Nazri: No need to demolish surau used by Buddhists
(MM) – A Cabinet minister today questioned the need to tear down Muslim prayer room in Johor that was used by Buddhist tourists, noting that the controversy was already resolved.
Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said the country should move on to other matters, observing that a group representing the Buddhists in Malaysia had already issued an apology.
“I am not an expert on Islam but I think this is something we have resolved, what is not elok (good) until it needs to be demolished?” the minister of tourism and culture told a media conference after launching the Red Carpet wax museum in i-City here.
“There’s already an apology by the Buddhist council, we move on,” he said.
“I don’t agree,” he later said, when speaking on the demolition of the surau.
On Monday, a resort owner was arrested after police reports were lodged over the incident that purportedly happened in the surau within the resort’s grounds last week. He will be remanded until tomorrow for police investigations.
The 45-year-old man with a permanent resident status in Malaysia is being probed under section 295 of the Penal Code, which comes under the heading of “injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class”.
His arrest also comes after several media reports highlighted the incident on Monday, with video recordings on YouTube showing an external shot of a small building and a close-up of what appears to be a sign in Arabic script over a doorway.
The video then shows what appears to be a prayer session inside the building by a dozen white-clad people led by a monk in red and saffron.
In a Monday report, Berita Harian quoted the resort owner as saying he did not expect the offer to lead to the controversy now.
“I do not think the action of giving permission to believers of other religions to use the surau is wrong. This is because they only wanted to use the surau for meditation.
“I have no intention of hurting anyone’s feelings. My intention is to show that Islam is universal and tolerant,” said the Singapore-born Muslim.
On Tuesday, the Buddhist Maha Vihara — a group representing Malaysian Buddhists — apologised over the prayer session in the surau.
In a brief statement, Chief High Priest of Malaysia Datuk K. Srï Dhammaratana expressed his group’s regret while urging followers of the religion to be mindful of others in their worship.
“We would like to apologise to our Muslim brothers and sisters for the actions of a certain Buddhist group from Singapore in having their meditation session at the surau of a resort in Kota Tinggi.
“I advise Buddhists in Malaysia and Singapore to respect the religious sensitivities of other religionists while carrying out our own religious obligations and responsibilities,” Dhammaratana said.
