Places of Worship
The government generally respects non-Muslims' right of worship; however, state governments carefully control the building of non-Muslim places of worship and the allocation of land for non-Muslim cemeteries. Approvals for such permits sometimes are granted very slowly.
The Catholic Society of Shah Alam had been lobbying the state government for a permit to build a church in that city for more than 10 years. It was not until recently that the permit was finally granted. The church opened its doors on 10 September 2005.
The new pre-planned capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya, features a grand mosque as a prominent feature of the planned community. On November 16, 2005, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam announced that the Malaysian government had generously allocated a parcel of land in Putrajaya to the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur for building a Catholic church-run community centre. The Putrajaya Catholic Church Building Committee was set up on October 3, 2005. According to the committee, "The architectural planning and design will conform to the Liturgical requirements complimenting the ambience of Putrajaya's lush greenery and landscape. We envisage the Putrajaya church to be a hallmark of the Catholic community in Malaysia and showcase the rich heritage of the Malaysian Catholics."
Read more about this topic: Freedom Of Religion In Malaysia
Famous quotes containing the words places and/or worship:
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—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“With respect to a true culture and manhood, we are essentially provincial still, not metropolitan,—mere Jonathans. We are provincial, because we do not find at home our standards; because we do not worship truth, but the reflection of truth; because we are warped and narrowed by an exclusive devotion to trade and commerce and manufacturers and agriculture and the like, which are but means, and not the end.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)