THE Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) may lodge a police report after Catholic Bishop Simon Peter Poh was heckled and verbally abused by a handful of Muslim youth outside the Federal Court in Kuching today.

It said it would also register and convey their shock, sadness and deepest displeasure on the incident to Unit for Other Religions in the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office.

ACS chairman Rev Justin Wan said the association should agree to make a police report against the “unruly behaviour and unwanted actions by third parties inside and outside the court house” and requested the state government to look into the incident to avoid it happening again.

Wan, who also heads the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Sarawak church, said the authorities should take immediate actions against those who had “ignited and initiated this unwanted incident”.

“The rowdy and unruly behaviour was regrettable and had encroached into the shores of our peace loving people of Sarawak,” Wan said.

A handful of Muslim youth shouted “Allahu Akbar” at Poh as he made his exit at the end of the Federal Court hearing on the appeals made by three converts and an ethnic Malay woman to have their apostasy case heard in a civil court.

The Federal Court dismissed the appeal, ruling the Sarawak shariah court has the jurisdiction to hear the apostasy applications.

Another group of Muslim youth, however, came to his rescue, shielding him from his hecklers as they escorted him to his parked car.

The small police light strike force deployed there eventually took Poh into their protection.

On the ruling, Wan said as “Christians and law abiding citizens”, ACS abided by the court of law and submit to the rules of the country.

He said ACS would issue a full statement to “convey our deepest displeasure” in due course.

“This is so as to avoid various comments and conflicting opinions.” – February 27, 2018.