Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has called on Penangites to be united and calm in the face of the recent acts of inciting racial and religious disharmony.
The statement was made in the light of the recent Cheruk Tok Kun Mosque incident where a piece of meat believed to be pork was found in the compound of the mosque on 16 February. This was the latest attempt by irresponsible parties to disrupt the peace in Penang which previously witnessed the firebombing of churches and police stations, and provocative “Jesus is the son of Allah” banners in front of churches.
“Clearly these destructive groups involved in such treacherous acts against religious places of worship have not given up on undermining and destablising the PR Penang state government”, he said.
The perpetrators whose intention is to induce rage amongst the rakyat in the height of the “Allah” issue have yet to be identified by the Penang police.
“The Penang state government is in close contact with the police to deal with these attempts at disturbing public peace and disrupting public order. The Penang state government remains confident that the police in Penang is on top of the situation and will take all necessary steps to check and stop these destructive elements”, adds Guan Eng.
According to CID Chief Mazlan Kesah, the case is being investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class. He said that there were no suspects for this incident yet as it is the first time for such an occurrence. He added that the meat has been sent for DNA testing in a facility that is only available in Sepang.
Meanwhile, Guan Eng asks the residents of multi-cultural and multi-religious Penang to combat the destructive elements intended to threaten the peace of their diverse society.
“Unity in diversity will lead to a more resilient society and stronger identities of the groups within, making George Town a singular UNESCO World Heritage site due to the ability of our multi-cultural and multi-religious society to live in harmony”, Lim said. -The Rocket
