Pastor aims wrath at Gani and Nancy

Sabah church chief Dusing calls the two 'obnoxious' for defending Ibrahim Ali.

PETALING JAYA: A Christian leader today condemned Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail and de facto Law Minister Nancy Shukri for what he described as their “obnoxious” defence of Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali’s call for the burning of Bibles.

The two must be held responsible for racial and religious tension that may result from their stand on the issue, said Jerry Dusing, president of the Sidang Injil Borneo or the Evangelical Church of Sabah.

“There are limits to what one can say against another religion,” said the pastor. “Asking for the holy scriptures of another religion to be burned violates the most basic of human decency.”

Dusing said Gani’s and Nancy’s failure to act against bigotry served only to embolden extremists to become more incendiary against non-Muslims.

“The views of both the AG and the law minister are both obnoxious and unacceptable,” he said. “It is clear under Article 8 (1) of the Federal Constitution that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

“Even Muslim leaders in the government reject such extremism.”

Dusing welcomed the statement by Sabah Legislative Assembly Speaker Salleh Said Keruak that letting Ibrahim off was as good as telling Malaysians that it is right to burn Bibles.

Salleh also said that burning Bibles was not something that Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak would endorse.

Dusing ticked off former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad for defending Ibrahim, saying he should speak with a voice of moderation instead of encouraging extremism.

He said it was evident to Malaysians that racial and religious polarisation in the country had reached alarming levels.