Najib lauds bilal who sheltered 70 non-Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has praised a bilal for opening up a surau to 70 non-Muslim flood victims at Taman Free School in George Town recently.

“Islam teaches us to love one another, and we know about Rasulullah SAW (peace be upon him), who protected people regardless of their race and religion, as described in a verse in Surah At-Taubah.

“The verse reads, ‘If someone of a different religion seeks your help for protection, then you protect them’,” Najib posted on his Facebook page yesterday.

He was referring to Sapno Tukijo, the bilal of Surau Taman Free School, who sheltered non-Muslim victims wading through chest-deep floodwaters.

He said surau and mosques that opened their doors to the flood victims for shelter, regardless of their race and religion, were something to be praised as it was the right thing to do.

“This is the 1Malaysia Negaraku spirit that must be emulated by all.”

The 70 non-Muslims, made homeless on Sunday due to floods, were walking in Lengkuk P. Ramlee at 2am when Sapno spotted them and invited them to take shelter at the surau.

In Bukit Mertajam yesterday, the same courtesy was extended by a temple in Jalan Megat Harun here, which opened its doors to flood victims, including five Malay families.

Kew Ong Yeah Temple vicepresident Tan Ah Lek, 57, said when the disaster struck, a lot of the victims took shelter at a nearby school, but it was busy managing students sitting Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.

He said the closest evacuation centre, which is at the Central Seberang Perai District and Land Office, was packed with victims from other areas.

“So we opened our temple for anyone seeking refuge, regardless of their beliefs.

“We are all family, regardless of race and religion,” said Tan at the temple, widely known to residents as the “Yellow Temple”.