Najib arrived at the scene at about 5pm with a large entourage of top police officers and cabinet members to the applause of a crowd which had gathered at the site.

The prime minister was quickly whisked into the building to inspect the damage and emerged about five minutes later to announce the government's pledge to allocate RM500,000 for the church relocation.

This was met with a loud applause from the 200-strong crowd, which included church members.