PETALING JAYA, March 17 — Malaysia’s Islamic affairs minister should be arrested for endangering the country’s democratic principles by labelling liberal Muslims as deviants, a former de facto law minister said today.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom’s parliamentary response on liberal Muslims will encourage persecution against citizens simply for holding different views and was a direct violation of the country’s supreme law which recognises plurality in beliefs.

“People like that should be arrested… what he said is a threat to democracy,” Zaid told a press conference at his house here.

“As a Cabinet minister, he should know that this is a democratic country which means we have to respect the basic rights of the people. Just because he is not a liberal he can’t arrest me because I am a liberal.

“That is a violation of people’s basic rights,” he added.

In his written parliamentary reply to PAS-Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Aziz, Jamil Khir said liberal Muslims are a danger because they believe in “pluralism”, adding that the ideology which held the human intellect to be a revelation deviated from the teachings of the Sunni Islam school.

He added that pluralism also advocates scepticism on the authenticity of the Quran, questions the methodology in interpretations of the Quran and hadith, calls for new interpretations of worship, disputes the criteria and morals of prophets and has its own methods to refer to comprehend Islamic law.

Former Malaysian Bar president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who was at the same press conference, described the revelation as embarrassing.

"We have become a laughing stock of the world," she said, pointing to the arrests and deportation of two journalists with Australian broadcasting company ABC for attempting to ask "tough questions" of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Sarawak recently.

Ambiga was present at the press conference as a representative of rights groups Hakam, which is part of the Save Malaysia movement led by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and organised by Zaid.

Zaid said the ongoing crackdown on liberals or anyone deemed to have differing views with the government showed fear in the administration.

"They are scared because they know their days are numbered. They know the people are beginning to rise.

"That's why they need to tighten control," he said.