KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 ― Minister Nancy Shukri has said she never dreamt she would be labelled  “anti-Christian” or one who backs the burning of bibles, The Borneo Post has reported.

The de facto law minister came under fire for informing parliament that an extreme view calling for the burning of bibles was an act defending the sanctity of Islam. Her comments have been widely criticised.

Nancy pointed to her multiracial and multi-religious family background, maintaining that she would not have supported any racial or religious attacks against non-Muslims.

“Growing up in Sarawak, where there is no issue with race and religion, I never dreamt that one day I would be branded as someone who is anti-Christian or a supporter of those calling for Bible burning.

“If you ask the people in my constituency, no one will believe that as well. I believe all Sarawakians are still with me because they know me and have seen how I serve my people over the years,” the Batang Sadong MP was quoted saying by the English-language daily in its report yesterday.

She added that Christians and Buddhists in her area  would be “equally shocked” to find her labelled a “racist” or “anti-Christian”.

Nancy’s defence was conveyed through her political secretary Mohammed Kamaluddin Effendie on Wednesday, The Borneo Post said.

Last week, Nancy had in a written parliamentary reply to Bagan DAP MP Lim Guan Eng said that Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali was not charged over his threat because the police had concluded that the latter was merely defending the sanctity of Islam, and had not intended to create religious chaos with his statement.

Nancy had said that the police’s probe had 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.

After the backlash over her parliamentary reply, Nancy explained last week that the Attorney-General Chambers (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”.

She was also forced to explain in her Twitter account that she had “never defended” Ibrahim.

In The Borneo Post’s report yesterday, Nancy indicated that the Parliamentary reply was not meant to reflect her personal opinion, saying she was merely conveying the police’s findings and the AGC’s subsequent decision not to press charges against Ibrahim.

“As a minister or one of the leaders of the nation, I have to support the rule of the law, but it does not mean I agree with Datuk Ibrahim’s extreme views,” the de facto law minister was quoted saying by The Borneo Post.

Earlier this week, Nancy’s press secretary Syeliza Basri claimed in a Facebook chat that the minister “had no authority to overrule the decision made by the AG” but would have thought that Ibrahim deserved to “suffer the wrath” of the Sedition Act.