///The burning of the churches is not a spontaneous incidence/// – passerby

Yes. Tun Dr Mahathir argued that sensitive religious issues should be resolved behind closed doors lest they heightened anger of the so-called ” less-educated and irrational ones” who will, when provoked, resort to violent acts like arson.

The fact is it is still not known at present who the arsonists were or whether we would ever know. Though the IGP said, “don’t speculate” it is implicit that TDM already proceeded on assumption that the arsons were likely perpetrated ” by some less-educated and irrational people incited by the public controversy. How does he know that? How does one resolve a controversy like Herald or have recourse to constitutional rights without going to the courts, a public proceeding?

The actual throwing of molotov cocktail might be done by less-educated and irrational people but it might equally be speculated that they (who might even be non-Muslims for all we know) did it at the behest and under the payroll of some higher-educated and ‘rational’ people with political agenda seizing the public controversy as an opportunity.

To blame the common populace of anger and irrationality may be expedient – just like they blame May 13 incident on them – but if it were so, it is strange that these arson attacks were not sporadic occurring in different times in different parts of the country, some with even more muslims than Klang Valley (if indeed one makes such profiling in speculation).

One has to weigh the balance of probabilities whether recent arsons were sporadic and random acts of emotionally marginalised extremist characters incensed by the controversy or an act of conspiracy and cold calculation and deliberation. [For more than 50 years the majority of races have learnt and do live in harmony and accomodation respecting other communities sensitivities and where discord erupts they are often organised by some party/groups with outright political motive/agenda).

Here the attacks were concentrated within Klang Valley. They were likely organised and deliberate from a single source.

With 3 or 4 helpers (paid some money) they could perpetrate a series of attacks at one go – logistically, it was imperative to be within a confined area as the Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati in Kuala Lumpur and three other churches in Petaling Jaya. They were not attacks at persons (Christians) but property (churches) as symbols, and carried out under cover of darkness, without unnecessary collateral loss to lives.

It’s likely someone’s unilateral wet dream to seize the opportunity to stir disturbances, maybe even hope that these might lead to wider conflagration favourable to its objectives.

Whomsoever this party – if it were indeed a BN supporter- its trouble making would backfire on BN’s electoral interest. Or he/it could be a conspiracy to unseat the top man in BN or (by creating instability in the state, hence an excuse for emergency) the PR Selangor state govt., itself – whichever.

Whatever the trouble maker’s agenda, the immediate fall out of such actions, besides causing tension and discord in the country, is to put a spanner in the works on the PM’s 1 Malaysia campaign, drive away investors (that is certainly no good for UMNOputra’s patronage interests or the economy) and definitely drive a wedge into BN’s electoral interests especially in its stronghold in Sarawak with many Christian voters – to the benefit of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition whose partner PAS seems to evince a more moderate face as regards the Herald’s controversy.

I do concede however that the comment here is still conjecture at this stage.