Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong has been accused of singling out Christians in his recent statement on why religion and Bersih should not mix.

Yong, however, claims his views were misconstrued by the media and said he was sorry if any churches were offended.

In a statement today, the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), the umbrella group for Malaysian churches, said Yong appeared to have ignored the fact that Bersih supporters were made up of Malaysians of all faiths.

"Yong has chosen to pick out Christians but it baffles everybody as to why he has remained silent on the participation of thousands of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs and others who have exercised their right to dissent.

"Can he show any evidence from leaders of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism who have made statements to deny the right of participation of their adherents in the said rally.

"So why pick on the Christians?" asked CCM general secretary Rev Hermen Shastri.

He said there are Christians in Gerakan as well, most prominently Gerakan founder the late Tan Chee Khoon, who had helped build the country.

"Even today there are many party members who are Christians and we are sure they will feel slighted by the hurting statements made from within their own political fold," said Herman.