A CIVIL society group has questioned the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) over its delay in prosecuting an Islamic preacher who denounced Muslims for cleaning up other places of worship, as well as insulted Hindus after the floods that occurred in the country last year.

Global Human Rights Foundation president S. Shashi Kumar said the AGC is clearly practising double standards, especially towards non-Muslims, by delaying its decision against the preacher, Idris Sulaiman.

“Is the AGC still reviewing the case? We lodged our police reports on January 15 at the Sentul district police headquarters. It has been nearly 200 days since but AGC is still playing the delay game,” Shashi told The Malaysian Insight.

Shashi’s comments came after de facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in a written parliamentary reply said the AGC is still deciding whether there is enough evidence to prosecute the preacher.

“It is being studied before further instructions can be given by the AGC whether the available evidence meets elements of an offence under the law or otherwise,” Junaidi said in his written reply, responding to Sungai Buloh MP R. Sivarasa.

Sivarasa wanted to know if the AGC would take any action against Idris, who allegedly insulted non-Islamic religions in a Facebook video early this year.

In the video posted on his Facebook page titled Ilmu Salaf Dot Com, Idris had remarked that Muslims were banned from cleaning other places of worship, 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, showing volunteers, including students from International Islamic University Malaysia, cleaning a Hindu temple in Klang.  

Despite more that 100 police reports lodged against Idris over his remarks, Shashi said the authorities are just turning a blind eye on the case.

He suggested that authorities dragging their feet on the case was akin to “protecting” the Islamic preachers.

“Among others, he called Hindu temples houses of satan and even called Hindus as followers and worshippers of satan. Isn’t this seditious enough?

“We have stated all this clearly in our police reports but yet the authorities who are supposed to uphold the law are playing double standards when it comes to non-Islamic religions and obviously protecting these Islamic preachers.

“This is clearly a violation towards the minorities and other religions in Malaysia,” he added. – August 4, 2022.