Malaysian churches to go plastic
KUALA LUMPUR, JANUARY 12 - In light of the recent attacks on churches in Malaysia, the Malaysian government has introduced a new set of churches that has been said to withstand projectile weapons such as Molotov cocktails.
Termed as Porta-Church technology, the churches will be fashioned primarily from plastic and polystyrene materials, and will replace many existing centres of worship throughout the country. True to its name, the churches will also be able to exist in a portable state, and can be assembled by a team of 30 people in under two hours.
“We are very concerned with the attacks, and while matters are currently under control, we want to make sure that future firebombing incidents will not affect Christian Malaysians,” said the Minister of Home Affairs, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein at a press conference this evening.
The press conference was then followed by a demonstration that tested the strength of the new Porta-Churches. Church officials from across Malaysia were invited to watch as a team of arsonists conducted a firebombing reenactment on two miniature church models, notably a Porta-Church and the other being a traditional structure made from old-fashioned materials such as stone, glass and wood.
After being struck being a Molotov cocktail each, the traditional church model burned to the ground within a matter of seconds, while the Porta-Church remained relatively intact even after the fire died out.
Many church officials in the country have commended the move, calling it a ’step forward’ for relations between the ruling government and the local Christian community.
“We applaud the move by the government and its efforts to give us new freedom of worship,” said Margaret Chiam, a church official hailing from Petaling Jaya. “Some of us may say that times are tough, but according to our teaching, we are required to be humble and turn the other cheek, so in this we feel that we would be putting our preaching into practice.”
According to the minister, the Porta-Churches will take a page from houses built in disaster-prone areas such as the Californian earthquake belt, and the western coastline of Sumatra. Hishammuddin also stated that his ministry was inspired by the concept of Lego bricks, and how easy it was to put a structure together in the least possible amount of time.
Other than being able to withstand fire, Porta-Churches will also have special features that will be relevant to the Christian community. Some will have specially-padded floors for Pentecostal believers, stained plastic LED windows, foldable plastic pulpits and styrofoam communion sets.
However, Hishammuddin mentioned that in order for the Porta-Churches to be used at its fullest potential, they would have to have a security team on constant standby. “Unfortunately the government cannot keep an eye on all the churches, so a separate team will have to take their own action when spotting potential arsonists.”
The minister cautioned the public to be especially wary of motorcycle users, as arsonists were more likely to use them for causing these hit-and-run attacks. “The people will have take into account all motorcycle users who are seen riding around church compounds. Any riders seen in a compound for more than a few minutes should be reported to the authorities.”
Note: Moving with the times. We’ll see orbital churches next!
January 16th, 2010 at 12:45 am
No no!
Have you not seen how easily and fiercely styrofoam burns?