KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — Pahang DAP said today it will postpone initiating legal action against the Pahang mufti or the state Islamic Department (JAIP) until they meet with the religious authorities for an explanation on the controversial sermon last week declaring it was against Islam for Malays to join the secular opposition party.

Pahang DAP chairman Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji said that he did not want to detract from current issues, such as the economic downturn or 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, without first finding out the true intention behind the speech.

“After studying it and getting the opinions of lawyers, Islamic academics and friends, I think the khutbah issue does not need to go through hasty legal recourse.

“I think this issue will not distract our focus from the bigger issues like 1MDB, the RM2.6 billion donation, GST, increase in oil prices,” he said during a press conference today.

He added that he will get in touch with the Pahang mufti as soon as possible and hopes to schedule a meeting next week.

He also said that Islam emphasised good character and that accusations should not be levelled without any research.

“Islam emphasises good character and advice should be delivered well, not by throwing accusations without first checking on it. And if the mufti is hard-pressed to do it, let me kickstart the process,” he said.

Last week, the Pahang DAP chief promised to take legal action if the state Islamic authorities failed to apologise for its anti-DAP sermon within five days.

Today, Zulpuri said his five-day deadline, which expired yesterday, was misinterpreted as he would only kickstart the legal process “if necessary”.

“My previous statement was saying, if necessary, we will take action,” he said, stressing “only if necessary”.

The Pahang government said yesterday, however, that it fully supports the action of state mufti Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Rahman Osman and defended the latter’s Hari Raya Haji sermon.

Prior to that, Abdul Rahman also rejected DAP’s request for an apology and instead demanded that the opposition party apologise for meddling in Islam.

In the script issued by the Pahang Mufti Department on Thursday, it was written that the Malays in the country was divided by political parties such as Umno, PAS, PKR and the Gerakan Harapan Baru (now Parti Amanah Negara).

The script also said this was exacerbated by Malays joining the DAP, which it claimed was against Islam.