Those involved in spreading rumours about distribution of Malay Bibles to students in a school in Penang are not cooperating with the religious department who are probing the incident, says state executive councillor Abdul Malik Kassim.

Abdul Malik claimed that the individuals who made the false claim are further confusing the public by not cooperating with the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Islam Pulau Pinang (state Islamic religious department) who are investigating the matter.

He urged those who made the claim to come forward so that the incident can be investigated fully and the culprits face appropriate action.

“Their non-cooperation raises doubt about the truth of the incident, which was reported by Malay daily Sinar Harian on Feb 16,” Abdul Malik ( right ) said.

“No police reports have also been lodged about the incident, as confirmed by state CID chief SAC Mazlan Kesah,” Abdul Malik added.

In the daily’s Feb 16 report, SM Haji Zainal Abidin’s parent-teachers association chairperson Nor Amin Ahmad had reportedly had said that three individuals were found distributing the Bibles to Malay students in the school.

“But we learn that Nor Amin has a different political allegiance from the state government,” Abdul Malik claimed.

“Our investigation revealed that the report was written based on Nor Amin’s Facebook posting, which have since been unavailable,” Abdul Malik added.

“The Sinar Harian reporter then contacted him and he admitted that he merely heard about the incident from a mysterious teacher who is now being probed by the police,” he explained.

Abdul Malik said the same pattern of provocation can be found when an obscure blog, pretending to be linked to Pakatan Rakyat, claimed that the state government was mulling a ban on Friday sermons.

He said this was such a “serious and slanderous” allegation as banning Friday sermons amounts to banning Friday prayer and closing down the entire mosque.

“Only insane people will make such allegations,” Abdul Malik said.

Penangites have in the past heard about allegations that the Muslim call to prayer, the azan, would be banned, but some quarters actually believed the slander.

“These silly allegations are all baseless and are evil motivations of certain groups out to destroy the racial and religious harmony in Penang,” he said.

Penangites faced with ‘new form of provocation’

Abdul Malik also cautioned Penangites to be aware that they  are now faced with a “new form of provocation” by the same old extremist elements out to disrupt the state’s peace.

“Such racial or religious extremists have no place in any societies, and have to be nipped in the bud before it spreads to the entire nation.”

Before the May 5 general election, pro-BN and Umno forces were attacking the state government with weekly protests, trying to incite racial and religious sentiments, Abdul Malik recalled.

But this was rejected by the 68 percent of voters who gave the mandate to Pakatan Rakyat to continue leading Penang, he noted.

“However, the attacks continue in a new form which are all evil motivations which seem to be ‘approved’ by certain quarters,” Abdul Malik alleged.

Such new form or provocation include banners on ‘Jesus son of Allah’ in churches, molotov cocktails thrown at the Assumption Church, firecrackers at the Bukit Tengah police station, allegations that Bibles were distributed in schools, mosques being attacked and the recent defilement of the Tokun Atas mosque where pork meat had been thrown at its front porch.

“We are confident we can build a new Penang where people respect each other and live in harmony, if we celebrate our uniqueness and differences, not through provocation by extremist elements,” he said.