MB Khalid issues gag order on church raid

Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim has issued a gag order to all state excos from commenting on the issue of Jais' raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on Wednesday until they have received the Jais report and “further action” has been taken.

“Once I receive Jais' report on the matter I will meet with the Selangor Sultan to discuss and resolve the matter, and to ensure that such incidents do not recur,” said Khalid (left) in a statement today.

“Until this is done and the matter is resolved, all Selangor exco members are prohibited from making any statements regarding this issue,” he added.

“As mentioned yesterday, we regret that the incident has taken place and is confident that the people of Selangor do not feel that their interests have been overlooked,” said Khalid.

The MB added that good intentions did not justify the raid, that he said “failed to display fairness and wisdom in leadership”.

He called on the people to perpetuate the spirit of harmony, respect and tolerance amongst the various religions in the country.

Khalid yesterday expressed his regret over the incident where Jais officers raided the church in Petaling Jaya and disrupted a multiracial thanksgiving dinner, over allegations that there were attempts at converting Muslims to Christianity.

According to DUMC senior pastor Daniel Ho, a group of between 20 to 30 Jais and police officers entered the premises without a warrant, and disrupted the dinner taking videos and photographs.

The officials claimed to have received a complaint but was unable to produce any details when asked, said Ho.

Selangor exco member Hasan Ali yesterday worsened the controversy when he said in a statement that Jais had “proof” to back their actions, that many have decried as "high handed" and an abuse of human rights and religious freedom. - Malaysiakini