Why Is Threatening To Burn The Bible Not Considered Seditious In This Country?

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will not prosecute Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali under the Sedition Act for a statement in which he called on Muslims to seize and burn copies of "Al-Kitab" (Bible) which contained the word "Allah".

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Ibrahim's call last year to burn the Bibles had sparked outrage among Christian groups and politicians, with critics accusing Putrajaya of double standard in its use of the Sedition Act.

"The courts have decided that a statement can only be said to have a seditious tendency when it is looked at in its totality and cannot be separated from the context in which it was made. "When studied in its total context, his statement does not have a seditious tendency," the AGC statement said.

Ibrahim made the speech in January last year with regards to individuals who had purportedly distributed bibles containing the word "Allah" to students, including Malays, at SMK Jelutong in Penang. He allegedly called for the Malay version of the Bible containing the word “Allah” and Jawi script to be burnt.

"It was clear Datuk Ibrahim Ali had no intention to create religious tensions, but was only defending the purity of Islam‎," the statement said.

themalaysianinsider.com

The A-GC also pointed to a portion of Ibrahim's statement during that press conference, where he had said: "This is not a sentiment or (an attempt) to provoke religious tensions, but to defend the purity of Islam which is clearly (stated) in the laws."

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The A-GC stressed that the Bibles distributed outside the school could have threatened the faith of Muslim students if they had read the holy books. "The open distribution of free Bibles outside SMK Jelutong would have threatened the faith of the Muslim students who have a weak understanding of their religion if they had read the Bibles, especially if they contained Jawi text."

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According to the statement issued by the AGC, Section 504 refers to an insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace while Section 298 is on uttering words with deliberate intend to wound religious feelings. Section 298A on the other hand concerned causing disharmony, disunity, enmity, hatred or ill-will, all of which was not Ibrahim Ali’s intention.

freemalaysiatoday.com

The A-GC added that Ibrahim could not be charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code, either, as he had no intention of insulting or provoking to the point that it could threaten public peace. "He also did not commit any offence under Section 298 or 298A of the Penal Code as he was clearly defending the purity of Islam."

themalaysianinsider.com

"It is clear that his intentions were to defend the sanctity of Islam. This can be seen in his speech," the statement issued on Monday said. The statement carried an excerpt of Ibrahim's speech in which he said "This is not a sentiment or intention to cause religious disharmony, but this is defending the sanctity of Islam that is clearly defined in laws."

Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's speech where he called for the burning of Malay language Bibles "does not fall within the definition of seditious tendency," the Attorney-General Chambers said in a statement. As such, it said, no legal action was taken against Ibrahim "because he had no intention to create religious disharmony when he called for the burning of Bibles with the word "Allah."