As is the religious tensions in this country isn’t hot enough, the Royal Malaysian Police has decided to turn up the heat further by commencing investigations on Father Lawrence Andrew for alleged sedition.
Father Andrew said he was quizzed over a December 27, 2013 report by news portal The Malaysian Insider where he was quoted saying that churches in Selangor will continue to use the word “Allah”, the Arabic word for God that many Malaysian Muslims believe is exclusive to their community. The editor of Catholic weekly, Herald, related that he told the police he was citing from the Federal Constitution when contacted by news portal’s reporter.
The decision by the police to commence investigation of sedition on Father Andrew however smacks clearly of double standards when other religious leaders make statements which are far more controversial, seditious and even dangerous.
Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria today for issuing a “fatwa” on January 3rd declaring it “halal” (permissible) to shed the blood of participants of an anti-price hike rally held of December 31 on the basis of the “bughah” concept. The term “bughah” refers to an armed revolt by Muslims against a just ruler or government, in accordance with Islamic law.
The call by the Perak Mufti is a call using religion to justify violence and murder against peaceful protestors against the recent price hikes by the BN federal government. Who will take responsibility if any of the protestors were killed as a result of the Mufti’s irresponsible edict?
However, despite the outrageous and indisputably seditious call made by Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, not a single finger has been lifted to chastise, much less investigate the Perak Mufti for his statement.
This applies similarly to various Perkasa leaders such as BN candidate for Shah Alam, Zulkifli Nordin who made fun of Hindu deities and questioned the purity of the Ganges River, or Datuk Ibrahim Ali who incited the masses to burn the Al-Kitab. No action were taken against these individuals despite the severity of their “sedition”.
On the other hand, Father Lawrence Andrew who was merely asserting the fact that “Allah” has been used in the Malay language bibles for more than a hundred years in this land without controversy or restrictions. He was certainly not calling for bloodshed or inciting violence.
The Federal Constitution Article 8 states that “all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law” and it certainly does not grant any exemptions to any persons based on religion, race, descent or place of birth for any criminal activities, including sedition.
We call upon the Royal Malaysian Police to act impartially in accordance to the provision of our Federal Constitution and the laws of this land and not be biased against any persons based on his religion, race or descent.