Sabah churches want sedition probe into PAS MP over ‘distorted’ Bible remark

The Malaysian Insight The Malaysian Insight Updated 3 years ago · Published on 1 Sep 2020 12:15PM · 9 Comments

The Sabah Council of Churches has urged authorities to immediately investigate PAS MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh his remarks in Dewan Rakyat that the Bible had been 'distorted'. – The Malaysian Insight pic, September 1, 2020.

A SEDITION probe into PAS lawmaker Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh’s remarks on the Bible and the Christian community must be launched by the authorities immediately, said the Sabah Council of Churches (SCC).

“The government of the day (must) initiate an investigation into the seditious statements made by the Pasir Puteh MP which have hurt the feelings of other races and the Christian communities,” SCC president Rev James Wong said in a statement today.

Zawawi’s statements, made during last week’s Dewan Rakyat session, may stir up negative feelings among the different religious communities in Malaysia, the council added.

Wong also urged the Perikatan Nasional government to reprimand Zawawi for issuing such disrespectful and insensitive statements, which have offended Christians.

The SCC also demanded that Zawawi issue an unreserved apology to all Christian communities in Malaysia and to fully retract his statements.

The SCC is the latest religious organisation to criticise Zawawi for his remarks during a Dewan Rakyat debate on amending the Road Transport Act that the Bible had been “distorted or changed”.

The Sarawak Churches Council had asked the lawmaker to retract his remarks and apologise, saying that Zawawi had violated the federal constitution, which provides for freedom of religion.

Archbishop Simon Poh said Zawawi’s remarks were extreme and disrespectful to Christians.

Yesterday, Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Archbishop Julian Leow said Zawawai’s party, PAS, as a member of the government, should denounce his behaviour while the authorities should investigate his “offensive conduct”.

Leow said, to date, no action has been taken to rein in and admonish Zawawi for his divisive and incendiary remarks.

“It is an outrage that an MP who sits on the government bench shows little concern for the need to rebuild the nation but instead, intentionally promotes feelings of ill will and hostility on the grounds of religion in a significant segment of the population,” Leow said in a statement representing CFM’s executive committee.

“In trampling with shocking audacity on the sacred and holy word of God, the Pasir Puteh MP showed a reprehensible disrespect for not only for his fellow Malaysians who are Christians, but also for all the efforts of our forefathers in forging peoples of diverse creeds, colour and cultures into a peace-loving and harmonious nation,” Leow added, calling Zawawi’s remarks an “affront to the utmost”.

He said Zawawi had “belittled” Christian scripture with his remarks in Dewan Rakyat.

While speaking on amendments to raise penalties for drink-driving last week, Zawawi said that no religion allows its followers to drink alcohol and the government’s move to impose harsher penalties for driving under influence should not be a religious issue.

“From what I have learned studying comparative religion, no faith allows its believers to drink alcohol. No religion. Not Buddhism, Hinduism or others allow this,” Zawawi had said in his debate speech.

“This issue should not be a sensitive issue for other faiths,” Zawawi said.

However, Zawawi’s speech was interrupted by Beruas MP Ngeh Khoo Ham who said the PAS’ points were inaccurate as there were other faiths that allowed its followers to drink alcohol as long as it was not intoxicating.

Wine for instance is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist or The Lord’s Supper, Ngeh said.

Zawawi then rejected Ngeh’s explanation, arguing that “before the Bible was distorted, Christianity had forbidden alcohol”.

Zawawi said this was based on his studies in comparative religion.

The lawmaker has refused to apologise over his remarks further saying in an interview that “They (Christians) have no right to be offended. What I said was not an accusation, but a fact”.

In response to this, the SCC said Zawawi has crossed the line of decency and respect for his fellow human beings.

“To suggest that any fellow citizen who holds different religious beliefs from his own needs to first earn ‘the right to be offended’ has completely disregarded the feelings and sentiments of other races and religious communities.” – September 1, 2020.

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Comments

  • Please don't use 'big' words on this guy!! He is too stupid, probably got his degree in a Kellogg's cereal box.

    Posted 3 years ago by Alphonz Jayaratnam · Reply

  • Is what he said in Parliament actionable outside Parliament?

    Posted 3 years ago by Yoon Kok · Reply

  • Do the same.....Lodge a police report whenever there is a seditious remark against Islam. Let the police to open a file and start investigation.

    Posted 3 years ago by Wei Kuan Tan · Reply

    • I'm not sure he can be charged as he's got parliamentary immunity. Unless someone can prove otherwise.

      Posted 3 years ago by Watch Dog · Reply

  • It is disappointing and indeed depressing that such open religious-baiting still finds traction in a large number of Malay-Muslims. These people are in a perennial state of siege and fear of the other. Only a liberal education can salvage their mental state. Alas, our education ministry will ensure that it will never happen.

    Posted 3 years ago by Simple Sulaiman · Reply

    • It's pitiful...How a certain race chose the most besieged mindset by no external compulsion. Grand success of West Malaysian education strategy.

      Posted 3 years ago by S S · Reply

  • Nak tanya sedikit:
    What if we take his statement and tukar sedikit. Change Christian to Islam and change Bible to Quran. Apa akan jadi? All hell will break loose. Buat malu Melayu saja!

    Posted 3 years ago by No Gostan · Reply

  • Propose all Christians and Non Christians to make Mass Police Reports against this Diaperhaed Zawawi. God has already shown hime his wrath when he Broke his leg in an Accident. Its a warning to him.

    Posted 3 years ago by Bobby Gill · Reply

  • As a Christian, its more than hurting my feelings. Not so long ago a statement like this would be blasphemy. I fear this person has misunderstood the debate amongst theologians and translators of the biblical texts on the exact translation into other languages from the original texts written in Ancient Greek and so on. However, the arguments are on minor matters. If God wanted to forbid alcohol consumption it would have been set in stone in his Commandments. In ancient times water was a disease carrier, just as it is today. Wine was safer. Intoxication is condemned but consuming alcohol is not forbidden.

    Posted 3 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply