Did the attorney-general (AG)and the Al-Islam magazine (a publication with Umno links) act in concert, in a cynically timed, party-political propaganda move against the backdrop of the looming Sarawak elections where over 40 percent of the population are Christians?

 

Notwithstanding this, if the shoe was on the other foot and a mosque was trespassed and desecrated by non-Muslims, would the AG have been as forgiving?

As any keen follower of the popular television series ‘LA Law’ knows, ignorance of the law is no defence. Someone ought to tell our AG that he is ignorant of the fact that ‘ignorance of the law’ cannot be upheld.

 

lingam tape panel meeting 031007 abdul gani patail AG Abdul Gani Patail’s decision to drop all charges against two Muslim reporters who violated a Catholic church, is a barefaced insult to the Catholic community and to every Malaysian who cares about justice, respect and truth.

 

As the principal legal adviser to the government, his role and responsibilities are outlined in Article 145(3) of the federal constitution. He should ensure that the rule of law is upheld.

 

While he managed this incident badly and brought further disrepute to his office, he succeeded in delivering a mixed message to Malaysians - that justice can be swayed by religious and political considerations.

 

The only redeeming factor is that he has saved taxpayers’ money. But, it must be strongly emphasised that he denied our Catholic community a proper avenue for justice, during a time of increasing religious tension against non-Muslims.

 

In addition, the AG has brought into question the leadership of this country. Angered by the lack of progress, one of those who filed the police report, has sent letters to the prime minister, inspector-general of police, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Home Minister, but did not receive any reply.

The reporters had been charged under Section 298A(1) of the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion. Incredibly, the case has been dropped.

 

Spectacularly, politicians backtracked on their earlier condemnations. Last year, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, termed the reporters "appalling and offensive". This time, he supported the AG’s decision.

Questionable explanation

When the AG refused to prosecute the journalists and the magazine, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam expressed his regret in a news conference, but sought a fair compromise at reconciliation, if offered a public apology.

 

Someone was busy behind the scenes, working hard on the magazine publishers to alter their stance. For suddenly, 10 months after the story broke, an apology was extended. This apology thus seems insincere and politically motivated.

 

But the attitude of the AG is unapologetic. He claims the reporters acted out of ignorance and were not malicious.

“In fact, no one in the church was aware that they were Malays. In the church, they were given the white bread by the pastor which they subsequently brought back to their office. They did not know the significance of the white bread,” he was quoted as saying.

 

Now, we are privy to his extreme ignorance and insensitivity. He glibly refers to the host as ‘white bread’, like he was discussing Roti Gardenia, thus belittling its significance.

 

Then, he displays his racist credentials. Is he unaware that religions do not look at race or colour? Is he saying anyone resembling a Malay should be questioned first, or is refused Holy Communion or be thrown out of church?

Should we tell Malays to wear a badge to distinguish them from the Ibans, Kadazans, Indians, Chinese or Orang Asli communities, just like the Jews were forced to wear a yellow Star of David in Germany during WWII?

 

If the AG needs reminding, the desecration of the communion host (sacramental bread or wafer) by two Muslim journalists had shocked the nation, not least because the men had entered the church in Kuala Lumpur under false pretences.

 

But it was the manner in which they received the Holy Communion, spat out the wafers, took photos of them and crassly detailed their exploits in the magazine’s May 2009 issue that is despicable.

Holy Communion is reserved for believers and by spitting out the host, which Catholics consider the body of Christ, they two only raised the ire of Catholics.

Underhanded tactics

 

The reporters were ostensibly investigating a claim that Muslim teenagers are being converted to Christianity. They entered the church with malicious intent but found no evidence of Malay Christians. The story would, and should, have ended there, and no one would have been any the wiser, but for the decision to print.

 

If the article was meant to show how they ‘cleverly’ deceived the church authorities, they only exposed their underhand tactics and brought Islam into disrepute. If they profess to be Muslims, they ignored what Islam teaches, which is to show respect for all religions.

 

We have been here before. In 2006, around 1,000 Muslims surrounded a church in Silibin, Ipoh, angered that Muslim children were being ‘converted’. It was a false allegation. To date, no action has been taken against the person who engineered these rumours; the Perak mufti.

 

NONE This time however, the crisis has far more serious implications and the Archbishop (right) must be credited for keeping the peace. He sought an apology.

 

‘Sorry’ does not seem the hardest word after all, but at what cost?

 

We are hypocrites when it comes to law enforcement. We treat the marginalised in Malaysia, with contempt. We fail to grasp the true nature and scale of the threat to our country from the very people who are supposed to uphold and dispense justice.

 

The Archbishop has magnanimously accepted the apology on behalf of the Catholic community, in keeping with the Christian practice of forgiveness, peace, love and charity.

 

And so, we should move on.

 

But one wonders if the reporters apologised because it was politically expedient or because the host made them contrite.

 

So what did the reporters do with the ‘consecrated wine’ offered alongside the ‘bread of Communion’? Did they spit or swallow? And shouldn’t they be whipped for consuming alcohol?

 

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real–speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.