1. Today Online (http://www.todayonline.com)
Police probing Utusan, bloggers over Christian Malaysia claim, 14 May 2011
KUALA LUMPUR - The police are investigating Malay language daily Utusan Malaysia and two bloggers on their reports alleging a Christian plot to usurp Islam as the religion of the federation, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Friday.
The UMNO daily carried a front-page article headlined "Kristian agama rasmi?" (Christianity the official religion?) last Saturday, claiming the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the religion of the federation.
The report, based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by two pro-UMNO bloggers, charged DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country's laws to allow a Christian prime minister.
"(The police are) investigating the whole incident. It's not just about Utusan," Mr Hishammuddin said.
Mr Hishammuddin also said a police report was lodged claiming there was some truth in the alleged Christian plot.
"Let the police do their work. There're two sides to the coin," he said.
Blogger Zakhir Mohamad, who maintains the Big Dog blog, insisted last Wednesday that pastors had pledged at a dinner in Penang organised by DAP's Jeff Ooi to install a Christian prime minister.
Church leaders, the DAP and even some pro-UMNO bloggers and politicians, however, have criticised Utusan Malaysia and Zakhir for the unsubstantiated allegation.
Several police reports have been made to demand the authorities investigate Utusan Malaysia and the blogger for criminal acts.
Mr Shamsul Yunos, who had also made the initial allegations in his blog marahku.blogspot.com, appears to have removed the entire contents of his blog.
Mr Hishammuddin added that he will hold a meeting with editors of mainstream newspapers to let them decide the boundaries of reporting race and religious issues.
The Malaysian Chinese Association and the DAP have said that the Home Ministry's warning letter to Utusan Malaysia on Thursday over its Christian Malaysia report was insufficient.
(The Malaysian Insider)
2. Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
(1) Will Utusan also pledge to respect all religions?，13 May 2011
The PM should meet with Utusan as well, and get them to pledge to respect other religions, and not to raise religious and racial sentiments.'
Christians pledge to respect Islam's position, says NajibSatu Malaysian: "PM Najib Razak said leaders of Christianity in the country have pledged that they respect the position of Islam as official religion and have no intention of challenging the provision enshrined in the federal constitution."
The Christian groups appear to have played into Najib's hands and I don't know for whatever reasons or what wrong that they have done that they needed to pledge their allegiance to uphold Islam as the official religion.
Ironically it was Utusan Malaysia that made the accusation against the Christians of plotting to change the constitutional provision of the religion of the country from Islam to Christianity.
However, Najib now gives the impression to all Malaysians that he has managed to extract a pledge from the Christian community and its leaders that they will never ever challenge the provision of Islam as enshrined in the constitution. Is this some kind of a sick joke?
Fair Mind: Utusan Malaysia creates all the hoo-haas, Najib goes to talk to the Christian group and emerged as the hero and protector of Islam with bold headlines splashed in all the mainstream newspapers that the Christians have pledged to respect Islam's position - as if the Christians have somehow wronged the Malays.
There wasn't an issue in the first place as no wrongdoings have been done by the Christians. The wrongdoings were committed by Utusan, which deliberately reports lies and without any substantiation. Najib should have talked to Utusan, not anybody else.
The Christians are being used by Najib and he has no intention to ever solve the problems of the Christians since it would cost him Malay votes.
Black Mamba: The Christian group did not cause this controversy. I don't see why they have to pledge to respect Islam's position. This is like getting the victim to pledge for his own innocence while the offenders escaped prosecution.
Fairness for all: It was Najib who should have made the pledge to ensure Utusan apologise for printing the false report and for accusing the Christians of seeking to create a Christian state. The Christian leaders are stupid for bowing to Najib.
Indeed, they should have told Najib that they have no time for him unless he takes action against Utusan.
Dhammika: PM Najib Razak is a weak leader. Instead of taking serious action against Utusan Malaysia, he uses the smart way of announcing that Christians uphold Islam as the country's religion.
Christians being the minority will never ever try to install Christianity as the official religion of the federation. This is common sense. Najib is trying to escape responsibility. He clearly supports the racial and religious issues being spun by Utusan.
Gunner: The PM should meet with editors and management of Utusan as well, and get them to pledge to respect other religions, and not to raise religious and racial sentiments.
Bluemountains: It is pretty obvious that no action can be taken against Utusan because the hand that pinches the baby is the same hand that rocks the cradle.
Nil: Does the PM not already know that the Christians have always respected the position of Islam as the official religion and will never challenged the provision enshrined in the federal constitution?
Does the prime minister not already know that the Church has always prayed for peace and harmony in the country, between the various races and faiths, for the prime minister himself and for the leaders of the country so that Malaysia would continue to be a peaceful and prosperous nation?
Well, now that you have been given the assurances, it is high time that the Church and Christians be given reciprocal assurances that they have complete freedom of worship as enshrined in the nation's constitution.
Anonymous_4196: The Christians has been observing the law and respecting the constitution of Malaysia as well as acknowledging that Islam as the official religion of this country. To say that Christians pledge to respect Islam's position is redundant.
The PM should have a word with Utusan in this case. And he should have a word with Hishammuddin too.
Multi Racial: Najib gives the impression that he was there representing the Muslims to get Christian leaders assurance they will not challenge the Muslims' position again and that they will cooperate in nurturing peace and harmony.
Instead, Najib should be there to apologise to all the Christian leaders and to state that action will be taken against Utusan.
Jimmy Ng: So now we all know why the meeting was called. It was to provide an opportunity for Najib to make that particular press statement all along. The question is, since when did the Christians not respect Islam's position as the religion of the federation? Isn't that being overly politically opportunistic and so totally unbecoming of a premier?
Now Najib can go and tell everybody in a one come-uppance manner: "See, I managed to 'persuade' the Christians to respect Islam."
What about taking action against the real perpetrators like Utusan and the unrepentant blogger Zakhir Mohamed?
ONG: People who have never committed a crime nor have any intention of committing a crime do not make public pledges that they are not going to commit crimes. It is people who have been caught for committing crimes who are compelled to pledge not to continue with their criminal behaviour, perhaps for the purpose of escaping or lessening punishment.
The Christian leaders' act of pledging to the PM and indirectly to the rest of the Muslims that they respect the position of Islam as the official religion and that they have no intention of challenging the provision enshrined in the federal constitution seem to imply that they previously did not have such respect, or worse, actually had the intention of challenging the position of Islam.
Changeagent: So the onus is now on the victims in this fiasco to remain calm, and not do anything that will increase tension among the community. They must also refrain from voicing out any concerns openly until the government gives them permission to do so, as well as apply wisdom in handling and managing the issue. What does Utusan, the perpetrator, need to do then?
Victor Johan: Can we now have leaders of Islam in the country pledge that they respect the position and the free practice of the other religions in the country and have no intention of challenging its provision enshrined in the federal constitution?
Can this group of Islamic leaders also give their undertaking to cooperate in nurturing peace and harmony between the various faiths so that Malaysia would continue to be a peaceful and prosperous nation?
・The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments.
(2) Christian plot allegation part of larger narrative, 13 May 2011
by Shahril Hamdan
The allegation of a plot to make Christianity the official religion in Malaysia is but the latest indication of a burgeoning and malignant Malay ethnic nationalism.
Whilst the anger towards Utusan is, of course, wholly called for, the problem at hand seems to have roots far deeper than the paper's offensive, communalist and partisan journalism can account for.
I say this because such a preposterous charge could only have been leveled if it finds home in an antagonistic discourse of fear and ontological segregation. That discourse exists in the contemporary Malay discursive networks, and it appears to me to be fairly developed.
Cast our thoughts back to 2000 and 2001 - the Reformasi juggernaut that had shaped Malay(sian) politics was beginning to stutter - when Suqiu's 83-point memorandum caused a stir because it appealed for the abolishment of the bumiputera and non-bumiputera distinction.
That the memorandum itself was essentially a list of "appeals" and not tuntutan or demands was lost in the raging debates that followed.
That the subsequent meeting between Umno Youth and Suqiu led to the retraction of seven points considered 'sensitive' also seemed to matter little.
The narrative that was to dominate the collective Malay consciousness had been born; at its centre was the idea that non-Malays are now conspiring to encroach upon sacrosanct spaces which were themselves imbued with originary myths.
Explaining the demon within
Survival meant absolutely the defense against the non-Malay who dah melampau. The siege mentality dominated.
Now, sister discourses have, of course, existed in the past. Indeed (Malay) ethnic nationalism in Malaysia has a longer history than its patriotic counterpart.
But I want to suggest that while earlier ethnic nationalisms assumed a chiefly affirmative, economic character, the present manifestation is particularly vicious because it defines success in the regulation of the perpetually devious internal Other.
For all the chest-thumping rhetoric that colours such an ideologically vacuous discourse, the protagonist in this chapter of Malay nationalism is really, the non-Malay.
I hesitate to say whether, taken to its logical conclusion, it desires the demise of the latter, but certainly in continuously reinscribing boundaries between "us" and "them", the concern is much less about how "we" can better ourselves than about making sure "they" know their place.
The deconstruction of such a paradigm will be tricky; although many Malays are, in various forms, engaged in doing just that.
Counter-narratives that appeal to a more universalist rendering of Islam or a more liberal-cosmopolitan conception of ethnic affiliation do rebel against the reductive absolutisms of Utusan and co.
The difficulty of course, is that fear mongering can be extremely effective - as with all guises of social conservatism, the aforementioned narrative derives its charm from its plea to the lowest common denominator.
It is straightforward, contains no touch of nuance or sophistication and is decidedly urgent: they are out to get us.
Breaking loose from the past
But if we know anything about the Malay culture and its customs, it is that deference to leaders still counts for quite a bit. Here, our politicians need to step up.
Rhetoric and policies that encourage cross-ethnic contact, trust and solidarity are anathema to those who wish to tell us that we are essentially separate, and locked in a zero sum battle, with no horizon in sight.
In responses to issues like this one we are debating about, the message from leaders has to be clear and consistent, not one peppered with generalities and exit options both ways - leaders need to demonstrate they stand for something.
For too long, especially when dealing with the issue of ethnic relations, we have been a nation of compromises; surely it is time to supplement our character with some concrete ideals and beliefs.
On the immediate matter at hand, it has been encouraging to note that a number of Umno politicians and Umno-supporting members have at least registered doubt over the allegations, and in some instances, strongly criticized the two bloggers.
The nature of that opposition to the claims is yet unclear. Whether it was motivated by the fact that the unsubstantiated details seemed too dramatic for any part of the story to be true, or whether they genuinely think better of the non-Malays and DAP, for that matter, remains to be seen.
But the negative reactions to the individuals involved, while provisional and tentative - most understandably want to wait for the police to complete investigations - can only be welcomed.
And lest I be accused of schadenfreude, no one should be under threat of ISA over this. Nation of ideals, please. Not of compromises or exceptions.
・SHAHRIL HAMDAN was the deputy chairman for the United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC) in 2007/08. Upon returning to Malaysia, he served as an assistant to a parliamentarian before leaving again for the UK where he is nowpursuing his Masters degree in Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies at the London School of Economics. He considers himself to be an unashamedly cosmopolitan Malay-Muslim and is quite prepared to be associated with the (pejorative) term 'Melayu liberal'.
(3) Christian state: Authorities speaking in tongues, 15 May 2011
If not for this Christian marketplace seminar, Umno, a party full of mischief and devilish schemes, will find another way of smearing DAP.'
Police quiz 8 pastors over 'Christian conspiracy'
Geronimo: Are the authorities trying to tell us that holding your hands up to a certain height, implies that Christians are praying for a Christian prime minister and a Christian nationhood?
If that is the case, can the authorities please, we beg you, tell us how high we must hold our hands, before we are mistakenly hauled up again for the same reason? Other than the Catholic church, churches of the other denominations do hold their hands up high whenever they chant "Alleluia".
Catholics will only hold up the hand when a baptism is taking place. Other than this one occasion, holding up the hands is normally done by the priest at the altar when in prayers. Heck, why am I explaining this to some idiots who should on their accord take the trouble to learn the faiths of other Malaysians.
There are also times when Christians sit down together to pray as a group, and speak in tongues (spiritual language) that laymen will not understand. If they are caught doing so, the authorities would charge these people for using encrypted code in their prayers to take over the country. Paranoia seems to be the order of the day.
RR: Religion and prayers are private matters. The Islamists would pray for the entire world to embrace Islam. Likewise there is nothing wrong if Christians too pray to God to make the whole world Christian for the sake of unity and peace.
These are just prayers - a medium between the people and God of different faiths. By these prayers, it is not going to change the constitution of the country, which stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state and where other religions can be practised as well.
Unless the people, through the Parliament, make the change; nothing can be changed. Let not the police and the politicians waste precious time on this idiocracy.
Vijay47: The police are really in the pits. Now they are examining the Christian mode of worship to see if it includes anything sinister and subversive.
What do you care how I worship? What do you care whether I kneel or genuflect, clasp my palms or raise my hands, or swing from the church tower, which in any case your mob prohibits?
I have always felt that PM Najib Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein have no decency and this latest episode confirms it - invite the Christian leaders to tea and the very next day unleash the police on them. Why is Utusan Malaysia not being questioned at all?
Patriot: Christians leaders should not be misled by political parties. Politicians have no place in any religious meeting otherwise suspicions will arise in the light of prevailing religious anxieties and apprehensions.
When you mix religion with politics, it becomes very apparent there is some kind of hidden agenda to cause confusion and misunderstanding. Some Christian leaders seem to be unduly riled up to the point they are even against having a dialogue with Prime Minister Najib Razak over the Christian state issue.
I wonder what these leaders are teaching in their churches - perhaps preaching what they do not practise themselves. I am sure a number of Christians are not happy at the way their leaders are behaving but are afraid to speak up.
Bendahara: Hishammuddin should be strongly censured for creating more speculations over something which is traditionally a Christian way of worship. Maybe, he should go to the nearest church and observe how Christians worship with their hands raised to the Kingdom of Heaven, where they will say Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Francis T Rozario: I think we have had enough - Najib's word is worth nothing. It is time the Church made a police report against Utusan and all those who have published these defamatory remarks.
The report must state that the Utusan report is malicious, mischievous, seditious, a threat to national security, and directed at making ordinary Muslims hate Christians and vice versa. Once established, the police will have to arrest Utusan's managing editor and the newspaper has to be banned indefinitely.
Mengxiang: Hishammuddin is so naive and gullible that he can believe anything. The police, who have nothing else better to do, jumped into the fray and asked stupid questions. A non-issue has become an issue, which supposedly can threaten national security.
Please leave us Christians alone to worship our Lord. It's bad enough we cannot use and have the word 'Allah' and have our Holy Bible defaced. True and good Muslims do not do such things.
Oo Kok Siew: For those who don't know, Unashamedly Ethical is a worldwide organisation to get people to commit themselves to good values, ethics and clean living. The conference in Penang was about teaching us to say no to offering or giving bribes and to pray for the well-being of our country and the government.
This organisation promotes peace and goodwill. For the ignorant, here's their website.
Cannon: If not for this Christian marketplace seminar, Umno, a party full of mischief and devilish schemes, will find another way of smearing DAP.
It lays hold of a fabrication to link the church and DAP and to beat its drums and scare the wits out of the rural Malays into believing the DAP is colluding with Christians to overturn their religion and special position.
The 'white knight' of Umno rides to their rescue to stand down the Christians and put DAP to flight. Umno is that sick and hard up for votes.
Orang_Gila_Malaya: I'm Muslim but not a very good one... To me, regardless of faith a person adhered to, so long as he's sincere, competent and transparent, he/she can be PM of this country. Look at the ministers we now have - most of them are Muslims but corruption is everywhere.
Chipmunk: When a Christian prays, he raises his hands to praise and worship the Almighty God. In the same way, when a Muslim prays, he stands and raise his hands and say, "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). So does that mean that the Muslim is also taking a pledge?
Malaysian cops should go to different religious institutions to learn the practises of other religions.
Bradley: How to get working class Malay-Muslims and Chinese illiterates to support the PM? Easy. Get Utusan to report that Christians want to take over the country (that's like saying the Muslims in the US are trying to take over the country and install a Muslim president).
Then the PM calls in the Christian leaders in Malaysia to tell them that don't worry, he will "settle" it because he believes the Christians are innocent. The Christians thank him for his wisdom, benevolence and understanding. And in the eyes of the Muslims, the PM is also a hero.
How long do Malaysians have to endure this asinine treatment of the people as if we are stupid.
2CTS Worth: How is it that the police are so bias as to take the bloggers' statement as the truth to the point that the Christians were called up for questioning? Shouldn't the validity of the bloggers be verified first? Even up till now, the Christians are being harassed while the bloggers are forgotten.
Lim Chong Leong: The harassment against the Christians continues. First you can't pray in the national language, then you have your bibles impounded and stamped.
Now they accuse you of trying to install a Christian state. They will continue to try break your patience so as to justify the use of 'reasonable force' to clamp down on all of us and declare martial law. This is the only way they can stay in power.
・The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments.
(4) Gov't bent on pitting Malays against non-Malays, 15 May 2011
This is a strategy used by by BN, time and again. They will pit the Malays against the non-Malays and the Muslims against other faiths.'
Christian conspiracy: Special Branch link suspected
Anak Malaysia: Are the Christians in this country that foolish? If they have an agenda to turn Malaysia into a Christian nation, would they invite a Buddhist politician, accompanied by a Muslim political party member, to witness their alleged controversial, ambitious and far-reaching plans?
Wouldn't it be much more likely that they hold a top secret meeting where attendance is rigorously screened? Let's apply some basic common sense please.
Quigonbond: The problem is not that DAP is accepting people from other parties. The problem is that the institutions of governance in this country is so partisan and corrupt that they are not able to enforce laws fairly.
That's why people could be bought over by money politics and the briber faces no investigation nor prosecution. That's why Utusan Malaysia can get away with the most inflammatory headlines but not Sin Chew Daily or Tamil Nesan.
I hope DAP member Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman comes to his senses. Disappearing is not a solution, and in fact it shows that the Special Branch is complicit in cooking up this crisis.
I urge all rural folks to wake up and see Umno/Perkasa/Pembela/Utusan/MCA for what they truly are - abusers of power, corrupters to the core, racists and extremists who are morally decayed. If the mainstream media were to report fairly and professionally, I doubt many will vote for BN.
Cannon: It's a fact the Special Branch (SB) has a special unit that is dedicated to monitoring the activities of the various religions in our country, particularly, Christianity. SB's Christian personnel are known to attend Sunday worship services of various churches.
Christians are not troubled or worried by such intrusions. It's not as though they wear one mask in pubic and reveal another face behind closed doors. The SB can sniff and snoop all they want to look out for conspirators, they are only chasing the wind.
Good men: This whole controversy is a payback because Sarawak churches/Christians wouldn't play ball shortly before the Sarawak state election. The churches declined to fully endorse Minister in the PM's Department Idris Jala's 10-point solution, as it was just another politically motivated tactic with no sincerity.
Now Christian Malaysians are being made to pay, while Umno conveniently stir up tension before GE13. I sincerely hope it backfires big time.
Anonymous: Why did Razali tagged along when Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi made the police report? Was he thinking that Ooi was going to give himself up? And days later, he lodged his own version. What is his story?
Declaring Christian state before a Muslim 'illogical'
Changeagent: There is no doubt in my mind that the Christians are being persecuted because they are small in representation, making up only 10 percent of the population, yet visible enough to cause an opinion or reaction among the rural Muslim voters.
What better way for the Umno-led government to position themselves as the gatekeeper and defender of the Islamic faith in the country, never mind the fact that the threat is purely imagined or that there is no plan at all to undermine the position of Islam as the official religion in the first place?
It is becoming clear that this is all a game to score political mileage with the rural Muslim voters, who constitute a much larger voting base, at the expense of the few token Christian votes that have already been written off by the government.
JBGUY: The whole episode is a sham. It was done to discredit the DAP and to get the Malays united. This is a strategy that has been widely used by the belligerent BN government, time and again. They will pit the Malays against the non-Malays and the Muslims against Malaysians of other faiths.
It has worked in the past because the majority Malays have always been gullible enough, but now most Malays are educated and are exposed to the real going-ons and are not as pliable. Umno needs to come up with a better strategy soon.
Ashvin Raj: Other non-Christians were at the dinner with the pastors and their testimonies were consistent. It is indeed illogical to declare a Christian state in front of them. It's clear that Utusan is desperate to cover up their lies with the help of some agents.
But syariah lawyers welcome Parliament bypass
Anonymous 2: Bypassing the state assembly and Parliament with regards to syariah laws is a dangerous thing. For example, what if the laws were to be extended to non-Muslims with regards to any dispute that involves conversions or if it is remotely perceived to infringe on the status of Islam.
If the state assembly or Parliament has no powers to review those laws that are passed that negatively impacts non-Muslim rights, we will again be accused of undermining or insulting Islam.
The federal constitution is clear that syariah law does not have any jurisdiction over non-Muslims, but we have people like Pembela and Perkasa who will argue otherwise, based on their biased and narrow views.
I can see that eventually creeping Islamisation will happen and the syariah law will be promoted to the same level as our current legal system and the country's secular laws, which would mean non-Muslim will then be subjected to syariah law.
David Dass: It is so tragic. People in the Middle East are dying for parliamentary democracy, and here we have a group of so-called professionals who want to dismantle it for Muslims.
The principle objection taken by the proponents is that non-Muslims should not be involved in the making of law applicable to Muslims. The fact of the matter is that the bulk of all laws made in Malaysia applies to all, regardless of faith.
And the process adopted in the formulation of Islamic law ensures that such law is formulated, scrutinised and reviewed by Islamic scholars. The Malay rulers are also required to approve such laws.
Good Men: Muslims and non-Muslims alike must stand up as one to reject such an authoritarian idea. How many people sit on the National Council of Islamic Affairs of Malaysia (MKI) that will decide on laws for the entire Muslim population? And who elected them?
Lim Chong Leong: Now, please don't be ridiculous. We are a civil and civilised nation where we keep our religions to ourselves. What you do on this earth is between you and your maker, as when I die my maker, and not you, will judge me.
Just how wise is the Council of Rulers when they themselves are involved in government awarded projects?
James Dean: Any suggestions to pass laws any other way than as provided by our constitution and practised by our Parliament borders on treason.
・The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments.
3. Free Malaysia Today (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com)
DAP’s ‘brother’ Razali was‘coerced’, 14 May 2011
by Teoh El Sen
Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi has challenged former Umno member Razali Abdul Rahman to reveal the content of his police report over the alleged attempt to place a Christian prime minister in Putrajaya.
KUALA LUMPUR: A previously loyal DAP member who lodged a new report on the alleged ‘Christian plot’ to takeover Putrajaya was coerced into doing so, according to Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi.
Falling short of calling it an “Umno plot”, Ooi, who is also DAP national central executive committee member, said 42-year-old Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman was treated like a “brother”.
“We don’t know what is his intent to file the report five days after we lodged a report denying that there was a Christian conspiracy.
“In fact, he was the one who personally asked me to make the report and accompanied me on May 8 to the police station,” said Ooi, adding that he was saddened by the new development.
Ooi, who called for a press conference at the DAP headquarters here, showed reporters a newspaper cutting from Chinese daily, GuangMing, showing a photo of Ooi and Razali in front of the police station.
In the photograph Razali was seen making a thumbs down sign showing disapproval of Utusan’s report.
“When I saw the man (Razali) on TV yesterday, he looked very worried. I sympathise with him,” said Ooi, who was alongside other top DAP leaders including Tony Pua, Teresa Kok, Gobind Singh Deo, and Lim Lip Eng.
Ooi said that he received an intelligence report that Razali had a relative who was a Special Branch police officer.
Ooi alleged that the officer was instrumental in leaking the story to Utusan.
“We were informed that Razali has a relative who is a lance corporal from Jalan Petani police station in charge of taking care of political matters in Jelutong,” he said.
Ooi however declined to reveal the identity of the officer.
“It was this particular police officer who was instrumental in getting Utusan the story, I hope the police would look into this angle,” said Ooi.
Reveal content
Ooi today challenged Razali to come out and reveal the contents of his police report so that legal action, if any, could be taken by the party.
“He is hiding behind the police report. We would be glad if he could repeat his report openly.
“If what he says threatens DAP’s reputation and the Christian community then we can seek legal redress,” he said.
Further describing Razali’s background, Ooi said Razali was once an Umno member but came to him in 2008 asking to join DAP after quitting his former party.
“He told me Umno was suppressing him to a point that his car was splashed with paint on one occasion,” said Ooi, adding that he also helped Razali find an employer when he was in financial difficulty.
Ooi also said that at this juncture, Razali would be pitting himself against the eye witnesses numbering some 50 others.
“It is his words against the rest of these 50,” he said.
Ooi said eight pastors and four DAP members who attended the function, including himself, have given their statements to the police.
“The police questions were ridiculous. They were asking the pastors if they raised their right or left hand, but they simply replied ‘any’. They also asked how high were the hands raised,” said Ooi,.
Ooi said the people who had made the exposé were so ignorant that they did not know that Christians pray with their hands raised and may have misunderstood it as an oath.
Ooi also condemned Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, saying the letter of reprimand was merely a slap on the wrist when Utusan was flaming ‘dangerous fires’.
“It is clearly an agenda to destroy DAP. Hishammuddin wanted to get even because he handled the Al-Kitab issue very badly.” he said.
Ooi said he had not been able to contact Razali.
Absurd idea
When asked how the allegations surfaced if it did not happen, Ooi said:”If there really was a conspiracy, they wouldn’t have invited Razali, right?
“That’s common sense. Had I the power to summon Christian groups to lead such an agenda against Muslims. I would resurrect Altantuya (Shaaribuu) to testify. I’m just saying it’s totally absurd.”
Ooi said the conference was called “Unashamedly Ethical Conference” which was focused on ways Christians can contribute to fighting corruption and bribery.
On an allegation which surfaced on pro-Umno blogs that Ooi himself leaked the story, Ooi replied: “I wouldn’t trust the blogs. I have been a world class blogger, compared to this.”:
Meanwhile Pua who is DAP publicity chief said Hishamuddin’s comment that based on Razali’s report there was some bais to Utusan’s report was a ‘very serious claim.’
“Such insinuations could result in confusion and disharmony in the country.”
Last Saturday, Utusan Malaysia carried a front-page article headlined “Kristian agama rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?).
The article alleged that a group of pastors had participated in a gathering in Penang recently, together with DAP elected representatives including Ooi.
The gathering allegedly discussed a plot to turn Malaysia into a Christian country and install a Christian prime minister.
‘U-turn’
The report, based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by two pro-Umno bloggers, charged DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow for a Christian prime minister.
Several police reports have been made urging the authorities to investigate Utusan Malaysia and the blogger for criminal acts.
On Thursday, the Home Ministry issued a letter of reprimand to Utusan Malaysia over the article.
But the very next day its minister Hishamuddin said there was “some basis” to the Utusan report.
Hishammuddin said this based on ‘new evidence” provided in the police report lodged By Razali yesterday morning.
Razali, who described himself as a responsible Muslim, was quoted in Utusan as saying that he knew the “true story” behind what happened at the function, in a hotel in Macalister Road, where the alleged conspiracy was hatched.
“I am here to explain what really happened (during the function) because I was present. I made the police report because I am very disappointed with the reports which have been made by those who don’t know what really happened,” he reportedly said.
(End)
