The church maintains its stand that the Islamic authority entered its premises without legal authorisation.
PETALING JAYA: The Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) has maintained that the raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) was a “trespass, search, and seizure” without proper authority under the law.
The statement from DUMC today followed the assertion by JAIS yesterday that its enforcement officers with police personnel were merely carrying out an “inspection” and not a “raid” on Aug 3.
“We reiterate the fact that JAIS and police officers came into Dream Centre, which houses DUMC, without a search warrant,” said senior pastor Daniel Ho.
He said the officers intruded into the thanksgiving dinner and interrupted the programme and also took photographs and video recordings.
“JAIS officers issued several stern warnings to the organisers for refusing to cooperate with their demands. In the meantime, many plainclothes personnel rode into the Dream Centre compound on motorbikes and some of them went around the compound,” said Ho.
Again expressing that DUMC “deeply regrets” the incident, Ho said the holding of the thanksgiving dinner in the premise had been misunderstood.
“As Christians, the Bible commands the community of faith to walk humbly, to seek justice and to do good. DUMC mantains that in all our community work, we seek to practice our faith and to serve the community around us as Christ commands us to do, regardless of creed, race, and religion,” he added.
Ho said DUMC, which would continue to play its role as citizens of this nation, would always help the poor and needy with no conditions attached.
“Our prayer is that God will richly bless Malaysia as we seek for peace and righteousness,” he said.
NGO: 50 Muslims were present
Meanwhile, another NGO Ikatan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Selangor (IKDDAS) came out in support of JAIS.
Its president Rosdi Long said there were about 50 and not 12 Muslims at the event, with the rest having fled the premises when the raid took place.
He accused the organiser of helping the Muslims escape through a back door.
JAIS raided the multiracial thanksgiving dinner event, accusing the organiser, Harapan Komuniti, of proselytisation when it found 12 Muslims among those present.
Harapan Komuniti denied the allegation, saying that it was merely a fundraising dinner for a HIV/AIDS support group.
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