The true meaning of a civil society

Luckily Perak is a Barisan Nasional run state and Najib is the head of Barisan Nasional. If the Selangor Mufti had done this and if he had whacked the Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the Pakatan Rakyat people would have screamed that he had been bought off, he is working for Umno, he is on Najib’s payroll, and so on.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

(Mail Online, 10 February 2012) - A Christian street preacher told two gay men they were 'sinners' who would 'burn in hell' as they walked past him on a busy high street, a court heard today.

In a case, which could reignite the debate over the boundaries of free speech, Michael Overd, 47, is accused of using threatening language towards civil partners Craig Manning and Craig Nichol when he saw them as he preached on a busy high street last July.

The court heard claims the lay preacher was provoked by a previous altercation with the couple in October 2010, when he singled them out when he saw them holding hands.

The defence claim that Overd, of Creech St Michael in Somerset, did not threaten the pair but was merely exercising freedom of expression by loudly reading from the Bible as they passed, and accused them of being threatening towards the preacher when they saw who he was.

Giving evidence at Taunton Magistrates' Court, Mr Nichol said that as soon as Overd saw them from around 10 metres away on July 16 last year 'the expression on his face changed'.

'He said "I have already told these two sinners over here that they are going to burn in Hell",' he said.

'He looked at us and pointed at us when he said it. His voice was quite loud and very clear. I felt angry, embarrassed and ashamed.’

'It was a really busy day and I felt that everyone was looking at us when he was saying these things to us. I asked him who he was to judge me and he said "It’s God’s words, it is in the Bible".’

'He said I should repent and ask God for forgiveness.'

Paul Diamond, representing Overd, claimed his client was merely reciting a passage from 1 Corinthians, which says: 'Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.'

He said his client was allowed to use freedom of expression to read from the bible and accused the pair of threatening violence against Overd, something they deny.

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Interesting or not? In Britain, even if you are a preacher, imam, rabbi, priest, or whatever, if you quote from the Holy Book and condemn someone as a sinner who is going to burn in hell, you will be arrested and charged in court.

Yes, Britain practices freedom of speech. You can even criticise the Queen and the Royal Family -- not like in Malaysia where you would be charged for sedition, like Karpal Singh, if you were perceived (even wrongly-perceived by a Malay, non-English-speaking reporter) that you have criticised the Sultan.

Nevertheless, as much as Britain practices and allows freedom of speech, they do draw the line somewhere. And if you try to impose your religious beliefs and values on others you will get arrested and will be sent to jail. In short, keep your religion to yourself and don’t pass judgment on others, or else you get sent to jail.

In Malaysia it is the opposite.

PAS wants to ban Valentine’s Day. The Perak Mufti condemned Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for attending the Thaipusam celebrations at the Batu Caves (READ MORE HERE).

In Malaysia, if you whack the Mufti for imposing his values on others and say that it is a stupid attitude, you may instead get arrested for ‘insulting Islam’.

In the first place, how can the Perak Mufti whack the Prime Minister? Is he not a government officer who is paid a salary from the government coffers? Is he not supposed to ‘show loyalty’ to Barisan Nasional?

Luckily Perak is a Barisan Nasional run state and Najib is the head of Barisan Nasional. If the Selangor Mufti had done this and if he had whacked the Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the Pakatan Rakyat people would have screamed that he had been bought off, he is working for Umno, he is on Najib’s payroll, and so on.

No way will the Pakatan Rakyat people allow the Selangor Mufti to whack Anwar. So how come the Umno people are keeping quiet when the Perak Mufti whacks Najib? Very strange! Is the Perak Mufti a Trojan horse who has been paid off by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to undermine Najib? Strange indeed!

Anyway, as they say, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. In that same spirit, one man’s freedom of speech is another man’s Trojan horse. Such are the ways of humankind.

And in Britain if you moralise and whack ‘sinners’ you go to jail. In Malaysia, if you whack the moraliser and ‘bible-thumper’ you end up in jail instead.

I can see that my work will never be accomplished in my lifetime…..sigh……