PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim was very vocal about the burning of the Holy Quran by a far-right politician in Sweden.

Malaysians even took to the streets to protest the burning of the holy book last week.

Being a Muslim, as well as a leader of a Muslim-majority country, Anwar is entitled to speak his mind and defend his religion, although the incident took place far away in a land where Muslims are the minority.

It is, however, important to remember that Anwar is also the prime minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, and that he should also defend the rights of the minorities in the country.

Minority groups had often been attacked openly during the past administrations with no action taken against the perpetrators.

The time is now for Anwar to right the wrong.

Firstly, despite thousands of police reports made against independent Islamic preacher Zamri Vinoth, no charges were pressed against him for allegedly insulting the Hindu faith during a religious lecture. The incident went viral on social media in 2019.

Zamri, a convert, was initially arrested and investigated under section 298A of the penal code for causing disharmony on grounds of religion and section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for misuse of network services.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) decided not to pursue the case and did not  give any reason behind its decision.

In another case, some 3,000 reports were lodged nationwide against the controversial preacher Syakir Nasoha after a video showing him making disparaging comments against other religions and the Dayak community went viral.

In the one-minute clip, Syakir could be heard saying “at the end of time, disciples of non-Muslim religions will be scrambling together to kill Muslims in the world”.

He also claimed that Hindus and Buddhists were carrying out the killings of Muslims in India and Thailand.

He made similar statements against the Dayak community, alleging its members have butchered and raped Muslims in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Despite all the comments made and evidence submitted, the AGC again decided not to further the case.

In a letter, the AGC blatantly said “the video was edited from its original sermon and that the content of the original speech did not contain any statement that touched on religious sensitivity in Malaysia”.

That was not the end of it.

When Malaysia faced one of its biggest flood disasters in December 2021, another preacher, Idris Sulaiman, denounced Muslims for cleaning up the houses of worship of other faiths and insulted Hindus.

In the video posted on his Facebook page titled Ilmu Salaf Dot Com, Idris had remarked that Muslims were banned from cleaning the places of worship belonging to other faiths, even during flood relief efforts.

He had allegedly said that carrying out such an act was akin to cleaning gambling outlets and discotheques. He also reportedly said that temples were houses of devils.

Idris was responding to a video that went viral in January 2022, showing volunteers, including students from International Islamic University Malaysia, cleaning a Hindu temple in Klang.  

Despite more than 100 police reports lodged against Idris, no action had been taken against the preacher.

Last August, then law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, in a written parliamentary reply, said the AGC was “still deciding” whether there is enough evidence to prosecute the preacher.

It is not unusual for people from minority groups in Malaysia to have insults hurled at them in their day-to-day lives.

On the flip side, if the “attacks” were made against Islam and Muslims, matters would surely be handled differently.

Anwar as the opposition leader did not speak up when those bigoted remarks were made against the minorities. However, now as prime minister, he has the power to order the cases to be reopened and reviewed.

It is time for Anwar to show that he is indeed a prime minister for all, who is concerned for all his people, regardless of race and religion. – February 2, 2023.

* Ravin Palanisamy is a journalist at The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.