Christian leaders called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to hasten a probe into a police claim there was ‘new evidence’ giving “some basis” to the controversial Utusan news article alleging a plot to make Christianity the country’s official religion.
“The public is waiting with bated breath for the full details of this new development announced by both the Home Minister and the Deputy Inspector-General of Police,” Ramon Navaratnam, a senior Christian lay-leader and past president of Transparency International, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Last week, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had smacked down an angry Christian community demanding tougher action against the editors of the Umno-owned newspaper for “irresponsible” reporting.
Refusing to do more than issue a reprimand, Hishammuddin had insisted there was “some basis” for the article and pointed to a police report lodged by DAP member Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman.
Hisham’s announcement was immediately backed up by Khalid Abu Bakar, the controversial and newly-promoted deputy police chief.
Integrity of Christian leaders slighted
But till now, no further details have been released. Both men have maintained a deafening silence.
“Given that the announcements were made very publicly and does put in question the truthfulness of Christian leaders, it is taking undue time for the police to reveal the extent and contents of Razali’s report, which should be available by now. This delay is not helpful and will not bode well for the government’s credibility in the entire affair,” said Ramon.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has since revealed that Razali, the DAP Bukit Dumbar publicity secretary, was a former Umno member, whose name was still in the Umno membership lists.
Guan Eng's startling disclosure further irritated the Christians as well as other Malaysians, fed up by the gutter-politicking pursued by the Najib administration.
Since taking over as prime minister in April 2009, Najib has launched a series of conspiracies with racial, religious and sexual undertones that attacked the non-Muslims and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in a bid to make the Malays upset, and tie them to his Umno party.
So far, he has not succeeded.
There is now concern that to get Utusan off the hook and to continue driving a wedge of suspicion between the Malays and the non-Malays, the PM will unleash his ‘next conspiracy’.
Unbelievable shenanigans
Speculation is swirling that the latest ‘patch’ supplied by his spinners would involve Razali telling the police he overheard a group of Christians talking after a crucial dinner event was over.
One of the group prayed aloud that he hoped Malaysia would one day be a Christian country with a Christian prime minister at the helm. This was the basis for the Utusan news report and the postings by two Umno bloggers.
Utusan and the Umno bloggers had accused the DAP of organising a dinner event called Unashamedly Ethical Conference. It was during this event, they further alleged, that DAP MP for Jelutong Jeff Ooi and 8 Christian pastors had pledged to make Christianity the official religion.
The pastors and DAP have denied the allegations.
Prominent citizens, including Transparency International president Paul Low, who also attended the dinner as guests or guest speakers have also denied there was ever such a pledge, or that the issue of replacing Islam with Christianity ever cropped up.
Meanwhile, Pakatan Rakyat leaders warned the Najib administration not to further “spice up their story” and escalate religious tensions. Instead, the PM should apologise for the brouhaha and punish Utusan and the Umno bloggers immediately.
"We are now in make-believe zone. It is too much to ask anyone with nomal senses to believe all these shenanigans dreamed up by crazy spin-masters who are no longer relevant and belong to a past era. It is so ridiculous, we can only wonder Najib doesn't realize it," MP for Gopeng Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.
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Christian leaders called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to hasten a probe into a police claim there was ‘new evidence’ that gave “some basis” to the controversial Utusan news article alleging a plot to make Christianity the country’s official religion.
“The public is waiting with bated breath the full details of this new development announced by both the Home Minister and the Deputy Inspector-General of Police,” Ramon Navaratnam, a senior Christian lay-leader and past president of Transparency International, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Last week, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had called on an angry Christian community to calm down as they demanded tougher action against the editors of the newspaper for “irresponsible” reporting.
Refusing to do more than issue a reprimand, and not even a warning letter, Hisham insisted there was “some basis” for the article and pointed to a police report lodged by DAP member Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman.
Hisham’s announcement was immediately backed up by controversial deputy IGP Khalid Abu Bakar.
But till now, no further details have been released.
“Given that the authorities had made their announcements with confidence, it is now taking undue time for the police to reveal the extent and contents of Razali’s report, which sould be available by now. The delay is not helpful and will not bode well for the government’s credibility in the entire affair,” said Ramon.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has since revealed that Razali, the DAP Bukit Dumbar publicity secretary, was a former Umno member, whose name was still in the Umno membership lists.
The startling disclosure further irritated the Christians as well as other faiths. Since taking over as prime minister in April 2009, Najib has launched a series of conspiracies with racial, religious and sexual undertones against non-Muslims and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in a bid to make the Malays upset and tie them to his Umno party.
So far, he has not succeeded. There is now concern that to get Utusan, which is owned by his Umno party, off the hook and to continue driving a wedge of suspicion between the Malays and the non-Malays, the PM has embarked on his latest ‘conspiracy’.
Speculation is swirling that the latest ‘patch-up’ would involve Razali telling the police he overhead a group of Christians talking after a crucial dinner event was over, and one of the group had prayed aloud that he hoped Malaysia would one day be a Christian country with a Christian prime minister at the helm.
Utusan and two Umno bloggers had accused the DAP of organising a dinner eventUnashamedly Ethical Conference.They further alleged that during the function, DAP MP for Jelutong Jeff Ooi and 8 Christian pastors had pledged to make Christianity the official relion.
The pastors and DAP have denied the allegations. Prominent citizens, including Transparency International president Paul Low, who also attended the dinner as guests or guest speakers have also denied there was ever such a pledge made.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders warned the Najib administration not to further “spice up their lies” and instead, apologise for the brouhaha and punish Utusan and the Umno bloggers immediately.
