KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the Government would not hesitate to use any means necessary, including the Internal Security Act, on anyone who threatens the security of the country.
He also ensured the safety of everyone in Malaysia, including the minorities.
Hishammuddin also said that the Inspector-General of Police has confirmed that three churches have been attacked.
“We have also received a report that a church has been threatened. The police will monitor all churches in the country,” he said.
Fire and Rescue Department personnel at the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati on Friday.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan earlier said police were investigating three cases of arson at churches in the Klang Valley early Friday morning.
The three churches were the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, the Assumption Church in Jalan Templer, Petaling Jaya, and the Life Chapel Church in Section 17, also in Petaling Jaya.
"Police personnel would also patrol churches throughout the country, especially in the Klang Valley, to prevent any untoward incidents," he added on Friday.
Police officers conducting investigations at the Life Chapel Church in Section 17, PJ on Friday.
Musa also reiterated his stern warning to anyone planning to stage protest rallies Friday against the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.
"We will not hesitate to take stern action against them," he told The Star.
Wong Sai Weng, spokesman for the Life Chapel church in Section 17 here, said, "We found a molotov cocktail at the porch at 8.30am.
"We see this as attempted arson, and have lodged a police report," he said.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin is among the public figures, who visited the Tabernacle Church on Friday.
Police officers collecting evidence at the Assumption Church in PJ on Friday.
At 12.30am Friday, the Metro Tabernacle Church was damaged after a group of youths threw flammable materials into the ground floor of the church located in a shoplot.
No one was injured in the incident as the church was empty at that time.
It was believed the incident happened after a group of youths on motorcycles rode up to the church, smashed the glass panels on the ground floor of the three-storey building and later threw some materials into the building that started a fire.
Church lay leader Peter Yeow, 62, said witnesses were not near enough to get a closer look at the youths who sped away after the act.
The witnesses then called the police as well as the Fire and Rescue Department, which arrived within minutes and doused the fire.
City CID chief SAC II Datuk Ku Chin Wah confirmed the incident.
Parishioners helping to salvage computer equipment from the Metro Tabernacle Church on Friday.
It is believed that a molotov cocktail was thrown into the church.
SAC Ku said the police were investigating the incident from all angles.
Kuala Lumpur police Chief Datuk Mohamad Sabtu Osman told The Associated Press that a witness saw four people on two motorcycles breaking the glass front of the church and throwing an incendiary object inside before fleeing.
He said police found a wrench, an empty gasoline can and two scorched motorcycle helmets at the scene. The church occupies a corner plot in a row of shops in Desa Melawati, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
"We are still investigating," he said. He also urged Muslims not to participate in the planned protests, AP reported.