Authorities tore down a house-sized teapot, umbrella and boat that gained nationwide notoriety after a banned Malaysian religious sect built them in its commune, the sect's followers said yesterday.
The structures, built by the Sky Kingdom sect to represent interfaith harmony, were reduced to rubble by bulldozers sent by the state government on Sunday in northeastern Terengganu, where the sect has been accused of spreading teachings that run contrary to Islam.
Newspapers published photos of the structures in ruins, with unidentified officials quoted as saying the sect built them illegally earlier this year on land meant for agriculture.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Sulaiman Takrib, who has lived at the commune since 1998, said the residents' houses remain intact despite the destruction of the other architecture. Some 50 people still live there, but officials have ordered most of them to vacate their homes within three weeks, he said.
"We'll have to refer this issue to our lawyers," Sulaiman said by telephone from Terengganu. "We have no wish to fight the authorities using force."
Police and officials in Terengganu refused to comment.
The move comes amid an ongoing crackdown on the Sky Kingdom sect, which is believed to have hundreds of mostly ethnic Malay Muslim members in northeastern Malaysia, though its followers say they come from all religions.
A mob of about 30 people who were allegedly upset with the sect's teachings attacked its commune last month, setting fire to some of the structures. The sect's leader, Ariffin Mohammed, has disappeared since the incident.
Authorities subsequently raided the commune, and detained and charged 49 followers for flouting an edict issued by Islamic state officials that declared their beliefs contrary to Islam. If found guilty, they could be fined and jailed for up to two years.
Three of Ariffin's four wives were detained by police over the weekend and are expected to be charged for helping him spread what authorities have called deviationist teachings.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese