Archbishop calls for calm amid bomb hoax

KUCHING: The people have been urged not to simply jump to conclusions following the bomb threats received by two schools here. 

Malaysian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Dr Simon Poh said he believes investigations are currently ongoing and reminded the public to wait for the official police report on the matter. 

“St Joseph’s Private School also received a suspicious email yesterday and this matter was immediately referred to the police. 

“The police came to check the premises last night (Nov 21) and the school was declared clear and safe,” he said in a statement. 

Poh said he has also read in the news that other schools were disrupted by such bomb scare. 

“I strongly condemn such irresponsible act that this is causing unnecessary fear and disruption to students and life in school.  

“Even though this has proven to be a hoax, this is a serious matter as it is considered a threat to life and undermines the sense of personal safety in public.  

“This is even more so when innocent children, students and teachers in schools are the targeted ones,” he said. 

He also advocated empathy should this be an act of someone who is unstable mentally and hoped there will be medical intervention. 

“As a closely knit society in Kuching, I hope people around any person who may be struggling in life, will be kind, proactive and take steps to ensure that such mental pressure does not lead to any untoward incident.  

“Let us learn to be a more caring society,” he said. 

Another school, SMK Kuching High also received a bomb threat via email at around 11.30am on Wednesday (Nov 22).