In Sarawak, Christian, Dayak leaders demand probe on Selangor cross protesters
(The Malay Mail) – Christian and Dayak leaders here want the Selangor authorities to investigate the Muslim protesters who forced a Petaling Jaya church to remove a cross from its facade, with some saying the protest should be categorised as a sedition crime.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS Baru) president Louis Jarau described the protesters as small-minded and misguided individuals bent on harassing Christians over a symbol that he said should not be seen as a challenge to Islam.
“Why are they so scared of the cross, anyway? The cross is a symbol of Christianity and to demand for its removal from a church is beyond me,” Jarau said when contacted yesterday.
Jarau, who is also a human rights lawyer, said the protesters must be investigated under both the Peaceful Assembly Act and Sedition Act for inciting racial and religious tension with their actions.
Another Dayak leader, Richard Lias, agreed the protesters violated the Sedition Act 1948 and said an investigation must be carried out, regardless whether the demonstration had been motivated by politics or religion.
The Dayak National Congress (DNC) secretary-general added that there was no way to justify the group’s demand that the church take down its cross.
“If we want to follow the same logic, the Christians should ask for the removal of the Islamic religious teachers from Peninsular Malaysia serving in many rural schools in Sarawak where 100 per cent of the students are Christian Dayaks.
“Maybe, these religious teachers are serving the needs of a few Muslim teachers. And if we are nasty, we should ask these religious teachers to be removed because they are stationed in schools located in Christian areas,” Lias said.
