The storm surrounding Minister Nancy Shukri will not end until she faces up to reality that neither common sense nor the law can accept her reasons for not charging Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, said a veteran opposition leader.

"Have Malaysian lawlessness reach a stage where the threat to commit crime, subversion or even terrorism can be justified on the ground of defending the sanctity of any religion or the constitution?" asked DAP's Lim Kit Siang.

    

He said the minister, in charge of law, still owed Parliament and the nation a full apology for her "shocking reply and subsequent explanation".

Nancy was recently much criticised for her parliamentary answer to the Penang Chief Minister and Bagan MP, Lim Guan Eng, on why Ibrahim ( left ) was not charged over his threat to burn the Malay-language bible. 
 
Lim said Nancy has provided “the template and become the model for MCA and Gerakan ministers and  leaders seeking to deny the truth instead of facing up to harsh realities”.
 
“It is for Ibrahim to put up his questionable  defence in a court of law and not for the police or the Attorney-General (AG) to second-guess what would be the court’s decision,” said Lim.
 
The Penang Police Chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi had announced  that the police had completed its investigations and was ready to hand its papers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
 
The AG Abdul Gani Patail had said that action will only be taken against Ibrahim if bibles were burnt and that the latter’s statement was not of grave concern which caused the former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib who served as AG for 13 years from 1980 to 1993 to join the chorus of voices expressing concern about selective prosecution.
 
On the issue of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s speech at the MCA general assembly, Lim said that MCA and Gerakan ministers are “united in their claim that online news portals had “twisted” Najib’s speech, and I am even accused by a former MCA Deputy Finance Minister of having “twisted” Najib’s speech”.
 
He asked the MCA and Gerakan ministers to pinpoint how he had twisted Najib’s speech so that he can stand to be corrected. 
 
“In my statement yesterday, I said Najib had come up with a new variation of his “You help me, I help you” line," said Lim, referring to the infamous Najib speech in the 2010 Sibu by election.

Najib at last weekend's MCA general assembly had said,   “You can’t demand and then support DAP. You can’t demand and then support PR. You demand, you support BN, we will be fair to the Chinese community."

 

“Isn’t Najib’s implicit message very obvious – that the Chinese community  cannot expect the government to be fair if they do not support the BN? 
 
“It is indeed pathetic that MCA and Gerakan ministers and leaders dare not even tell  Najib that his speech was offensive and obnoxious," said Lim.

He said the speech ran counter to Najib’s four fundamental objectives: to be Prime Minister of all Malaysians; his 1Malaysia Policy where everyone is a Malaysian first and race, religion, region or socio-economic status second;  his Global Movement of Moderates initiative and his pledge to make Malaysia the world’s best democracy.

Has any Bible been burnt? BN MP scorches critics