KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) will not take any enforcement action against the church in Taman Medan that was a subject of a protest on Sunday until a full investigation is completed.
A MBPJ public relation officer, Zainun Zakaria, said the council’s officers went earlier to the church premises but no one was there at the time.
“At the moment, we identify them as illegal but we have to investigate first.
“We tried contacting them but we’ve been unsuccessful so far,” she told Malay Mail Online over the phone.
She said the church must apply for planning approval from the council and the state government to convert the business premise into a place for worship.
Zainun also confirmed that no such application has been submitted to MBPJ, but it is unclear if they have submitted to the state government.
Yesterday, Umno Taman Lindungan Jaya branch leader Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar confirmed that the Muslims who staged the protest against the church for displaying a cross on its facade will contest the legality of the church.
The Muslims, who are said to be residents of Muslim-majority Taman Medan in Petaling Jaya, had staged a demonstration outside the church building on Sunday morning, claiming its display of the cross is a challenge to Muslims and could influence their young.
The church removed the cross several hours after the protest.
Their action sparked public outrage and several opposition lawmakers immediately demanded that the police take immediate action against the protesters.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, who is also the younger brother to Abdullah, said yesterday that the protestors had not violated any law by staging the demonstration.
He was later contradicted by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who said the protest was seditious and warrants a probe.
The IGP today said, however, that the police will investigate the incident.
