A SABAH PAS delegate told the Islamist party’s central leaders to be careful with their words and respect the sensitivities of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

Sabah PAS secretary Dr Aliakbar Gulasan’s appeal came after Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh’s inflammatory speech in Parliament two weeks ago where he claimed the Bible had been distorted.

Though Aliakbar had not named anyone in the party, the Zawawi’s remarks on the Bible had angered the majority-Christian population in East Malaysia. Aliakbar said some statements may be acceptable in some states in Peninsular Malaysia, the same yardstick could not be applied to Sabah and Sarawak.

“We in Sabah and Sarawak are a multiracial society. Certain language may be appropriate in Terengganu, Kelantan or Kedah but very inappropriate for Sabah and Sarawak.

“They could incite (negative) sentiments and cause conflict; we (Sabah PAS) have to face them. I would like to emphasise this,” he said, debating the president’s speech during the party’s 66th Muktamar in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan.

Zawawi’s remark triggered calls for a sedition probe by the Christian churches.

“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,” said Sabah Council of Churches (SCC) president Rev James Wong.

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

The SCC was among the religious organisations 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.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Archbishop Julian Leow said Zawawi’s party, PAS, as a member of the government, should denounce his behaviour and 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, 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.

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”. – September 13, 2020.