Insults against Islam turned into a racial issue
(MMO) – Under police investigation for sedition, armed forces veteran Mohd Ali Baharom denied today that the protest he led at the DAP’s headquarters here was meant to incite hatred against the Chinese.
Mohd Ali, popularly known as Ali Tinju, said the memorandum he submitted to the predominantly Chinese opposition party yesterday was intended to pressure Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng to go on leave pending corruption investigations on the purchase of a house.
“We know that 60 per cent of the Chinese own businesses. If I had wanted to incite, I would have persuaded the Malays to boycott their businesses and they would be ruined, but I did not do that,” Mohd Ali told Malay Mail Online.
“The main idea behind the protest and memorandum was actually to call for Lim Guan Eng to go on leave.
“Secondly, it was to urge the DAP national leadership to advise their followers against hurling insults and making provocations towards the Malays, which were done on social media platforms like Facebook and so on,” he added.
Mohd Ali and a group of about 20 people from the pro-Malay Red Shirt movement stormed DAP’s national headquarters in the city centre here yesterday, allegedly demanding that the party take responsibility for a Chinese man’s alleged disparaging remarks about Islam.
According to Selangor DAP committee member Edry Faizal Yusof, Mohd Ali and his supporters had told the DAP to reprimand the man for his comments on Facebook, saying although the party had no affiliation with the individual, it should be held responsible as he is a Chinese.
Mohd Ali, however, dismissed Edry Faizal’s claim, saying: “No, I never said anything like that”.
Mohd Ali claimed he had proof to back his allegations that DAP supporters had initiated attacks against the Malays by insulting Islam and the Malay way of life on Facebook.
According to the former soldier, the DAP supporters’ purported insults were made to retaliate against the authorities’ scrutiny of Lim’s purchase of his home in George Town, Penang, that was allegedly made below market value.
“Yes. We have proof that they are DAP followers…all the evidence have been submitted along with the memorandum that was given to the DAP.
“And the DAP officials also acknowledged that they (the individuals hurling the supposed insults) are their followers,” Mohd Ali said.
Mohd Ali said he held the protest at the DAP’s office to “advise” them to “live in harmony” with one another and to respect each other’s faith.
“Politics is politics, but don’t go insulting our faith. In fact, I always tell my followers never to insult the faith of others. We should be living in one Malaysia, where Malays, Chinese and Indians live in harmony and help each other,” he said.
Earlier today, the Star Online news portal quoted Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Amar Singh as saying that Mohd Ali will be investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 506 of the Penal Code relating to criminal intimidation over speeches made at the protest.