Mother's citizenship status - what has that got to do with the actions to save the church?

Sorry for not posting this earlier...

Last Sunday, Fr Jean Claude informed church-goers in Mentakab's Our Lady of Perpetual Help that the police asked him question about him and his family...

They wanted to know about his father, what he did...blah...blah

They asked about his mother's citizenship..

About his siblings...

About him...and his personal history...

They wanted to know about his 'criminal record'...

Again, politely, it was indicated that this was done only because 'the TOP' had given the orders...

Well, I wonder why?

I see it as pure police intimidation...

The police, I believe is the pawn, that is being used by some other knowingly or unknowingly,

The issue :- Over 83 year old Christian Catholic chapel situated in Lot 2 (maybe less than 1 acre), whereby the the Lot 1 on the top (where the Church Kindergarten in) and the Lot 3 at the bottom (where is partly now used by the road that goes into the Kampung Baru Cina [ Chinese New Village}] already belong to the Church since the 30s.

The Church sits beside the Chinese New Village [these are them 'detention centres' which now are called villages - the Chinese were amassed by the government and forced to stay in these places, as a means of combatting the so-called Communist threat...]

"New villages" were created in the early 1950s in Malaya to relocate some half a million rural Chinese as part of the counter-offensive against communist insurgency.

"New Village" was considered as something like detention camps, miserable isolation and surveillance of Chinese squatters. - http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110004836797/en

The original purpose of the New Villages in Malaysia was to segregate the villagers from the early Malayan Races Liberation Army insurgents, which were led by the Malayan Communist Party, during the Malayan Emergency. It was part of the Briggs Plan, a military plan devised by British General Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as Director of Operations in the anti-communist war in Malaya.

The plan aimed to defeat the communists, who were operating out of rural areas as a guerrilla army, primarily by cutting them off from their sources of support amongst the population. To this end, a massive program of forced resettlement of Malayan peasantry was undertaken, under which about 500,000 people (roughly ten percent of Malaya's population) were eventually removed from the land and housed in guarded camps called "New Villages".

By isolating this population in the "new villages", the British were able to stem the critical flow of material, information, and recruits from peasant to guerilla. The new settlements were given around the clock police supervision and were partially fortified. This served the twofold purpose of preventing those who were so inclined from getting out and voluntarily aiding the guerrilla, and of preventing the guerrilla from getting in and extracting help via persuasion or intimidation. The British also tried to win the hearts of the new settlers by providing them with education, health services and homes with water and electricity.

The settlements were very effective in accomplishing their stated goal, preventing insurgents from gaining popular support in a way that could have turned the tide against communist insurgents in Vietnam or China. Upon completion of the resettlement program, the British initiated the Hunger Drive in effort to flush out the Communists from the jungle.

Removing a population that might be sympathetic to guerrillas was a counter insurgency technique which the British had used before, notably against the Boer Commandos in the Second Boer War (1899-1902).

Population

During the Malayan Emergency, 440 new settlements were created and it is estimated that 470,509 people - 400,000 Chinese - were involved in the resettlement program. The Malaysian Chinese Association, then the Malayan Chinese Association, played a crucial role in implementing the program.

It is estimated that today, about 1.2 million people live in 452 New Villages throughout Peninsular Malaysia. About 85% of the population in New Villages are ethnically Chinese. The ethnic Malays take up about 10% and ethnic Indians roughly 5%. - Wikipedia

The Church had a lease on the Lot 2, where the Church existed...until it was not renewed. [For 10 years after the lease expired, apparently the government continued to collect payment ...] . The Church was allowed to continue to exist in the land for all this time...(and mind you, the land was always seen as Church land, and should be made Church land...).

Beside the church, there are town council built food stalls...some say the plan is to extend this building (after the church is destroyed) so that there will be more food stalls...

The Church continued to apply for a new lease...for the land all this while... [But alas, the UMNO-led BN chose not to do the reasonable thing and give them their church...]. Repeated request to be able to renovate and upgrade the church has also been turned down by the authorities..

Now, there is a letter asking them to vacate the land by mid-year 2009...

WHY? Triang is not a town that is suffering from land shortage..

This attempt to destroy is so illogical...and unreasonable..

'There is a project (some big project) which had been given to some 'connected-persons' and it involves the land that the church is on' - this is what some have said. Then, if so, maybe the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission should really investigate - for this whole thing that involves the destruction of a 83-year old chapel really smells of some corruption and/or other hanky-panky... MACC should investigate now and expose this corruption..

With regard to the giving of land - The 1st people that the government should consider giving is the users and/or occupiers of the land.

Farmers who have been farming the land should be allocated/given that State land..

If there are churches, temples, kuils, suraus, etc .. or burial grounds, then the land must be given the respective religious community..

If there had been homes, then the land should be given to these people...

Land belonging to the state should be given to the landless - Every Malaysian who does not have land should be given land...

Sadly, today it is the rich and 'well-connected', who still are given State land - and this is a great abuse of power and is unjust...

Thus, it makes sense for the State Government to immediately withdraw their threat to destroy this little church in Triang...AND immediately give that land to that church..(after all, we are talking about land that is about 1 Acre..)

See earlier posts: - Priest of St John's Chapel, Triang called in for questioning by police [Updated]
Prime Minister, Najib, you can save this chapel in Pahang from destruction...
St John's Chapel, Triang - the Church that needs saving
St John's Chapel, Triang (83 year old) :- Time is running out...
St John's Chapel(over 83 years old) being threathened with 'eviction' - help save this 'little' church