Nazir praises church for giving buka puasa meals

Prime Minister's brother says the event at Assumption Church in PJ is an uplifting story at times of communal division and intolerance.

PETALING JAYA: The prime minister’s brother, banker Nazir Razak, has complimented Assumption Church here for distributing prepared meals for buka puasa yesterday despite cancelling a breaking of fast event at the church hall, on police advice.

Nazir, who is CIMB chairman, posted a screen capture of a news report on his Instagram account and described the distribution of the buka puasa packets as an uplifting story, “especially at a time when forces of communal division and intolerance are being allowed to grow stronger.”

He congratulated “these young ones” who organised the event.

Yesterday, activist Syed Azmi Alhabshi said that the event was called off when the police advised them “that there might be an individual or a group who would cause trouble tonight.”

He had informed those who had planned to attend the event that they could collect the food in the evening before breaking their fast.

The church had prepared 70 packets of meals consisting of rice dishes, drinks and kuih outside the church. They also offered prayer mats to Muslims.

Online commenters praised the account of the event.

Radhy Mohsin said: “They are just great” while Mohamed Amin Tar Mohamed described it as a beautiful sight. “That’s beautiful… Hope this trend will go on forever without interference from racists and religious fanatics.”

Facebook user Hua Hing praised the church, saying that interfaith relations could be easily built through acceptance and respect, not from fear and threats. “We are Malaysians where we are uniquely identified through our names, races and religions. But we will all come back to that one common respect for one another, which is being identified as Malaysians. Well done guys for practising this concept unity.”