Remember the Metro Tabernacle Church? It was the first target of attacks on Christian churches following the Allah ruling by High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan on New Year’s Eve. Among the 11 churches that were attacked, the Metro Tabernacle Church suffered the most damage. Now, thanks to the Malaysian government, a new church building has been built in a different location to replace the burnt building.
The Metro Tabernacle Church building that was attacked is located in a 3-storey rented shop house on a shopping street in Desa Melawati. The attack saw the first floor office of the Metro Tabernacle Church destroyed by fire, leaving the worship areas in the upper 2 floors undamaged. The church was leasing the three-and-a-half level commercial building which could accommodate all church members in a single service.
Shortly after the fire bomb attack, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak visited the Metro Tabernacle Church and announced an allocation of RM500,000 to enable the church to be rebuilt elsewhere.
And now the new Metro Tabernacle Church building is completed and unveiled. It is located in Batu Caves. Peter Yeow, the Lay Leader of the Metro Tabernacle Church said: “It’s been a long journey and we now have a place to call home. At least now we do not have to scramble to look for a place of worship.
Meanwhile police have arrested 8 men in connection with the fire bomb attack on the Metro Tabernacle Church. Police believe that this group was solely responsible for the attack on the Metro Tabernacle Church.
So who are in this group? Police said the suspects include two brothers, their uncle and a group of their friends, comprising mainly despatch riders, office boys and clerks.
But how did police manage to crack this case? Apparently one of the suspects got himself burnt on his chest and left arm. He went to Kuala Lumpur Hospital to seek treatment. When asked how he got those injuries, he said that he suffered the injuries while burning rubbish with petrol. But hospital authorities did not believe him, and they alerted the police.
Following the arrest of this suspect, police went on to arrest 7 more members of the gang. Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri from the Criminal Investigation Department said: “We believe we have solved the arson incident at the Metro Tabernacle Church.”
But there are more cases to solve. Now 2 suraus (prayer halls) in Muar (Johor) have reportedly been attacked in manner similar to the attacks on churches. Muar deputy police chief Lee Choon Guan said that the first attack on the surau at Kampung Sabok Awor took place at 3 a.m. The second attack on a surau at Kampung Parit Beting resulted in some bad damages.
Think about it. Why did the Metro Tabernacle Church relocate to Batu Caves instead of rebuilding the damaged first floor at the shopping district? Did the gang of 8 act alone, unorganized? Or are they part of a bigger group? And what about the recent attacks on suraus?
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To answer your first question, did you know that the church has been building the new place for the past 2 years? The members had been planning so long to move there but had difficulty getting the permit approved. The pastor appealed to banks for a loan (which did not come easy) and the church has borrowed several million to buy the land and for building costs. You say ‘thanks to Malaysian govt, a new church has been built’? Bah, more like approved…