Police must act against all racial bigots, not selectively – Ravinder Singh

First of all, thank you to whoever uploaded the video of Ustaz Shahul Hamid Seeni Mohd's sermon or speech belittling the Hindu religion.

You have done a national service to the country by exposing a bigot who felt safe to stir racial feelings behind closed doors.

It is now left to be seen if the police will do their national service by charging the bigot and getting the maximum penalty imposed so as to be a deterrent to others with similar ideas of creating discord among peaceful Malaysians of the various races and religions.

Such bigots are not just a threat to the peaceful co-existence of Malaysians, even worse, they are a disgrace to Islam and bring disrepute to a beautiful religion as taught by the Prophet.

So, according to the logic of this racial bigot Ustaz, it should be legitimate for a Muslim to rape, murder and commit any crimes so long as it is done behind closed doors?

Anyway, hudud requires four male eyewitnesses to a rape and they must be persons well respected in society. That is as good as saying that rape must be done in an open public place for the rapist to face punishment.

That's how the victim who reports rape may end up getting stoned to death for having unlawful sex outside of marriage as she won't be able to produce the four male credible witnesses to prove rape.

By the way, how are the Ustaz appointed in the first place and by whom? How are their characters checked to ensure they are not racists and bigots?

A character check is necessary for certain jobs, e.g. security guards, so why not for Ustaz?   

This so-called Ustaz has the audacity to defend himself saying that he had "not realised anyone would upload the video as he had made the statement in a closed-door event and it was not for public viewing".

So, is he saying that disparaging another religion behind closed doors is not wrong? That it is the person who uploaded the video that is wrong, as he did not get his (the Ustaz's) permission to do so? Is this how Muslim minds are controlled by bigots in religious clothing?

So next time somebody robs you, assaults you, etc. you must first get the permission of the robber or the assailant before making a report, as they would not be expecting you to make a report! Wow, fantastic, if this be the logic taught in our schools and the moral lessons.

The question is where were the MIC, MCA, the moderates in Umno and other political parties in Parliament when the bigots first started raising their ugly heads? Did any of them raise this in Parliament to nip the fires of racial discord in the bud? This bigotry has been going on since after the 2008 elections and since it was not nipped in the bud, it has gone viral.

In the 1980s, the use of the term "pendatang" was getting out of hand after the ban on the "Malay Dilemma" was lifted (it was used in this book by Dr Mahathir to describe the non-Malays).

Even leaders were using this word. The then MCA deputy president Datuk Lee Kim Sai raised it in Parliament and demanded that a stop be put to the use of this word that was creating racial discord. His effort was fruitful. But so far, no voices have been heard in Parliament seeking action to stop the bigots from inciting racial tensions under cover of religion.

It is a very sad thing to see Islam, a beautiful religion, being turned on its head by these bigots and into a tool to achieve political objectives by driving wedges between peoples of the various races and religions living in harmony for ages.

If according to the police, inciting or instigating can be prosecuted under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act, then why have we not seen action being taken against those who threatened to burn the Bibles, those who threatened another May 13 by carrying banners in a road march, those who threw Molotov cocktails into churches, those who cut cockerels on a public road and offered money for slapping a politician, those who threatened to chop off heads, etc.? Could the police please explain?

* Ravinder Singh reads The Malaysian Insider.