Many Hindu groups lodge police reports against Perlis Mufti

KUALA LUMPUR: About 40 Hindu nongovernmental organisations and activist groups lodged police reports against the Perlis Mufti alleging that he insulted the Hindu community in his poem.

The groups, who lodged the reports at the Sentul police headquarters yesterday, accused Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin of sedition and hate speech towards Indians.

The group’s spokesman P. Raja Retinam said Dr Asri, who is popularly known as Dr Maza, needs to be removed from his post.

Dr Asri had posted the poem writ ten in Malay on his Facebook page on Friday.

“Mufti is the highest religious position in the state. How can we have such a person sitting in such a position talking bad about other religions?” asked Raja Retinam when met outside the Sentul police headquarters.

He said the police reports made here were a part of nationwide reports to be lodged against Dr Asri.

Sentul OCPD Asst Comm R. Munusamy confirmed the reports.

In a related development, MIC Youth chief Datuk Sivarraajh Chandran said the Islamic scholar should apologise for belittling the Hindu practice of worship.

“It is shameful to see that a professor who teaches Islamic religion at Universiti Sains Malaysia pen a poem that could stir disharmony and incite hatred among nonMuslims,” he said in a statement.

He said an Islamic scholar should understand and respect other religions.

“They never belittle other religions. MIC Youth demands that Dr Maza publicly apologise and retract his insensitive remarks towards the Hindu community,” Sivarraajh said.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Asso ciated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has asked the Government to revoke the permanent resident (PR) status given to controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik to protect the good relationship between Malaysia and India.

Its president Tan Sri Kenneth Eswaran said the Government surely would not want Dr Zakir to spoil the good relationship built between the two countries.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s recent trip to India has opened up so many opportunities which should not be ruined by one person.

“We are not questioning what Dr Zakir is preaching. If he preaches on Islam, then it is fine.

“But at the same time, we have many Islamic scholars, imam and ulama born here who know our multiracial country better than someone who is from India.

“We live in a multiracial country. We don’t need a person like Dr Zakir to come and create problems here,” he said yesterday.

Kenneth said Malaysia has been a multiracial nation for decades and Dr Zakir does not know the harmonious fabric and foundation of the country.