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Will Putrajaya turn a blind eye to racist

and extremist views, DAP asksJULY 19, 2013

PETALING

JAYA July 19 The Najib administration has revealed its true colours in the speed and

severity at which it hauled two non-Muslims to court for a tasteless prank while keeping

mum over right-wing Malay and Islamic champions who threaten the constitutional rights

of minorities, the DAP said today.

The opposition party accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) government of practising

double-standards and hypocrisy for throwing the book at two young bloggers who

sparked nationwide anger for their controversial Ramadan greeting on Facebook but

failing to rein in Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali who had called for the burning of

Malay-language bibles, or Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who had defended the

self-declared nationalists provocative remarks.

Clearly BN practices double standards and selective prosecution by only punishing anti-

Muslim statements but not anti non-Muslim statements, the DAPs secretary-general

Lim Guan Eng (picture) said in a strongly worded statement.

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Can Cabinet members, especially non-Muslim Ministers, accept Abdul Rahmans racist

and extremist views that insults against their religion are normal? he asked, and

demanded the Cabinet members censure their colleague for issuing statements that

show no respect for Christians and non-Muslims.

He said the government had shown, through its failure to clamp down on Ibrahim who,

that insults against non-Islamic religions are permitted.

Lim, who is also Bagan MP, vented outrage at the silence from the ruling coalition in

letting slide extremist views he said were an affront to minorities while taking swift action

in prosecuting Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee after the bloggers posted a picture said to mock

Muslims during the Ramadan fasting month.

He noted that Abdul Rahman had said that Ibrahim had already explained his remark

last year was merely to correct the error of printing the said bibles, and burning themwas the proper thing to do just as Muslims burn copies of the Quran that have misprints.

Better known as Alvivi, a contraction of their two first names, 25-year-old Tan and Lee,

24, had stirred up a hornets nest last week when they posted a mock Selamat Berbuka

Puasa (breaking of fast) greeting on their Facebook page that showed them eating bak

kut teh, and describing the soupy pork dish as wangi, enak, menyelerakan (fragrant,

delicious, appetising).

The picture also included a Halal logo, although the consumption of pork is forbidden to

Muslims.

The couple had first courted controversy over the videos and photographs of their sexual

exploits that had been posted on a now-defunct blog.

Yesterday, the duo were slapped with three separate charges under the Sedition Act,

the Film Censorship Act, and the Penal Code at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, but

denied bail.

Lim said the DAP was supportive of the decision to prosecute the bloggers for their

religious insensitivity that is risking multicultural Malaysias interfaith harmony, butchallenged the Cabinets silence over the local government and housing ministers

defence of extremist Islamists, like Ibrahim.

For Abdul Rahman to even state that Ibrahim Alis threat to burn the Bible was normal is

a reflection that both of them share a twisted mind that is anti non-Muslim, which has

clearly buried the prime ministers 1 Malaysia concept, the lawmaker said.

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Lims views were echoed by his party colleague and Petaling Jaya Utara MP, Tony Pua,

who highlighted the clear-cut double-standards in Malaysian prosecution system and

proves the hypocrisy of the BNs 1 Malaysia slogan.

It also makes a mockery of our Federal Constitution which provides that all Malaysians

are equal before the law, Pua said.

Can't compare Ibrahim Ali with Alvivi,says minister

Malaysiakini 18 hours ago

Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's urging to burn Bibles containing the word 'Allah' cannot

be compared with the present case against the sex bloggers Alvin Tan dan Vivian Lee

for insulting Muslims, said the urban wellbeing, housing and local government

minister.

Abdul Rahman Dahlan ( right in photo ) said Ibrahim had already explained that his

urging was merely to correct the error of printing the said Bibles, and burning them

was the proper thing to do just as Muslims burn copies of the Quran that have

misprints.

The acts of the couple, dubbed 'Alvivi', however were aimed at attacking another

religion, and could threaten interfaith harmony, he added.

"What Ibrahim Ali said was normal, but various portals twisted the statement saying

it was an urging to burn the Bible. That is incorrect," he said, however clarifying that

Malaysiakini was not amongst the said portals.

He was commenting when asked after launching an Ops Raya and Anti-Littering

campaign in Kuala Lumpur today.

Abdul Rahman further explained why Alvivi deserved punishment.

"This pair put forth more that goes against the people of Malaysia," he said.

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"What I worry about is that if we do not take specific action, it would involve friction

among religions," he added, noting that Alvivi were also infamous in Singapore.

Abdul Rahman was also asked about Zulkifli Noordin's statement that angered

Hindus before, but he did not comment on it.

About the Ops, Abdul Rahman said that this year's operations will last for 18 days

from Aug 1 to 18, and the Fire and Rescue Department under his ministry was the

lead agency for the campaign.

He said the department will act as the main rescue agencies to deal with fire

incidents, accidents and hazardous chemicals in 16 key locations that have been

identified throughout the country.

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