Christian state: DAP man Hisham relying on actually from Umno, says Guan Eng

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan lambasted the police for their tough grilling of the 8 Christian pastors, also revealing that a key figure on whom Prime Minister Najib was banking on to turn the entire Christian-state row into his political favor was actually an Umno plant.

Guan Eng told a press conference in Penang that Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman had joined DAP from Umno in 2009. Although, Razali was currently the Bukit Dumbar publicity secretary, he was still an Umno member.

"Don't say they lied, the pastors didn't lie. Don't make it seem that they lied. The pastors have said (there was no such thing), Jeff Ooi has also said, and if you don't believe Jeff Ooi, then please note he is not even a Christian," Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general, said.

"How can someone who is not a Christian want to push for a Christian state. And then they use a DAP member who came from Umno. It all just shows it is another lie by Utusan."

White-to-black, black-to-white politics

Razali shot into prominence after both Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Deputy Inspector General of Police Khalid Bakar hinted that a police report Razali lodged on Friday morning gave "some basis" to an Utusannews report that deeply angered the Christian community.

Following Hishammuddin's cryptic remarks on Friday evening which were also was echoed by newly-promoted Deputy Inspector General of Police Khalid Bakar, pundits had warned that "the next conspiracy" was on the way.

Till now, Hisham and Khalid have refused to shed any light on what Razali's report is about. Razali himself is keeping mum.

"These are the type of politics that they play. We have to accept the fact that there are people who will change their stand suddenly but no matter how they change their stand, you cannot change something from white to black or black to white," said Guan Eng.

Pro-Muslim by being Anti-Christian

This is not the first religious controversy involving Christianity that Najib and his cousin Hishammuddin have stirred up.

In January 2010, they had sparked a series of church torchings and vandalism after giving their tacit agreement to rowdy ultra Malay-rights groups including Umno Youth to insist that the word Allah was only for Muslims.

The Umno interpretation was fiercely challenged by PAS, the country's largest Islamic party. Debunking that notion. PAS leaders said that even from the days of the Prophet, non-Muslims have been using the word.

PAS also accused Umno of deliberately stoking racial and religious bigotry to rally political support from the Malay and Muslim communities.

"Najib has wafer-thin Muslim credentials. He leads a very liberal lifestyle and has been accused of many vices. Maybe this is the only way APCO figures that he can stake his claim on the Muslims - by being anti-Christian," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

APCO is the Zionist-linked public relations firm hired by Najib at an exorbitant cost to drive his communications strategy.

More prominent guests speak out

A week ago, the Umno-owned Utusan newspaper had published an article based on the postings of two Umno bloggers, accusing Christian leaders and the DAP of plotting to replace Islam with Christianity as the country's official religion for the purpose of installing a Christian prime minister.

It published a photograph of Ooi and 8 Christians pastors at a dinner event that was entitled Unashamedly Ethical Conference. According to Utusan, it was there that the pledge to usurp Islam's position was made.

Despite the denials of the pastors and Jeff Ooi, Najib and Hishammuddin have insisted on taking Utusan's side.

Meanwhile, other prominent leaders of civil society who were at the event have come out to clear the deny. One of these was Paul Low, the president of Transparency International Malaysia. Low had been invited as guest speaker.

"I am not sure who this Razali is. I didn't hear him speak or was introduced to him. What I would like to make very clear is that there was no such pledge of allegiance or any pledge at all to turn Malaysia into a Christian state or to install a Christian prime minister," Low told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Unashamedly Ethical Conference is a global movement that began in South Africa. It is to promote ethics, values and clean living. My role there was to talk about corruption and the integrity pact that was recently announced by Pemandu.

"There was no such thing during the whole event when anyone made any pledge about Islam or Christianity nor was there any speech about overthrowing Islam and installing a Christian state. The way the entire issue is being played out is most distressing." - Malaysia Chronicle