Md Izwan, The Malaysian Insider
Malay rights group Perkasa today threatened to stop supporting Barisan Nasional (BN) parties MCA and MIC after it earned brickbats from party leaders for urging Muslims to burn bibles containing the word “Allah” and other religious Arabic words.
In a statement here, the controversial group explained that its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s statement on the matter had been misinterpreted as he had merely been referring to Malay-language bibles.
“I confirm that the Perkasa president did mention the words ‘burn the Bible’ but he did not mean the original English-language books.
“He meant the Malay-language bibles that use ‘Allah’ and Jawi writing,” Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali said in the statement.
According to recent media reports, Ibrahim had made the call on Saturday at a Perkasa convention in Permatang Pauh, Penang.
He was quoted in one news portal as explaining his reason, claiming he was not instigating communal tension but offering a solution to stop non-Muslims from infringing on the sensitivities of the Muslims, the country’s most dominant ethnic group.
After Ibrahim’s remarks, MIC leader S. Vell Paari urged the government to punish the right-wing Perkasa president or face the possibility of bleeding its non-Muslim votes.
Irked, Syed Hassan replied today, saying: “Do not force us to change the oath we took during our national congress last December to stand united in our support for all BN candidates, including those from MCA and MIC.”
