Minister in Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz, known for his off-tangent remarks, may have outdone himself with the latest explanation why the BN could not act against Malay rights rabble-rouser, Ibrahim Ali, for making a speech that has been widely condemned as highly seditious.
His words recorded for posterity, Nazri said the BN government could not do so because "we cannot be selective in our prosecution".
Nazri, who is also the de-facto Law minister, was immediately shot down for his "preposterous" comments.
"This is Nazri at his most absurd. The question is only whether Ibrahim has committed an offence under the law. This, Ibrahim has under Section 298a Penal Code," PKR vice president N Surendran told Malaysia Chronicle.
"Also, I can't recall any other person calling for a crusade against members of another religion in this country. This is the most extreme statement of this nature that I know of in recent times."
"It's difficult to take action against Ibrahim now with the existence of Twitter and blogs,"Malaysiakini reported the minister as saying.
If a non-Malay had made the comment against Muslims
Ibrahim Ali, known for his political opportunism, is the president of ultra-Malays rights group Perkasa. Perkasa itself is an offshoot of Umno with the majority of its 200,000-odd members coming from the conservative right-wing of Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling party.
At a recent rally, eyes bulbous with anger, chins trembling with emotion, the portly Ibrahim slammed Christians in the country as "ungrateful", saying that the thought of Christians demanding that their religion superceded Islam made his blood "boil".
He vowed to defend Islam even if Perkasa members had to die in the process, "sprawling in blood".
“If they want a crusade, so be it. If they say that the peace that we enjoy is not good enough we shall take up the challenge. Don't take the silence of Muslims as a sign of fear,” Ibrahim warned in a fiery speech on Saturday night.“Before our followers fall in this battle, Perkasa leaders will first lay down their lives and die sprawling in blood.”
Calls for his arrest and prosecution under the Sedition Act immediately followed, but no action was taken despite police reports being lodged.
The conspicuous lack of response by the BN government has created an avalanche of complaints on cyber-space.
One of the most common was that if any non-Malay - regardless of position or rank - had made such a speech against Muslims, he or she would have been arrested within 24 hours.
"Please, don't insult our intelligence," MP for Taiping Nga Kor Ming told Malaysia Chronicle."Ibrahim's statement was completely disgusting and highly seditious. It shows a very sad lack of will by the Umno leaders to take action against him. This is a very bad message to the rest of the country especially the other races. Does it mean that certain Malay leaders cannot be punished no matter what wrong they have committed? Is this fair? Is this in accordance with the tenets of Islam?"
All eyes on MCA, Gerakan, East Malaysian parties
Within the Umno-dominated BN, non-Muslim leaders have chided Ibrahim including Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon, the national unity minister, and the MCA.
It now remains to be seen if they will take Nazri to task and lobby the Cabinet for action to be taken against Ibrahim.
Sabahans and Sarawakians - many of whom are Christians - will also be watching to see if their elected representatives speak for them.
"MCA and Gerakan have to show how real their statements condemning Ibrahim Ali are. Nazri has again slapped Chua Soi Lek and Koh Tsu Koon in their faces. Will they rush back into their tortoise shells as they have always done, or will they finally put their foot down once and for all," Batu MP Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.Meanwhile, Christian leaders said the way the BN government reacted would "bring its own consequences".
"Ibrahim is actually just a small voice. I say, ignore him. Christians must unite and look at the greater picture of where they wish to help to take this country. In allowing Ibrahim off, the BN's reaction will draw its own response amongst the electorate," Rev Thomas Philips, head of interfaith-group MCCBCHST, toldMalaysia Chronicle.
Roberts: De facto law minister Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz misses the point. Yes, it is true that hundreds of irresponsible bloggers of all colour and creed have made sensitive comments to hurt and inflame other communities. But they are individuals.
Perkasa is a registered organisation and Malay daily Utusan Malaysiais a licensed newspaper. Can they act in the same wanton abandon as irresponsible bloggers and tweeters?
Rape is rampant in Malaysia - do we want to condone it by saying that it is the norm? Corruption is rampant - shall we then legalise it? Drug addiction is widespread, shall we let it be and say it is the norm? Crime is widespread these days - shall we do nothing about it?
There will always be irresponsible individuals, but when institutions like Perkasa and a national daily act recklessly, then our society will really go down the drain, for these institutions represent our collective conscience and morality.
Black Mamba: I am shocked that the de facto law minister can come out with such a lame explanation like that. Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali did not tweet nor blog his warning to the Christians. He aroused religious sentiments in a public rally in front of a 150-strong crowd.
If you are prepared to condone such actions, be prepared for the consequences.
Hamisu: Does it mean we can all now make seditious and insensitive remarks without any repercussions? This has gone out of line. Now it appears that if something's a norm, then there's nothing wrong with it.
This appears to be the prevailing twisted logic of our de facto law minister. Crimes are the norm. Drug abuse has become the norm. Abandoning babies has become the norm. Domestic violence has become a norm. Does it mean everything is alright? What kind of minister is this?
Changeagent: What a weak and lame reasoning by the de factolaw minister. Just because something is a Malaysian norm doesn't mean that it has to be tolerated, not especially when it relates to matters as serious as religious extremism, creating racial tension and inciting social upheaval or violence.
That is why we have common laws to safeguard public order, security and civility. Anyone who breaches the law or commits an offence must be prosecuted, and it matters little whether the crime is considered a norm or not.
It seems that Nazri is extremely unqualified to hold onto his current portfolio ministership when he doesn't even understand the basic functions of law in society. He is seriously out of his depth here.
Cannon: That's how arrogant and defiant Umno is in standing up for its rabid mouthpiece. Other than practising tokenism, Umno refuses to share power with its BN 'partners', let alone turn over its power to another.
That's why it violently resists the possibility of Pakatan taking over Putrajaya and, through Perkasa, threatens to spill the blood of Christians, if they should vote for the opposition. This gangsterism of Umno/Perkasa is a 'norm' Malaysians have to accept.
Nazri has made a mockery of PM Najib Razak's moderation. The fact is, Umno will not accept a two-party system, which means that a vote for BN is a vote for Umno and for more of this nonsense - and worst.
If Umno should retain power, it will ensure that the two-party system will never take root. Umno will finish dismantling our system of checks and balances to safeguard its power. It's vital for Malaysians to unite and vote out Umno in GE13 before it demolishes our democracy.
Alan Goh: Nazri says that it is the norm for everybody to make seditious remarks and the news media can print anything, and therefore no action will be taken against them.
Thank you, Nazri, for the clarification. But please ensure that this new interpretation of the law applies to everyone and not just Umnoputras, Ibrahim Ali and Utusan.
Anonymous_40a7: Nazri, from this second onwards, you and the government will be held responsible for all the abuse, torture, suffering, victimisation, injuries and death to the Christian community by the radicals and fanatics of Islam due to your insensitive and warped thinking. Remember - each blood dropped is on your hands now.
Tan Kim Keong: Nazri, if the need is there to prosecute all people accused of making seditious statements, then it has be to done. You are a lawyer. A felony is a felony. I believe you know this very well.
In a civil society, people who commit felonies do not go unpunished. Otherwise the authority will be deemed as condoning incitement of religious and racial hatred, as in the case of Ibrahim Ali.
So what is stopping you from charging Ibrahim Ali with making seditious statements against adherents of another religion?
Chipmunk: So what Nazri is saying is that since it is a "norm" in Malaysia, the door is open for all to criticise every other religion, and I believe, that includes Islam and the Muslims? Can Nazri issue a directive that we can now criticise the Malays as well?
The other races have been tolerant and have refrained from saying anything about Islam, but since it is a norm, as what Nazri said, I want to see if any action will be taken if the Malays were criticized.
Easyone: Don't fall to Nazri's trap. The moment DAP says something disputable, they will be put under the ISA. These lackeys cannot be trusted.
Anak Kedah: This moron and his handlers are trying to provoke a violent response to Perkasa's verbal vomit so that they can use it as an excuse for Ops Lalang II.
They have been trying hard to decapitate Pakatan Rakyat's leadership - Anwar Ibrahim with the sham Sodomy II trial, and now preparing the ground to round up the rest of Pakatan leaders with Ops Lalang II.
The Tarik: If making such sensitive statements is okay, then why do we have ISA and the Printing Presses and Publication Act?
If you are sincere, then scrap both these acts. Let all the newspapers in the country openly discuss the so-called sensitive issues. Let the Star, New Straits Times, Tamil Nesan and Sin Chew Daily report the scams and scandals that are being discussed only in the alternative media.
Let there be press freedom. Give Pakatan licence to start newspapers. Let our country's press freedom index rise from the bottom.
Otherwise, Nazri, your comments are pure baloney. Otherwise you are practising selective persecution and are not fit to be the law minister. Otherwise you are a law minister only to protect the interests of Umno, Perkasa, and Utusan. And otherwise, your comments smack of stupid hypocrisy.
Solomon Moses: Very well, Nazri, you have opened the floodgates. I am calling on all level-headed Malaysians to declare 'jihad' against Umno and Perkasa, and all level-headed Malaysians, I am sure, will join this 'jihad'.
Dood: Well, if they're not going to take action against Ibrahim Ali for his very obviously dangerous threats, then why would there be any question of any action against what the pastors supposedly said?
Is it more dangerous to declare 'jihad' against another community or to declare a desire for a Christian PM (if that even happened)?
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