The party made this claim despite the Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur clarifying that it had earlier given its blessing for the building to be torn down.
In a statement, which was also issued in response to DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming’s demand for the MCA to apologise to Wan Azizah for making “baseless accusations”, MCA’s Religious Harmony Bureau Deputy Chairman Ng Chok Sin pointed out that residents of the former Brehma Estate had chased away the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) contractors from the site.
This, he argued, meant that the general public was unaware that the demolition of the church had been given the green light.
“Sufficient notice ought to be given to the public by public officers in the know like the state assemblyman,” he said, alluding to Wan Azizah.
Ng went on to accuse her of wanting the demolition works to be conducted after dark, which, he said, aroused suspicion. He, however, did not explain how he came to such a conclusion.
Ng also said Wan Azizah should have issued an immediate clarification when the incident was first reported.
He then trained his guns on Ong, claiming he was disappointed with the Serdang MP for purportedly pitting the Catholic Church against the MCA instead of chastising the lack of public sensitivity in the handling of the matter.
“We implore Ong to stop trying to drag the Church into politics and instead demand the local authorities in Kajang be more forthcoming and forthright involving demolition of any structure, rather than clandestinely swinging into action at night.”
Earlier today, Ong said Ng should apologise to various parties over the St Joseph’s Chapel in Saujana Impian, Kajang, for making “baseless and unfounded accusations” on the fate of the chapel.
Ong also demanded that Ng apologise to Archbishop Julian Leow for making it “seem as if the Church had been irresponsible on the Chapel”.
Yesterday, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur had said it had given the Kajang Municipal Council the green light to demolish the remains of St Joseph’s Chapel in Brehma Estate.
According to a statement by Clarence Dass, the ecclesiastical assistant to the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, the decision was made after much discussion with church leaders and the authorities. It took into account the fact that the chapel had not been in use since the 1980s.
Two days ago, Tamil dailies reported that a Kajang municipal council contractor outraged the residents of the former Brehma Estate when his workers tried to tear down a church at night without anyone’s knowledge.