PETALING JAYA: Christians have a right to their own places of worship and allowing the construction of a church in Petaling Jaya will not make the Malays any less Muslim, PKR Seri Setia state assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said yesterday.

He said Muslims should have no issue with the construction of the four-storey Praise Emmanuel Assembly church in his constituency, as non-Muslim places of worship have co-existed peacefully even during Prophet Muhammad’s time.

“I don’t think [the proposed church] is an insult to Muslims. We can see other places of worship in PJ and across Malaysia that co-exist peacefully. It’s part of our tradition.

“Respecting the rights of other faiths doesn’t make us less Muslim. In fact, it is very Islamic and in line with the tradition of our Prophet and the Quran [to allow others to practise their beliefs].

“But of course people always try to make this into a political issue,” the Selangor executive councillor told The Malaysian Insider.

Nik Nazmi said despite protests by some of the local residents and a Muslim NGO, the construction of the church will go on as long as it follows procedures.

“So far, it has followed all the proper procedures. It was already zoned as a non-Muslim place of worship and there have been discussions with the stakeholders,” said Nik Nazmi.

On Sunday, a Muslim NGO Pertubuhan Sahabat demonstrated at the church site in Jalan PJS 8/9, saying it was not appropriate for a neighbourhood which it claimed is made up of 70% Muslims.

The group said building the church in the area would be an insult to Muslims staying there and that Nik Nazmi was not sensitive to the feelings of Muslims in the area.

“The area is a multiracial community and we should engage in a positive manner with people of other faiths, rather than try to stop the construction of the church,” said Nik Nazmi yesterday.

On Sunday, a Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor said the site of the church had been alienated and gazetted in 2001 as a place of worship during Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rule.

MBPJ councillor Cynthia Gabriel said all legal requirements had been met by the church.

“The land was gazetted in 2001 during BN’s time. So if all legal and procedural requirements had been followed, then MBPJ sees no issue with the building of the church,” Cynthia told The Malaysian Insider. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 4, 2014.