Civil Society Joint Statement
2010-01-29
Police Investigation on Mosque Attacks must pursue the political operators
We the undersigned civil society groups condemn in strongest terms the utmost sinister act of throwing heads of wild boar into the compound of two mosques on Old Klang Road in the early morning hours of January 27 (Wednesday).
Like the cow-head protest in Shah Alam in last August and the earlier attacks on churches, mosques, suraus and gurdwara, the desecration of the At-Tirmizi Mosque, Sri Sentosa and Jumhuriyah Mosque, Taman Dato Harun is the latest of deliberate and desperate acts to provoke religious conflicts in Malaysia.
Malaysians of all faiths have however once again gloriously defeated such wicked plot. The desecrated mosques and the Muslim community at large have demonstrated admirable calm and cool-headedness, just like the Hindu, Christian and Sikh communities before this.
As in the past, Malaysians of other faiths see the attack on Islam as an attack on their own faiths. In an immediate response, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) has condemned any such violence on any house of worship as “a sin of the highest order”.
The inter-faith solidarity of Malaysians is a clear and loud testimony that Malaysian society has passed another test on communal relations and emerged only ever stronger than before. No cow head, pig head or fire can set fraternity and goodwill amongst Malaysians on fire. The agent provocateurs are only burning themselves in both legal and spiritual senses.
The towering success of Malaysian society on interfaith relations is however tarnished by the continuous failure of Malaysian state on law and order. The Police must stop dismissing such attacks as vandalism or youth delinquency, which no thinking Malaysians will believe.
The provocations are clearly political. To end this serial attack, the police investigation must look into political motives and pursue the political operators behind the scene.
We however object any use of Internal Security Act or Sedition Act. No one should capitalize on the pain of the religious communities to rejuvenate authoritarianism. The culprits must be charged in Court under Penal Code or other relevant laws. We demand all ISA detainees – including the latest 12 - be charged in court or released unconditionally.
Endorsing Civil Society Groups:
1. Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI@Parliament)
2. Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)