Greater religious tolerance over the recent church protest

Gerakan called for greater religious tolerance over the recent church protest

Cheah Soon Hai: All religions must be equally respected to maintain social harmony

Press statement by

Gerakan Deputy President

Dato’ Dr. Cheah Soon Hai

20 April 2015

Gerakan Deputy President Dato’ Dr. Cheah Soon Hai expressed his concern over a recent church protest at Taman Medan, where a group of Muslims demanded for the removal of a cross on the building façade, out of the worry that the sight of the cross in a Muslim-majority area could influence the young and be an affront to their religious faith. Cheah believed that the protest was overzealous and called for greater religious tolerance and moderation among people of different faith.

“Malaysia is a multi-religious country with Islam as the official state religion. I believe no religion is challenging the position of Islam in the country. We all respect Islam as the official religion but it is also important that we accept the freedom of other religion to practice their own faith freely, openly and with dignity as guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. Religious tolerance is paramount to the peaceful co-existence and harmonious living of a diverse Malaysian society,” said Cheah  

Cheah maintained that putting a cross on the church façade was well within the ambit of the law with no element of sedition or proselytization existed. In Malaysia where Muslims and non-Muslims brothers lived shoulder-to-shoulder, it was even more important to understand and respect the existence of other religion to maintain the harmony of the country