KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Umno MP Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina disregarded non-Muslim sensitivities by calling for state action over a building in Jelutong that has been lit up like a cross, Bukit Tengah assemblyman Gooi Hsiao Leung said today.
Gooi slammed the Kepala Batas MP for turning a non-issue into a racial and religious one.
“Even if the building was lighted up like a cross intentionally (which I believe was not the case), I see nothing wrong with it, as everyone should be free to express their own religious affinity publicly and openly without fear and or having to do so in hiding,” Gooi said in a statement.
“This was not a case where someone had, with deliberate provocation, erected a cross in front of a kampong, mosque or a Muslim cemetery to hurt the feelings of Muslims.
“There was absolutely nothing to suggest that this incident was carried out with any deliberate intention to provoke the sensitivities of Muslims in the first place, and hence it is a non-issue to call on the authorities to take corrective action on the matter. This matter should just end there,” added the PKR state lawmaker.
An image of a cross formed by lights in a building in Jelutong has caused consternation among some residents in the surrounding area and it is understood that they have also lodged a police report on the matter.
On Friday, Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor urged local authorities to direct the developer of the housing project to change the position of the lights in the building so that they do not form the sign of a cross.
