Hassan Ali objects: Jais did not ransack or barge into the church

SHAH ALAM - After a silence of more than two months over the issue involving the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), state executive councillor Datuk Dr Hassan Ali has come out to voice his objection to the word “raid” that had been used by certain quarters in the matter.

“Jais merely searched the premises and did not use any force, such as ransacking or barging into the doors of the church, which would reflect the department as being aggressive,” he said.

“The term search' was changed and became raid'. Who raided? A raid involves acts of ransacking, kicking in doors and throwing things around.

“But the meaning of search' is different. Did the media see the incident or really understand what took place?” he asked, referring to the Aug 3 incident where Jais officers had entered the DUMC premises during a thanksgiving dinner there.

Dr Hassan was addressing about 180 participants of a policy and strategy implementation seminar, carrying the theme The Role of the Media in Facing Aqidah Threats at the Concorde Hotel here yesterday.

Twelve Muslim guests at the DUMC dinner have since given their statement to Jais.

Three days after the incident Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim issued a gag order on state exco members from commenting on the issue until the state government receives a report on the matter from the department.

Dr Hassan said the gag order still applies.

“I am still following the order to prevent any of my statements from being manipulated,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference later, he clarified that he did not see the media as giving false reports on the issue.

He added that problems arose when there was “a certain inclination (kecenderungan)” in the re-ports.

He said there were also certain parties which had tried to exploit the issue, declining to name them.

“This issue involves Muslims and Christians and it is really sensitive,” added Dr Hassan, urging the media to sympathise with Jais.

“I'm not asking them to support Jais. No, no, no. I just want the media to understand what Jais wants, its idealism and our heart,” he said.

- The Star