‘Futile’ effort by anti-Bible group

Nobody participated in the controversial Malay Bible-burning event schedued this morning in Penang.

GEORGE TOWN Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi today described the contentious Bible-burning event as “futile” after the venue remained empty hours after it was scheduled to start.

The controversial event was scheduled for 9.30am at Dewan Ahmad Badawi, Butterworth,  but nobody showed up until 11am. Police were seen patrolling the place since early this morning.

Speaking at a press conference here, Abdul Rahim said: “It was a futile attempt by the organisers.

“I am thankful that the event did not happen. I thank the people, especially the Malay Muslims, for not participating in the event.

“As CPO responsible for the security here, I urge everyone not to bring up religious and cultural issues that can undermine the harmony in the country.”

Earlier this week, pamphlets were allegedly distributed by a little-known group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti-Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Bible Action Force) urging Muslims to join in the Malay Bible-burning festival fixed for today.

The pamphlets were distributed in the wake of a call to Muslims by Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali during a convention here to burn the Malay and Jawi versions of the Bibles containing the term “Allah” and other Islamic Arabic terms.

Ibrahim’s call was in response to allegations that Bibles were being distributed to students in a school in Jelutong.

The call, police reports and subsequent “invitation” by the Anti-Bible Action Force sparked another round of heated debate and police reports with many accusing Ibrahim of inciting hatred.

Others blamed Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for stoking an “old” issue by insisting that it is the right of Christians to use the term “Allah” in the Malay version of the Bible.

Before the start of the no-show event, Abdul Rahim had warned the public not to participate while Lim had pledged to ensure that the event did not take place.