Christians infiltrating mosques: Take action against 'insane' Hasan Ali, Najib told

Hasan Ali

Christians expressed outrage at sacked PAS leader Hasan Ali, insisting that he backed up his accusations with proof otherwise Prime Minister Najib Razak's government should order the police to take immediate action against him.

"Anyone who makes what is deemed to be highly irresponsible, extremist or insane statements, with the government policy of moderation in mind should be made to show solid proof," Ramon Navaratnam, chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies and lay Christian leader, toldMalaysia Chronicle.

"This is a very good test of the seriousness of the government in not tolerating extremists and extremism The authorities should be challenged to take urgent action on such a wild statement."

Christians disgusted Najib is back to religious bigotry after papal visit

Prime Minister Najib Razak seems to be creating more problems for himself each time he opens his mouth to speak. After visiting Pope Benedict XVI, a number of Christians here hoped that he would be more understanding towards other faiths in Malaysia.

Instead, the PM put his foot into his mouth when he returned, sparking cynicism within the Christian community that those who had criticised him were right.

The PM was a "gas-bag" who said nice things to the Pope and the outside world, but shows his true colours the moment he is home by reverting to racial and religious politicking, they slammed.

“The government will engage with Christian groups here that love peace and respect the country’s Islamic leadership. We wish to tell our friends the Malaysian Christians… if they respect us, we will also respect them,” Bernama had reported Najib as saying.

Najib speaks with a forked tongue, M'sian Christians warn Pope

In a telling sign of the changes sweeping Malaysian society, a group of Malaysian Christians warned the Pope and other foreign leaders against Prime Minister Najib Razak's forked tongue and his growing disconnect with reality.

"The conduct of Prime Minister Najib and his Barisan Nasional government at home, at least recently, has been anything but moderate! In our Malaysian colloquialism, we might say of the prime minister that dia cakap tak serupa bikin, meaning that ‘he does not do what he preaches’, or that ‘he does not walk the talk’!,"  the group said in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI.

"In this regard, we are very concerned about the timing of this official visit which follows immediately after recent repression of civil society groups which are fighting for clean and fair elections. We are also deeply concerned that some top leaders of this democratic initiative have been painted unjustly as ‘anti-Islam’ by the authorities without any basis whatsoever."

The group of 365 Catholics and other Christians in Malaysia, including a string of priests and religious leaders, signed the joint letter expressing their concern over Prime Minister Najib Razak’s official visit to the Vatican on 18 July 2011 in view of recent developments in the country.

The letter also highlighted concerns about the lack of democratic rights and religious freedom in Malaysia to enable the Pope to “understand more critically and comprehensively the political and social realities” lest the pontiff is “presented with a one-sided view of developments” in the country.

Can Najib win over the Christians with Vatican visit?

KUALA LUMPUR - When Datuk Seri Najib Razak meets Pope Benedict XVI today, he will be hoping to win back Christian backing for Barisan Nasional (BN), but analysts say it will take more than a papal audience to convince sceptical Catholics and Christians.

They said today that the prime minister must rein in the right-wing elements of the ruling coalition and prevent further harassment against Christians by his own administration.

The prime minister will call on the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome today in talks to establish diplomatic ties. The visit follows several incidents that have heightened religious tension in Malaysia.