KOTA KINABALU: Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin has urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to take stern action under the Sedition Act on the demonstrators who forced a church at Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya to remove a cross affixed to the building.
He also called on the Home Minister to replace Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar for the latter’s error of judgment in this incident.
Chin, who is also Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president, said this yesterday when commenting on Zahid’s statement that the protestors would be charged with sedition.
“I salute him for making a resolute decision in this incident. His prompt decision is commendable.”
Since Zahid has made his stance clear, this shows that Khalid has committed an error in judgment in this incident, Chin pointed out.
He opined that Khalid was no longer qualified to helm the police force and therefore, should be replaced.
He said amendments to the Sedition Act had been passed in Parliament recently and the Act clearly stipulated that any individual who deliberately instigated racial or religious issues would be charged.
In the Taman Medan incident, Chin said the 50 demonstrators demanded the removal of the cross affixed to the church and this was an obvious case of disrespect and provocation of other religion. Hence, Chin urged Zahid to execute his power and bring the extremists to court.
“Since the amendments to the Sedition Act have been passed in Parliament, the government should walk the talk and enforce the Act in a fair manner.”
Chin said many churches in Sabah affix crosses on their buildings, but the churches here have been operating in peace with the Chinese temples and mosques here.
“We have also seen many Muslims criticizing the extreme actions of the demonstrators, which shows that a majority of Muslims in Malaysia are open-minded and respect each other’s religions.”
Chin expressed his regret that a minority of narrow-minded extremists have continuously created trouble in our country, which is why he fully supported Zahid in taking stern action on these extremists.