PETALING JAYA: Overwhelmed by support for his church, the senior pastor of Taman Medan’s Community of Praise Petaling Jaya church Pastor Paul Packianathan choked back tears as he thanked Malaysians for standing in solidarity with the congregation and said the church had forgiven the protesters who demanded the removal of the cross displayed on the exterior of the building.

Speaking after the service yesterday, he said the church had forgiven the protestors who staged a demonstration outside the church last Sunday.

“That’s what my Jesus taught me. On the cross, Jesus said forgive them father for they do not know what they do. We do not hold any grudge. We pray for forgiveness for all. That is why we forgive them. If they are here I will hug them now,” he said.

Also present was his wife Victoria, who is also a pastor, members of the congregation, and other members of the public. Victoria was the pastor in charge last Sunday when a group of 50 Muslim residents from the Taman Medan community protested in front of the shoplot where the house of worship is located and demanded that the cross fixed to the building’s facade be taken down.

They said the cross was a challenge to Islam and would sway the faith of youths in the area. The church, however, has not decided if it will fix the cross in its original place on the building.

“We are waiting the Lord to direct us what we should do next,” Paul said, when asked if the church’s leadership would put up the cross again.

Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali earlier this week said the church should put back the cross on the building’s facade, as there was nothing wrong in doing so as it is the symbol of Christianity.

Paul thanked Azmin, and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for speaking up to defend the church.

The pastor said removing the cross from the building was the “right thing” to do at the time of the protest.

“Last week at this time Pastor Victoria conducted the service. The worship could not be stopped no matter what. But she also had to consider the safety of everybody,” he said.

“I fully support her decision to take down the cross at the time. Being a keyboard warrior is easy as you did not experience what happened,” Paul added, referring to those who had criticised the move to take down the cross.

The pastor also defended one of the protestors and Umno branch chief Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, and said news and photos circulating of him being in a casino was “wrong”.

“That is character assassination. It’s very, very wrong. What does it have to do with any of this?

“The news also said he was very ‘angry’ when he was here. There was no such thing. Pastor Victoria mentioned everything in a police report she lodged recently,” Paul said.

Abdullah, the elder brother of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, had told the media that he had been at the protest to help keep the situation calm.  — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 27, 2015.