Resort operator allowed a group of Buddhists to hold meditation in his surau
Nation - Published: Tuesday August 13, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM Updated: Tuesday August 13, 2013 MYT 6:55:56 AM
KOTA TINGGI: Police arrested the operator of a resort in Tanjung Sedili Besar who had allowed a group of Buddhists to meditate in a surau.
The 45-year-old, known as Ahmad and a Singaporean with Malaysian PR status, was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Tanjung Sutera Resort, 40km from here.
Police said the incident is being investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.
Police took action after a video clip depicting a group of Buddhists led by a monk chanting inside a surau went viral.
Titled “Surau dijadikan tokong Buddha di Johor (Surau converted to Buddhist temple in Johor)”, the video showed the group sitting on mats while facing a picture of a Buddhist religious figure, which was placed on a table underneath Quranic verses that were hung on one of the walls.
According to Johor Mufti Datuk Tahrir Shamsuddin, the act was insulting to Islam.
“A surau is a place to worship Allah and it should not have been used otherwise,” he said.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the incident should not have happened in the first place and all those involved were “insensitive”.
“Action should be taken against the resort to set a precedence.”
Several NGO’s are also calling for stern action to be taken, with the Malaysian Muslim People’s Coalition (IRIMM) calling on the authorities to penalise the resort’s owner.
IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay said the act was disrespectful to Islam.
However, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism said in this particular instance, it should not be seen as an insult to Islam.
Its president Jagir Singh said while places of worship were deemed sensitive, people should study the circumstances surrounding this incident.
It was reported that the resort manager had said that the group had wanted to use a hall to meditate, but none was available, causing the management to allow them to use the surau.
Jagir urged Malaysians to view the incident in perspective, and what the Buddhists did was merely to pray, and no offence against Islam was even intended.
He pointed out that the Malaysian Catholic church had also reacted calmly in 2009 when several Muslim reporters wrote that they had spat out the elements of the Holy Communion after partaking of them, all in the name of “investigative reporting”.
Jagir also exhorted all to look at uplifting happenings, such as the one in India last August when Muslim residents of Joshimath performed Aidilfitri prayers in a Sikh temple after being invited there by its head priest.
The Sikh’s made the offer – one that was graciously accepted – after seeing that the normal Muslim prayer ground was soggy after days of heavy rain.
Nazri questions the need to demolish place of worship
Nation - Published: Friday August 16, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM. Updated: Friday August 16, 2013 MYT 8:06:32 AM
SHAH ALAM: Culture and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz has called on Malaysians to move on from the Johor surau issue, questioning the need to demolish the place of worship.
“I am not an expert on Islam but I think this is something which we have solved. Apa yang tak elok sangat nak roboh? (What is so bad that it needs to be demolished?)
“There is already an apology from the Buddhist council, so let’s move on,” he said after launching i-City Red Carpet here yesterday. “We are humans. The thing has been resolved, apa nak roboh? (What’s to demolish?)”
His Cabinet colleague, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, meanwhile, said the permanent resident status of the resort owner, who was remanded for allowing a group of Buddhists to use the surau to meditate, could be revoked.
He told Utusan Online today that the 45-year-old Singaporean could be stripped of his PR status once the investigation had been completed.
The resort manager is being investigated for defiling a place of worship with intent to insult Islam.
The case received wide media coverage after an 85-second video clip of Buddhists engaged in a religious ceremony at the surau went viral on YouTube.
In a related development, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said whether or not the surau would be demolished would be decided by Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
He said the state government and the state Islamic Religious Department had advised the Sultan on the issue.
“We will abide by the Sultan’s decision,” he said.
Mohamed Khaled said a place of worship for Muslims should never be allowed to be used by people of other faiths to conduct their religious rituals.
“If Tuanku wants us to demolish the surau, we will proceed with the decree,” he added.