ALL EYES ON 'MR SEDITION' IGP: Will church protestors be held for sedition?

Police’s decision not to arrest demonstrators who protested against a church in Petaling Jaya yesterday shows double standards in enforcing the Sedition Act, DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said.

Pua argued that the same would not have happened if non-Muslims were the one protesting against a Muslim place of worship.

While DAP is adamant against the Act, he said, the law’s proponents should now answer if the protestors today should be held under the law, which was said to meant for such situations.

This is because the Act outlaws actions which promote "ill will or hostility [...] on grounds of religions".

"Will MCA and Gerakan who had similarly defended the Act now demand action to be taken under the Act?

"Is this for example the “goodwill” promoted in the Act which the secretary-general of Gerakan and MP for Simpang Renggam, Liang Teck Meng proudly declared in his support of the Act?

"Or will the above case only goes to show how the Act was constructed strictly targeted only against non-Muslims while Muslims who infringed on the rights of others will get away scot-free?" he asked in a statement.

A church in Taman Medan today agreed to remove its cross sign after a group of residents held a demonstration against the symbol put up by the two-day-old church.

The residents claim Taman Medan is a Muslim-majority area and they were not consulted on the cross sign.

Condemning the "bullying", Pua said the federal constitution guarantees freedom of religion and anyone should be free to put up symbols representing their faiths.

"Just as the DAP has defended the right of any Muslim to have his or her place of worship even if they are a minority in a residential township or a village; any Christian, Buddhist, Taoist or Hindu must have the same right to ‎set up their own without barriers or fear of intimidation," he said. - M'kini