Malaysian court awards damages to villagers five years after authorities destroy church

A Malaysian court this week awarded damages to indigenous villagers after ruling that authorities unlawfully demolished their Christian chapel.

The members of the small tribe in southern Johor state known as the Straits People took the case to court after authorities tore down their new chapel just 10 days before Christmas in 2005 on grounds that it was built on state land.

Fr Lawrence Andrew is the editor of Malaysia’s Catholic weekly, Herald, and believes that the rights of religious minorities are not always respected in the country because the government feels insecure.

“This a very complex problem,” Fr Andrew told Vatican Radio. “The government has re-written history. They are trying to say that this land – from the very beginning – has been populated by Muslims. Which, of course, today more and more people are beginning to see through historical artefacts and so on this is not true.”

Fr Andrew says a village had been found in the south of the country that dates back to some 2,000 years ago. It appeared to have been a Buddhist kingdom – but the government buried the village.

“It’s their own identities at stake, the identity of the ruling government.”