A church
in southern Johor state was also attacked on Thursday with unknown
assailants throwing red paint at the building before dawn, local police
said.
A day earlier a Sikh temple was attacked, apparently because the Sikh scriptures also use the word "Allah".
At
least eight other churches have been firebombed or vandalised since the
court ruling allowing the Malaysian Catholic weekly newspaper, the Herald, to use the word "Allah" to refer to God in its Malay-language edition.
'Intimidation tactic'
The legal firm attacked on Thursday represents the Herald.
Speaking to The Associated Press news agency, S Selvarajah, one of
the firm's lawyers, said staff had arrived at work to find several
locks and steel grille doors cut, drawers ransacked and papers strewn
on the floor.
|
"Criticism and dissent are legitimate forms of expression, but threats, coercion, intimidation or violence are unacceptable"
Ragunath Kesavan, Malaysian Bar president |
Selvarajah said a laptop was missing while a mobile phone service
provider's shop and tuition centre on the first floor were not broken
into.
"Only our office has been targeted," he said.
"It looks like it is an intimidation tactic … We anticipated something will happen. We are definitely upset about this."
Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Herald, said he was "very concerned" about the break-in which he believes is linked to the ongoing court case.
"The law firm does not have any money or many valuables so we believe this is purely aimed at intimidation," he told AFP.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Bar Association condemned the attack and urged a "thorough investigation".
Ragunath Kesavan, the president, said in a statement that lawyers
must be free to represent their clients "without fear or favour".
"Criticism and dissent are legitimate forms of expression, but
threats, coercion, intimidation or violence are unacceptable," he said.
'Acts of extremism'
Najib Abdul Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, has condemned the attacks that have followed the ruling last Friday.
He has vowed to do everything to bring the culprits to justice, and
denied accusations that Umno, the party he leads, was racist.
Earlier this week the Malaysian home ministry in a briefing for
foreign diplomats condemned the "acts of extremism" and pledged to
"protect the sanctity" of the country's diverse religions.
The Herald has been using Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia, the
country's national language, publication since 1995, but it was not
until 2006 that it was warned by the government to stop using the word "Allah"
to refer to God.
