Hisham denies govt not firm in handling attacks

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KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein yesterday vehemently denied charges that the government was not firm and was impassive in handling attacks on churches in the country.He said instead the government had taken the best and most proactive measures since the first case was reported.

“Over the four days, the authorities have succeeded in stabilising the situation through efficient monitoring and involvement in a short time…everything is under control and no more churches have been burnt.

“I have personally gone to the ground with police teams to churches and I am satisfied with the security measures taken by the police,” he told reporters before observing the duties of Rela and Civil Defence Department personnel at the Puduraya Bus Station mobile police beat base here yesterday.

He said although the Gereja Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church in Lakeview Square, Seremban 2, was yesterday morning alleged to have been torched, actually the church was not damaged as portrayed.

“This is just a small case and only the front door was damaged by splashed petrol. This makes eight the number of cases reported in the country.  However most cases are not as bad as assumed, except the one in Desa Melawati where the whole ground floor of the premises was gutted,” he said.

Hishammuddin said in other countries an emergency or a curfew would have been declared but the situation here had not reached that level as early preventive measures had been taken to prevent more incidents.

As such, he said, it was not fair to say that the situation in the country was out of control as the government was always ready to ensure the peace and security of the people and nation.

“We must place emphasis on three main factors which were the government’s stand, the committment of the authorities; and the people’s maturity in dealing with the issue,” he said.

He  said the Home Ministry had met with representatives of foreign missions yesterday in Putrajaya to clarify developments and the actual situation in the country.

“In the meeting we told them of the current situation and  they were given opportunity to ask anything so that there would not be a negative perspective of Malaysia by other countries.

“This is important to ensure  no quarters, especially abroad,  took the opportunity to issue various offensive statements intended to worsen the situation to the point of tarnishing our image at the international level,” he said.

He also said the government had no intention to conceal anything related to the attack on the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati.

“We have clues and information to identify the perpetrators but I cannot reveal anything as that would interfere with investigations.” He called on everyone to inform the police of any worrying situations so that preventive action could be taken.

Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail Omar, reminded people not to entertain SMS messages that called on people to display their feelings by gathering on Jan 13 at the Petaling Jaya Assumption Church. — Bernama