Debate rages on as politicians keep mum
'By now the PM should, as a leader of this nation, made a TV appearance appealing for calm and sensibilities from all parties concerned.'
'By now the PM should, as a leader of this nation, made a TV appearance appealing for calm and sensibilities from all parties concerned.'
Harapan Komuniti breaks silence on Jais raid
Geronimo: Watch it, the next thing you will find them accusing the Rotarians, the Lions Group, the Jaycees, the St John's Ambulance, the Red Crescent, the Cancer Foundation, the Heart Foundation, and many such bodies for proselytising to the Muslims whenever they approach these bodies for help.
Can you imagine them gate crashing into a charity dinner hosted by, say the Rotarians, at a five-star hotel where eminent Malay Muslims and church leaders would be in attendance? These bodies should ask themselves, is it safe to organise such functions now?
Ever since the DUMC (Damansara Utara Methodist Church) incident started, has anyone noticed that there wasn't a single squeak from the leaders in Umno, except for MCA?
I thought Najib Razak, being the prime minister of all Malaysians, should have stepped in to diffuse the crisis, but he was not to be seen or heard.
By now he should, as a leader of this nation, made a TV appearance appealing for calm and sensibilities from all parties concerned. Why the silence? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
Proarte: Malay Muslims must show their absolute resolve as Islam must stand for something which is good and worthwhile. Jais have unconscionably turned the caring 12 Muslims into criminals purely because they cooperated with 'People of the Book'.
The Quran teaches us to be peacemakers and to help the poor and sick, but Umno and some elements in PAS and PKR hate the idea of Malays being free from the shackles of political control.
In Malaysia, Islam has been politicised with a whole gamut of laws created to keep Malays under a tight leash. They have been stripped of their dignity, humanity and religious sense. Malays are not allowed to interact freely.
Islam is not there to pander to the interests of a ruling oligarchy who have perverted and abused the Malaysian constitution and Islam to serve their interests. Now even the royalty, who should be neutral, have been dragged into this immoral charade.
People Power: It is difficult for non-Muslims - when they don't hand out aid to Muslims, they are construed as ‘racist'. When they do hand out aid to Muslims, there is always the possibility of being accused of proselyting the Muslims.
Even a quiz paper, or anything on Islam, found in your dustbin is considered an attempt to proselyte. How can we have 1Malaysia?
Moontime: I do believe that the raid was premeditated to act as a red herring to the pressing matters highlighted by Malaysiakini like phantom voters, irregularities in the electoral lists, etc.
The statement by Harapan Komuniti speaks for itself. There's no intention whatsoever to convert Muslims to Christianity when they held that function. Jais claimed that they have concrete proof of that happening at the function. Why do I tend to believe the organisers instead of Jais?
Their actions does not reflect the Muslim way of thinking - barging into the function as if they own the place, rummaging and confiscating materials without getting permission from the host and showing their famous 'holier-than-thou' attitude.
Poor Jais, if you had actually do your work diligently and focused on improving the welfare of Muslims, Harapan Komuniti need not exist. The fact that they do, clearly shows what a colossal failure you are.
Peace Lover: Now that the NGO which organised the function has admitted to having a quiz on Islam and songs with ‘Alhamdulillah' and ‘Allahuakbar' in them, those of you who had argued that the evidence was fabricated should own up and admit that you have made a mistake. There is no shame to it.
The only thing left is to ascertained whether this was done with sincere intention or for an ulterior motive. I hope that it was done for the former because if it was for the latter, the Muslims would be very upset that this is happening in this country.
I do not condone the act of raiding places of worship, whatever religion that maybe. But whether we like it or not, it is in our constitution that propagation of other religion onto Muslims is prohibited.
If it is proven that attempts were made to do so at the charity function, I do hope that our non-Muslim friends will also express their displeasure over their action.
Paul Warren: To say that the church does not teach the faith of other religions is wrong. They do. Well, at least some do. But it may be skewed in a way that may be unacceptable to people of that faith.
In a multi-cultural and religious society like ours, it is imperative that everyone knows at least the basic tenets of other religions and not make assumptions of them. I am sure even in a mosque, things are said of Christianity. Whether a Christian would concur with what they say is quite another thing.
Anonymous: I felt sorry over the raid. But now that I realise that some 12 Muslims attended the function, may I ask what are you up to? You know that religion is a sensitive matter. Why do you allow Muslims into your gathering? You have asked for it.
Toffeesturn.blogspot.com: All Muslims are good and God-fearing, some like some in other religions too are nothing but troublemakers, who use the name of God to create animosity and hatred between communities so we should not blame Muslims in general for what is done, and to condemn a religion collectively for the mistakes or sins of a few is a sin in my religion. I am a Christian.
Malaysiasakit: Many do not realise (including myself) that Harapan Komuniti and DUMC are two separate organisations. One is a church that owns the building and the other is a charitable organisation.
Harapan help Malaysians in general regardless of race, religion or creed. Indeed, many who benefitted from the efforts of Harapan are Malays/Muslims. I don't understand why Jais is making a big fuss about a thanksgiving dinner catered for by a Muslim caterer.
Multi Racial: We were once ahead of South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Today, we don't compare with these countries anymore because they are way ahead of us.
In fact, today we should be worrying about Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, which were once beyond our comparison. Why? It is because our leaders spent our taxpayers money on doing such unproductive things, while other countries are actively focusing on how to move forward.
Our leaders plot to divide us while others are doing their best to unite their country. How are we going to explain to potential investors that our security is bad because our police are more interested to arrest ‘yellow T-shirt' citizens demanding for free and fair elections.
Instead of boosting our police force or paying them higher salaries, we further divide our already small budget into other expenses such as financing organisations like Jais to raid Malaysians whenever they suspect a person may convert from Islam to other religion.
Onyourtoes: Jais, you have been there, you took pictures and pamphlets, including things from trash cans, you have interviewed those present there, so what are you waiting for?
Was there ‘illegal conversion' going on there or not? There is no need to prolong the issue and trying to create more controversies and anxieties among the people. Just get on with it, charge those who violate the laws, and if not, just shut up.
Raikonen: It is time that Malaysians put an end to this political victimisation of religions. All religions expound on positive values and such high-handed raids smack of religious supremacist tones.
And we have not heard from our top leadership who has remained so elegantly silent on not only this issue, but many other issues, i.e. MyKads granted wantonly to foreigners? Is there a captain on the ship?
Mamakputra's Stooge: Shame on the politicians for allowing genuine community work to be politicised at the expense of the people who are receiving aid.
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

