Act fast against Muslim offenders too, says PAS

PAS wants the authorities to be consistent and take action against Muslims who offend the racial and religious sentiments of non-Muslims.

Its vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said today in Parliament the authorities were quick to act on complaints made by Muslims but were indifferent when it came to non-Muslims’ complaints.

Dr Siti Mariah cited the case of sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee and their controversial Ramadhan photograph where action had been swift. It was no so when non-Muslim sentiment was involved, she said.

“Why the double standard against those who called for bibles to be burnt? Those who had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus? It is also very wrong under the Islamic laws,” Dr Siti Mariah said, citing Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali and its former vice-president Datuk Zulkifli Nordin who have a reputation for making controversial statements against non-Muslims.

Mahfuz said, “We need to look at ourselves as well before crying foul about others. Islam is fair and there should not be selected prosecution of anyone.”

The sex bloggers were hauled up by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission over their controversial Ramadan posting which has caused an uproar among Muslims and non-Muslims.

Police have reclassified their case to causing disharmony, disunity and hatred on grounds of religion, which could see them jailed for between two and four years.