scripture was from God and that not a single word in it could be changed, amended or replaced.

The council, which represents the Sikh community, was among those which applied to intervene in the matter.

A number of Muslim organisations - the Penang, Terengganu, and Perak Islamic Religious Councils, Malay Customs Council and the Federal Territory Islamic Council - had also applied to intervene, arguing that they too had an interest in the case.

However, their applications were rejected by the court.

'Allah': What about us? ask Sikhs

[With additional reporting by Yip Ai Tsin]