KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — The Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) today condemned the recent desecration of a church and Hindu temple in Kelantan.

In a statement, CCM general secretary Reverend Hermen Shastri called it "despicable act, apparently motivated by extremists who are out to stoke the flames of religious intolerance in the country.

"If left unchecked such actions, where people committed to disrupting inter-religious harmony target religious buildings with flagrant acts of vandalism and arson, may further embolden extremists and unscrupulous elements,” he added.

Authorities believe that a petrol bomb was hurled from the Sultan Yahya Petra bridge towards the church and temple, along Jalan Hamzah on January 7 at around midnight.

The object shattered a window on the church’s second floor before landing in front of the temple’s main entrance.

Although no one was hurt, police initially determined the suspect was not connected to the terrorist organisation Islamic State. Yesterday, they detained a 34-year-old civil servant at Pasir Mas in connection to the incident.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Hasanuddin Hassan said the suspect, who claimed to be hallucinating, had committed a similar act earlier on January 3.