Putrajaya must act against Ibrahim Ali’s bible-burning threat to nip extremism in the bud, says Sabah church

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 31 — Faced with the government’s recent defence of Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s bible-burning call, a Sabah evangelical church reminded the Attorney-General (AG) today of his duty to uphold the law and prevent extremism from taking root in the country.

Adding its voice to a growing group calling for the government to take legal action against the founder and president of Malay rights group, the Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) described the AG’s explanation — and de facto law minister Nancy Shukri’s reiteration of the same — for refusing to prosecute Ibrahim as “both obnoxious and unacceptable”.

“There are limits to what one can say against another religion. Asking for the Holy Scriptures of another religion to be burned violates the most basic of human decency.

“It’s about time both the AG and the law minister start upholding the constitution as the supreme law of the land so that all persons regardless of race or religion are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law,” Sabah SIB president Reverend Datuk Jerry Dusing said in a statement.

The senior clergyman stressed that the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land and racism and religious bigotry cannot be seen to be condoned and defended by the government.

He further pointed out Article 8(1) of (1) of the Federal Constitution clearly states that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law, and warned that failure by the government to take legal action would embolden religious extremists to become more incendiary in their posture against non-Muslims.

“The AG cannot choose to keep silent on this issue when the whole nation is waiting for a response from him. It is only fair for all Malaysians to know that justice and fairness is not only done but seen to be done on such an important issue,” said Dusing.

Ibrahim’s call in January last year to burn bibles which contain the word “Allah” had raised a furore with lawmakers and civil groups, calling for the Perkasa president to be charged with sedition.

In a statement earlier this week, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said it would not press charges against Ibrahim as his remarks failed to qualify for action under the Sedition Act 1948 as it lacked a “seditious tendency” and was meant to defend the sanctity of Islam and not incite religious disharmony.

Dusing noted that some 20 opposition politicians, academics and activists have been hauled in for sedition chargers in a span of a few months while not a single charge has been brought against Ibrahim despite major pressure from civil groups.

After 51 years of the formation of Malaysia, it is evident to Malaysians at large that racial and religious polarisation has reached an alarming level, Dusing said.

He however, lauded Sabah Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak who spoke up and said that Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali call to burn Bibles is something Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak will never endorse.

Salleh, in a blog post earlier this week had also said that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir should speak out with a voice of liberalism and not with a voice of extremism when defending Ibrahim.

The Sabah SIB church is also currently in a legal battle against the government over the seizure of children’s books containing the word “Allah”. The Court of Appeal recently ruled that the case be sent back to the High Court after an earlier dismissal.

The “Allah” issue continues to disturb the Christian Bumiputera communities in Sabah and Sarawak, who typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their holy scriptures and religious practices.

Malay Mail Online reported yesterday that hundreds of Christian compact discs (CDs) and books containing the word “Allah” belonging to a Sabahan Christian from the Protestant Church of Sabah were confiscated at the Kuala Lumpur International 2 airport on Saturday.

The Home Ministry is now claiming that the books and CD’s will be released back to the owner, who is from a northern Sabahan village once they confirm it was meant to be distributed in Sabah.

In a similar case, eight CDs containing the word “Allah” were confiscated from a Sarawakian Christian called Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal airport in Sepang in 2008.