SAPP: Church fire-bombing incidents an indictment of our Malaysian Society

Kota Kinabalu, Jan 9, 2009: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee, today said the culprits who fire-bombed the three Churches must be brought to justice as soon as possible.

"Justice done will repair, even if to a limited extent, the deep fractures inflicted on Malaysian society by such cowardly actions. Ordinary people who are not deeply involved in religious matters have suddenly become agitated by these incidents. This is a dangerous polarization that is spreading to a wider section of our society.

"The people expect that the Prime Minster's assurances that those responsible will be brought to justice will bear results without any delay. The police force should have by now the prime suspects with the motives to commit such fire-bombings.

"Are the culprits part of a wider conspiracy? Are they pockets of "lost command" who no longer take orders from their leaders? Or are they mere opportunists who want to create chaos in Malaysia to fulfill their hidden agenda? The timing and modus operandi of the three fire-bombing incidents suggest that there is some similarity in the thoughts of the culprits.

"Are the culprits the by-products of a racially and religiously divided society? The incidents are an indictment of country that institutionalizes racial and religious politics. Our country's leaders must rethink the existing compartmentalization of our political system along racial and religious lines. This is a wake up call.

What next?

"The government and the police force must prevent any "copycat fire-bombers" the idea of which might be germinating in the minds of some trouble makers. This burden falls heavily on the shoulders of the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and his government.

"Rightly or wrongly, many people point their fingers in the direction of the government leadership. It was sad that the PM had said in the newspapers (on Jan. 8) that the government could not stop the protesters and was earlier seen smiling when receiving a Pahang NGO (Jan. 4) protesting against the High Court judgment in favour of a Catholic publication.

"Inadvertently, these images and head lines have sent wrong signals to the people, including opportunists and extremists who desire chaos and violence.

"Sabah is still relatively free of racial and religious tensions. Our harmony is something that Sabahans are proud of. We should resist the importation of racial and religious extremism from entering our society. This is part of the non-racial civil society that is part of the SAPP platform," Yong said.