Utusan editor says Muslim schoolchildren being proselytised

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — An Utusan Malaysia editor said today that Muslim primary schoolchildren are being taught about Jesus by Christian youths aiming to convert them, which is illegal under Malaysian law.


Its assistant chief editor Datuk Zaini Hassan wrote in his column today that poor Malay children living in squatters along Jalan Klang Lama.

Lama were singing “Yes, I know Jesus loves me” and reciting the story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in their primary school.

He said that an Indian teacher from the school, known only as Cikgu S, had informed him Malay children were being given free English classes by young Christian evangelists every Sunday.

“To me, what is happening in these tuition classes is a subtle move. It is not done out of fun,” he wrote in the Umno-owned newspaper today, adding that the same was true of a dinner held in Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) last week.

The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) was accused of raiding and interrupting a thanksgiving dinner held by a local NGO but the religious authority said that it was acting on a complaint that 12 Muslims were being proselytised at the event.

“This is not a coincidence but planned in detail,” Zaini added.

In his Cuit column in the Umno-owned daily, he said that Cikgu S told him how the students from Standard One to Six “could sing with vigour songs that praise Jesus.”

“They can even tell stories about Jesus including how he was crucified,” he quoted Cikgu S as saying.

Zaini said that he understands that the school has sent a complete report to the local education department for further action.

Utusan Malaysia’s latest claim comes on the back of heightened tension between Christian and Muslim groups over Jais’ actions against DUMC.

Earlier this year, the Malay daily also accused the opposition DAP of conspiring with church leaders to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister.

The unsubstantiated report had further raised the mercury as the dispute over whether Christians can use the word Allah to describe their god remains unresolved.

The government was also forced to order the release of 35,100 Malay-language bibles that were seized by Customs ahead of the April 16 state polls in Sarawak, which has the largest Christian population in the country.