Indigenous church under threat in Malaysia

ICC Note

The Church faces demolition for unknown reasons

10/22/10 Malaysia (CathNewsAsia) – A Christian church constructed by an indigenous community in Malaysia’s Kelantan state faces the prospect of demolition for reasons still unknown to the native community there.
The church is located in Pos Pasik, a forested area about 70km from Gua Musang, and only accessibly with a four-wheel drive vehicle, Free Malaysia Today reports.

The 600-strong Orang Asli (indigenous) population is of Temiar ethnicity, with most them having converted to Christianity since 2001.

“The community has always had bamboo churches which have to be replaced once every two years,” said Moses Soo, a pastor who oversees the Orang Asli churches in Kelantan. “Two years ago, the government began providing brick houses for the villagers and this sparked the idea of a brick church too.”

The money for building the church was raised by the community with the assistance of Soo and work commenced in May this year.

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