MCA Religious Harmony Bureau Deputy Chairman Ng Chok Sin said assemblymen or MPs should be aware of the status of religious sites in their constituencies to address issues surrounding the demolition of such places.
This, he explained, was important so that the local council and the elected representatives could provide a proper explanation to the constituents when these religious sites were torn down.
“Religion is a very sensitive issue. If local authorities swing into action, especially at night, and if elected reps are in the dark and cannot explain such cases, it would attract needless controversy — as in the case of the Kajang chapel,” he told FMT when referring to the demolition of the disused St Joseph’s Chapel in Brehma Estate, Kajang, recently.
Ng also explained that this was why he refused to be dragged into an argument with PKR for questioning why the chapel needed to be demolished at night.
“This diverts the attention from the crux of the issue.”
He was alluding to PKR Communications Director Fahmi Fadzil’s statement that MCA’s refusal to apologise to PKR President and Kajang Assemblywoman Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for levelling baseless claims against her over the Kajang chapel demolition fiasco was “shameful”.
Earlier last week, 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 chapel at night without anyone’s knowledge.
This led to Ng questioning why the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) and Wan Azizah intended for the chapel to be demolished at night.
DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming then came to Wan Azizah’s defence, demanding that MCA apologise to her for making “baseless accusations”, following a statement from KL Archbishop Julian Leow that he had given the nod for the demolition to proceed as the chapel was no more in use and occupied road reserve land.
Ng slammed the Serdang lawmaker, pointing out that MPKj and Wan Azizah, being directly involved, should have issued an immediate clarification when the incident was first reported.
Ng also urged DAP not to drag the church into politics or pit the church against MCA, pointing out that MCA’s statement was in defence of the church