Not your place to judge if Ibrahim Ali guilty or otherwise, Putrajaya told

(Malay Mail Online) – Putrajaya should not be judge, jury and prosecutor in the case of Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s call to burn Malay-language bibles, MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Ti Lian Ker said today.

Instead, Ti said the police and Attorney-General’s Chambers should dutifully discharge their responsibilities and allow the judiciary to determine the Perkasa president’s guilt or otherwise in what the MCA leader called a prima facie offence under the Sedition Act 1948.

“Nancy (Shukri) should not be the judge, jury and prosecutor all in one go in handling a sensitive issue of this nature.

“No religion should be allowed to be quoted or used as a ‘shield’ or to ‘provide immunity’ or ‘justification’ to commit a wrong or an offence against the existing laws,” Ti said in a statement today.

The MCA leader added that Putrajaya is giving tacit approval for extremists to threaten harmony in the name of religion, by refusing to prosecute the Malay rights group leader.

Dubbing as “nonsencial” Nancy’s explanation that Ibrahim was found to be “defending Islam” in his act, Ti also asked if this meant everyone was free to make similar threats against other religions.

“By refusing to take any action against Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa, Nancy has charted a very bad precedent which is not only contradictory to Malaysia’s diversity, but will also open the way for extremist to threaten other religions, or even to burn their Holy Books,” said Ti.

“This will then result in the destruction of our nation’s religious harmony.”

Accusing Ibrahim of habitually making statements that were damaging and capable of inciting racial disharmony, Ti said the Perkasa chief must be made an example of as Malaysia could no longer tolerate such a destructive attitude.

In Penang last year, Ibrahim allegedly urged Muslims to torch Malay-language bibles that contain the word “Allah”, the Arabic word for God.

De facto law minister Nancy told Parliament earlier this week that Ibrahim was not charged in court over his alleged threat to burn Malay-language Christian holy scriptures because the police had concluded that the Malay rights group leader was merely defending the sanctity of Islam, and had not intended to create religious chaos with his statement.

The police’s probe also found that Ibrahim’s statement was directed at individuals who had purportedly distributed bibles containing the word “Allah” to students, including the Malays, at Penang’s Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jelutong, Nancy had said.

This was roundly criticised by lawmakers and civil groups, and drew outraged response from the Christian Federation of Malaysia.

Last night, Nancy explained that the AGC had decided not to charge Ibrahim “after considering the outcome” of the police probe, also saying that this was because the context of his speech was in line with the spirit of the Federal Constitution’s Article 11(4).

While Article 11 guarantees the constitutional right of all Malaysians to freely profess and practise their faith, Article 11(4) says that state laws or laws for the federal territories “may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam”.