Khalid Abdul Samad, a Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party lawmaker, said he wanted to ease suspicions among non-Muslims that his party wants to curb their religious freedoms.

'It's time to set the record straight,' Mr Khalid told reporters.

'We respect the rights of non-Muslims. There's no plan to stifle other religions or create problems for them.'

Mr Khalid's visit to the Christian church and two Hindu temples last week was a rare move by a Muslim politician.

Many of Malaysia's Muslim public figures have been wary of appearing in places of worship other than mosques, fearing criticism by conservative Muslims.

A few politicians have made such visits discreetly.

Mr Khalid's party has long alienated minorities with its call for a hard-line theocratic state.

But it toned down its religious rhetoric and allied itself with two secular, multiethnic opposition groups for elections last month.

Together, the three parties won more than one-third of the parliamentary seats and the control of five state legislatures in an unprecedented debacle for the ruling coalition.

The result was partly attributed to frustrations among minorities including Buddhists, Christians and Hindus - who total about 40 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people - about what they considered the erosion of their freedom of worship.

Non-Muslims have been upset in recent years about how the government has handled religious issues, including the demolition of Hindu temples, a ban on the word Allah from Malay-language Christian literature, and court judgments favoring Muslims in disputes with non-Muslims. -- AP