A-G defends decision on Perkasa chief’s Bible-burning threat, says case must be viewed in context

The Attorney-General Chambers says Datuk Ibrahim Ali was not charged for his call for the burning of Bibles because he was referring to a particular batch of Bibles and not out to create racial tension. – October 27, 2014., taken in contaThe Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) today finally broke its silence on its decision not to charge Datuk Ibrahim Ali for his call to burn Bibles with the word "Allah".

The AGC said Ibrahim's call for Bibles to be burned must be viewed in its entire context, adding that the Perkasa chief's statement was aimed at the Bibles distributed to Muslim students of SMK Jelutong in Penang.

"As decided by the court, before a statement is said to have seditious tendencies, the statement must be viewed in the context it was made...

"When studied in its entire context, Datuk Ibrahim's statement is not categorised as having seditious tendencies.

"It was clear Datuk Ibrahim Ali had no intention to create religious tensions, but was only defending the purity of Islam‎," the statement said.

The A-GC stressed that the Bibles distributed outside the school could have threatened the faith of Muslim students if they had read the holy books.

"The open distribution of free Bibles outside SMK Jelutong would have threatened the faith of the Muslim students who have a weak understanding of their religion if they had read the Bibles, especially if they contained Jawi text."

The A-GC also pointed to a portion of Ibrahim's statement during that press conference, where he had said: "This is not a sentiment or (an attempt) to provoke religious tensions, but to defend the purity of Islam which is clearly (stated) in the laws."

The A-GC added that Ibrahim could not be charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code, either, as he had no intention of insulting or provoking to the point that it could threaten public peace.

"He also did not commit any offence under Section 298 or 298A of the Penal Code as he was clearly defending the purity of Islam."

The AGC also confirmed that the Bibles were distributed outside the school last year, but said it had decided to close the case because there was no proof that the religious texts were meant for Malay students alone.

"What happened was that anyone could take the Bibles from the suspects. The investigations revealed the suspects had no intention of distributing it to Malay students alone.

"Hence, the element in Section 298 of the Penal Code and Section of the Shariah Criminal Offences (State of Penang) Enactment1996 was not fulfilled."

Ibrahim's call last year to burn the Bibles had sparked outrage among Christian groups and politicians, with critics accusing Putrajaya of double standard in its use of the Sedition Act.

De facto law minister Nancy Shukri also came under fire when she said in her written parliamentary reply on October 7 that Ibrahim had not been charged as he was defending Islam.

She told critics that she was replying on behalf of the Attorney-General and the Cabinet could not meddle in the issue.

- TMI