Boo Su-Lyn
Malay Mail Online
OCTOBER 17, 2014

OCTOBER 17 ― De facto law minister Nancy Shukri sparked an outrage when she said that Datuk Ibrahim Ali was not prosecuted over his threat to burn Christian bibles because the authorities had concluded that the Perkasa president was merely defending Islam.

According to her, the Attorney-General’s Chambers had decided that Ibrahim’s alleged call for Muslims to torch Malay-language bibles containing the word “Allah” was in line with Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution that prohibits the proselytisation of other faiths to Muslims.

Malaysian law does not address hate crimes per se; Ibrahim was investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code that outlaws wounding the religious feelings of another.

News portal Free Malaysia Today quotes Ibrahim as saying at a press conference on January 19, 2013: “Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term Allah and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them.”

The Malay right-wing group chief was purportedly responding to a claim that Christian bibles were being distributed to students, including Malays, at a secondary school in Penang.

The government’s explanation that Ibrahim was merely trying to protect the sanctity of Islam gives the false impression that Islam is under attack in the country, and hence, it is fine to do whatever it takes ― even burning the holy books of a minority religious group ― to defend it.

Muslims make up 61 per cent of the Malaysian population. Christians are a mere 9 per cent.

Ibrahim’s alleged call to burn bibles is an attack against a religious minority that is arguably tantamount to a hate crime.

The government seems to forget that Christians are a minority that make up less than one in 10 of Malaysians. Instead, Putrajaya acts as if Muslims are the minority.

It is irresponsible and utterly disingenuous of the government and Barisan Nasional (BN) to envelop the Malay-Muslim majority in paranoia, making them feel as if they are constantly under siege from minority groups like the Christians or the Chinese.

Already, Christians have lost a major court battle for the right to refer to God with the Arabic word “Allah” in their internal newspaper. A Christian Sarawakian has yet to get back her personal CDs containing the word “Allah” that were confiscated by the government.

It is not the Muslims who should feel that they’re under threat; it is the Christians. They live in fear that the government can confiscate their holy books or publications at any time. Worse, the government now appears to give tacit approval to Muslim individuals too to seize and burn Christian holy scriptures.

It’s hypocritical of the government and BN, who claim to uphold Bumiputera rights, to allow these things to happen when it is the Bumiputera Christians who use the word “Allah.”

Malay-Muslims comprise the majority of Malaysians. They enjoy affirmative action policies. The ruling party is a Malay party. The top government leaders are Malay-Muslims. Every time someone “insults” Islam, whatever that means, they’re hauled up by the authorities. In the Orang Asli villages, the Muslims allegedly receive more amenities and government aid than the Christians.

There is nothing for Malay-Muslims to be afraid of. They are the ones in power. They are not the oppressed.

Ibrahim’s alleged call to burn bibles is similar to an American pastor’s plan to burn the Quran in the Christian-majority country back in 2010.

They are both attacks against minority groups that are already suffering discrimination.

It is the government’s responsibility to protect minorities, not the majority. In a democracy, the majority does not need protection.

Looking at the way things are going now, it’s perfectly possible to start a witch-hunt against the Christian minority without fear of state sanction.

That is the real message behind the decision not to prosecute Ibrahim Ali.