However, the words "races" and "classes" have been interpreted rather loosely when applying the Sedition Act. It appears that the two words are sufficiently malleable to include religious groups and cater to other types of inter-group hostility. For instance, in "Ong Kian Cheong" there was a tendency to conflate ethnicity with religious affiliation. This inclination to associate race with religion may stem from the fact that in Singapore, most Malays are Muslims and "vice versa". Therefore, religious publications denigrating Islam would not only affect Muslims, but would undoubtedly cause feelings of ill-will or hostility within the Malay community as well. Also, the seditious publications distributed by the accused persons which disparaged the Roman Catholic Church and other faiths were held to have affected followers comprising "different races and classes of the population in Singapore".