What is Jais so afraid of?

'Conversion of Muslims to Christianity? Malaysia certainly doesn't need Muslims to be Christians. What we need is Muslims who practice what they preach.'

Multi-racial dinner at church disrupted by Jais

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: If the Selangor sultan is apolitical as he claims, he should intervene in this and find out what Jais (Selangor Islamic Affairs Department) was up to. The state government has no control over Jais simply because the palace and Umno protect these officers.

The police may have a right to enter a church if they think that a crime has been committed, but what right does Jais have? Islamic laws do not apply to non-Muslims.

If Jais was concerned about the presence of Muslims at the dinner function, they should have waited outside the church until the function was over and questioned the Muslims who attended or just call the church leaders to find out.

DannyLoHH: Jais, an official religious body, by harassing a function organised in a church, committed a form of religious harassment against the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC). Jais and the Selangor government has some explaining to do.

NCIS: I ask Christians leaders to have a cool head. Contrary to most of the comments here, I beg to differ. The law prohibits the evangelising to Muslims, so why was the church having a 'berbuka puasa' dinner?

It was not just any other dinner; it was 'buka puasa' dinner. If 'buka puasa' dinners are not directed at Muslims, then are you telling me that the Christians also fast during this time.

Borneo Son: Who says that the dinner was a 'berbuka puasa' dinner? According Senior Pastor Daniel Ho, it was a thanksgiving dinner organised by an NGO. It was Selangor exco Hasan Ali whoalleged that the Muslims were participating in 'breaking fast' at the dinner.

It is not only a breach of freedom of assembly and association but also a blatant invasion and gross violation of privacy as the event was held on private property. Imagine Jais and police entering your house and interrupting a wedding reception on an unfounded suspicion that you are trying to convert your guests.

Does it mean that our Muslim friends are not allowed to accept our invitations? It is apparent, if not obvious, that the raid was held in retaliation against DUMC for hosting the electoral reform forum.

We, who believe in human rights and decency, will not cower by such acts of bullying.

Tuah PJ: In Islam, a state which is headed by a Islamic sultan and has subjects who are non-Muslims, it is compulsory for the head of Islam to protect the non-Muslims, including their abodes of prayer. That is Islam.

Frankly speaking, I don't know what is being practised here in Malaysia. It's so shameful. I believe Jais is in cohorts with Putrajaya because they hosted the electoral reform forum featuring Bersih 2.0 chief S Ambiga and EC deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar in their place last Friday.

JBGUY: Jais is giving the Selangor sultan a bad name. As head of Islam, the sultan will now be viewed as a religious bigot who has no respect for other religions. It is my fervent hope that the sultan makes a statement on this issue clarifying his views on this issue.

Keturunan Malaysia: Khairy Jamaluddin and Wee Ka Siong, among others, are blaming the Pakatan Selangor government for this as they claimed that Jais is under the administration of the state government.

However, the Selangor government, and even Anwar Ibrahim's daughter Nurul Izzah, reportedly said that most of the deviant practices by Jais originate from the federal government.

It is most interesting to find out the truth as to who gave the 'instruction/order' to carry out the raid. It is a wonder the police seem gleefully happy to assist Jais.

Shabaruddin: They ransacked garbage bins? What could they be looking for? Garbage bins are not 'bersih' lah.

Samuel Ng: Checking the rubbish bin to see whether pork ribs was served? Christians are well-versed what to serve during multi-racial and multi-religious dinners - no pork for our Muslim friends and no beef for our Hindu friends. After 52 years, you still have to check the rubbish bin?

Anonymous: Jais - the 'S' stands for Selangor and they have to report to the Selangor government. This raid was done either without the knowledge of the state government, or the state government closed one eye to please PAS.

Hello: Isn't Jais to be under the jurisdiction of the Selangor state government? Why is the state government not taking action against the culprits who are responsible? Shouldn't they respect the culture of other religions as they expect others to respect Islam. By what right have they to raid a dinner conducted by other religions?

Michael Celo: This government is dismantling the very basic DNA of the country. How in God's name has it deteriorated to this level?

This government has turned Malaysia into a GM (genetically modified) country, with no semblance to anything good, moral, decent and acceptable.

Fair Play: By calling it a multi-racial dinner is a misnomer. Perhaps it's more like a multi-cultural and religious dinner that might have included Muslims. Otherwise, why would Jais raid the gathering?
I think when a word such as 'thanksgiving' is used, the reaction by Jais is pretty much predictable. Recent events have turned the church into a serious threat in the mind of certain groups, rightly or wrongly.

Perhaps the church should not try to stoke the fire any further.

Ferdtan: It seems that the strategy of the ruling party using racial issues as bogeyman has failed after the fraternity shown among the Malays, Chinese, Indians and the Dayaks in Bersih 2.0 rally, they are now targeting more on religious differences to divide Malaysians.

Christianity is apparently the convenient choice. Just watch the political drift in the coming days.

Susah Kes: While the MCA does a publicity stunt to get voters back (refer to their recent act of trying to be heroes in Penang against the DAP), Umno does Pakatan Rakyat a favour by ensuring that they have lost at least 100,000 votes from church-goers in Selangor alone.

So MCA, what is going to be your call? Loh Seng Kok, Chua Soi Lek, Donald Lim - do you still think that voters are going to tolerate Umno's shenanigans?

Leon Chan: This unfortunate incident simply reveals how rude the Jais officers were. Reverand Hermen Shastri is right in saying that the Jais officers should have contacted the church leaders first for clarification.

These officers were behaving like uncivilised thugs. I thought religious officers are supposed to be well-educated people with properly-functioning brains.

Black Mamba: What was Jais afraid of? Conversion of Muslims to Christianity? Malaysia certainly doesn't need Muslims to be Christians. What the country certainly needs is Muslims who practice what they preach.

Mirror on the Wall: The flames of religious bigotry are being lit again by the very authorities who are supposed to be the gatekeepers of fair play and justice. Instead of ensuring peace and harmony, these very people elected to power seem to be hell-bent on causing strive and distrust.

But what is the ultimate goal of all this? Creating tension? Hoping for a vitriolic reaction? Sowing distrust among people of different faiths? Insulting another faith? Probably all the above.

And they have probably succeeded in none of the above. Why? Because the citizenry have grown up, unlike the the political masters.

YF: Perhaps 8TV should do an advertisement to teach Jais and their like how not to be disrespectful, abusive and sinful towards non-Muslims during Ramadan.

Now this is a more realistic advertisement compared to the fictional racism that 8TV recently produced. - Malaysiakini