SMSes brings chaos

this appears in the herald, the catholic weekly of 12 nov. 2006.

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Part of the crowd which gathered at the vicinity of the church as a result of the various SMSes. Photos courtesy of Tamil Nesan

IPOH: Rumours that were circulated through SMSes nearly jeopardised the peace, harmony and religious freedom experienced by the Catholics of  Ipoh.

All was well when the Tamil Mass began at 7.00am on Sunday, November 5, 2006. However by 7.30 am, assistant parish priest Fr Dominic Santhiyagu had realised (from the altar) the mounting presence of police personnel and patrol cars on the main road. The crowd had swelled outside and Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel and trucks had arrived and taken up their positions along the main road in front of the church.

Soon the crowd on the right side of the church started shouting, “Kalau Mansor masuk, bakar bangunan ini!” (If Mansor goes in, burn the building). They then advanced to the gateway and began shouting religious slogans in Arabic. However, the FRU personnel took control of the situation and moved the crowd further up the road, away from the church vicinity. Roads leading to the church were packed with vans, cars and motorcycles parked at the sides, not belonging to parishioners but to the demonstrators, who comprised not only men but also women, children and babies. What had brought this mass of people from a different religious faith to the steps of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Ipoh on the day of a First Holy Communion celebration?

The SMSes might shed some light. One went thus: Sejumlah Melayu akn dibaptiskan oleh Dato Azhar Mansor Ahad ini di Gereja Selibin IPOH. Seramai 600 plajar Poli teknik Unku Omr Ipoh telah msuk Kristian baru2 ini. Pendedahan oleh Mufti Perak ptg ini di masjid Negeri. Sampaikan sms kpd org-2 yg mahukan ISLAM. (A number of Malays will be baptised by Dato Azhar Mansor this Sunday at the Silibin Church, Ipoh. Recently 600 students from the Ungku Omar Polytechnic have converted to Christianity. Revealed by the Perak Mufti this afternoon at the state Masjid. Please forward to all who stand for Islam).

Regardless of the imminent danger looming, parishioners moved through the crowds to attend the 9.00am Mass to be celebrated in three languages (English, Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia). By then the roads had been sealed and no car was allowed into the church compound. The air was tense, but the parishioners took their places in the church in a very orderly manner, as though oblivious to what was going on around them. Many, however, must have had unanswered questions as to what was happening! Still, as a precaution, men — young and old — had stationed themselves casually all around the church to give a sense of security and confidence to those attending Mass.

Mass started on time with the procession led by the 98 children beautifully dressed in white like little angels, followed by the altar boys and the priest. They proceeded from the Lourdes Church Hall to the church entrance, carefully watched by our Muslim brothers and sisters who had gathered outside. Parish priest Fr Bernard Paul, sensing the fear and anxiety of the children, had earlier talked to them and put them at ease.

Nevertheless, when Fr Bernard himself began the celebration of the Mass, his anxiety was apparent in his voice. Mass progressed in all three languages, witnessed, heard and perhaps even monitored by the whole community, inside and outside the church, as the outdoor public address system had been turned on to enable everyone to participate in the Mass. Anyway, there is nothing the Church has to hide, only everything to share and witness!

It was a day when attendance at Mass, as usual, included the migrants from Africa and Indonesia who had come in full strength, as well as our brothers and sisters from East Malaysia. Many of them knew of the SMSes but came regardless of the possible danger.

Other than a firecracker that went off beside the church during Mass, nothing untoward happened, thanks to the tight security and personal attention given by the Perak Special Branch Chief, Ipoh Assistant OCPD and the various FRU and police personnel — civil as well as those in uniform, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Fr Dominic Santhiyagu felt that the reading, which focused on loving God and loving neighbour, was appropriate. He wondered why this demonstration was taking place, when the Church is clear about the country’s rules regarding conversions. He added that while it is good publicity for the parish, it is shameful that people are acting on rumours.

Fr Bernard felt that the parishioners were well focused. Even though both ends of the road had been blocked by the demonstrators and the situation seemed unstable, some of the parishioners just told the demonstrators, “Bagi jalan. Kita mahu pergi ke gereja,” and they walked right through the crowd to profess their faith. “But there was fear in me … for the safety of my people … I was worried how it will all turn out,” he admitted.

On a solemn note, he added, “A sad state of affairs because it shows how gullible people are and how quickly they believe in lies rather than checking first before responding. Moreover, they are disrupting our religious service. This is our Sunday celebration! It is unjust … a civil rights’ offence!”

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btw, regarding what the mufti of perak had enclosed, i found that he is partly to be blame. i have written a letter regarding his statement to the star. i doubt if it will be published. if no, then i’ll publish it here in my own blog.