By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR: Charles Santiago has blamed the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) for the spate of arson attacks on churches in the country, which have been linked to protests against the recent “Allah” ruling.

The Klang Member of Parliament also believes the attacks will alienate East Malaysia because the majority of the country’s Catholics are from Sabah and Sarawak.

“In this cunning manipulation by Umno and BN, East Malaysia would become more alienated from West Malaysia as more than half of Malaysia’s Catholics are from indigenous groups who mostly live in the Borneo island states and mainly speak Malay.

“The row over the use of the word ‘Allah’ is among a string of religious disputes that have strained relations between Malays and minority Chinese and Indians who fear rising Islamisation in the country,” he said in a press statement.

The Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church in Seremban, Negri Sembilan was attacked today with an arson attack, leaving scorch marks on its front doors.

There have been eight attacks against churches over four days thus far.

Yesterday, a stone was thrown against a church in Miri, Sarawak.

This is the first reported attack in East Malaysia, where a large part of the population are Christians who worship in Bahasa Malaysia and also considered the ruling Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” of votes and parliamentary seats in Election 2008.

“The fire-bombing of the four Christian churches in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya amidst rising tensions over the High Court ruling allowing a Catholic weekly to use the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God finally brings to the surface the institutionalised racial and religious intolerance in the country.

“I strongly condemn these cowardly attacks on the churches which are totally unacceptable. These acts are despicable, shameful and certainly go against the very grains of Islam and all other faiths which teach its followers to be respectful of other religions,” he said.

He stressed that the arson attacks are aimed at creating fear among the public and to exert “subtle pressure” on the Court of Appeal to reverse the current decision.

“We have felt the undercurrents of rising racial and religious intolerance over the last one decade. Instead of working towards an acceptable resolution, Umno and BN had fanned further segregation and disunity for its own political agenda.

“The infamous cow head rally and church burning are clearly strategies designed by Umno to save itself from further becoming irrelevant to the people. But in this manoeuvring, the country has been divided down the middle and people are living in fear of possible racial clashes,” he said.

He also urged the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammudddin Hussein to take responsibility for failing to prevent the church attacks.

“Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein must take responsibility for failing to prevent the arson attacks on the churches and creating a climate of fear that is threatening to ruin the racial fabric in the country even further.

“I am making an urgent call to the prime minister to urgently convene an inter-faith meeting together with political parties and civil society to restore calm and alleviate fear and anxiety in the country. The meeting should formulate an acceptable strategy based on equal citizenship in resolving the current national crisis,” he said.

Courtesy:TheMalaysianInsider