Failed attack at Taiping church, convent school
(The Malaysian Insider) – Arsonists failed to set fire to Taiping’s historic All Saints’ Church and the Convent School last night, making it the fifth church and first Christian school attack linked to the controversial ‘Allah’ ruling that has riled many Muslims.
Police confirmed both incidents, saying Molotov cocktails were lobbed at the church and school but the petrol bombs did not explode.
The country’s first Anglican church is also the first outside Klang Valley to be attacked since Friday.
The church in Jalan Taming Sari was built in 1886 and is considered one of Malaysia’s precious heritage sites with its humble timber facade.
Church officials said the petrol bomb found at the convent school was probably meant for the St Louis Church next door.
The convent school, renamed SMK Convent Taiping, started in 1899 but moved to its present location in Convent Lane in 1938.
Police have stepped up patols at most houses of worship in the country but appealed to church authorities to hire their own security guards due to a lack of policemen.
The heightened alert came after the Dec 31 High Court ruling that allowed Catholic weekly Herald to use “Allah” to describe the Christian God in its Bahasa Malaysia section. Muslim groups then organised protest for Friday when the church attacks began.
The first and worst hit was the Metro Tabernacle in Desa Melawati which had its office gutted in the early hours of Friday. The government has given RM500,000 to rebuild the church, which is part of the Assemblies of God church.
The Life Chapel in Section 17 Petaling Jaya suffered scorch marks in another attack, similar to that seen in the Lutheran Good Shepherd Church in the city’s old town quarter.
Another Molotov cocktail attack failed at the Catholic Assumption Church in Jalan Templar in Petaling Jaya.
Some churches cancelled services on Friday while others have started vigils to pray for safety and peace.
The Metro Tabernacle church had its Sunday Mass at the MCA headquarters today.
