More calls are being made for Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar to step aside and allow a probe into protesters - among them his brother - who demanded a church in Petaling Jaya remove its cross.
 
The calls came following allegations that Khalid was practising double standards for saying the protest was not seditious.
 
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to prove his sincerity about protecting rights to freedom of religion by telling Khalid to step down temporarily until the probe is completed.
 
Zahid had contradicted the IGP by saying that the act by the 50 protesters, led by Abdullah Abu Bakar ( left ), the older brother of Khalid, was indeed seditious.
 
Lim described Zahid’s remarks “as damage control”, and urged him to prove his sincerity in protecting the right to freedom of religion, adding that the public had no confidence in such “play-acting and sandiwara (theatrics)”
 
“Only by the IGP stepping aside and allow his deputy to take over in the interim period of the police investigation, can the public confidence lost, be regained.
 
“That there is still rule of law in Malaysia and that the police will uphold the law instead of protecting their own relatives,” said Lim.
 
Abdullah had said that he was there to control the situation, and that residents often approached him to resolve their problems.
 
Khalid had said he did not see any form of sedition in the protest because it did not touch on the Christian faith.
 
“The local residents were protesting against the location of the church. You must be careful in this aspect. Don't link this to something that involves the Christian faith," Khalid had told reporters.
 
Lim said by not acting against the “barbaric” act of the protesters, it is proven that the Sedition Act is used as a “political weapon” against Pakatan Rakyat and those who oppose BN.
 
The failure by the IGP to take stern action immediately, had put an end to any talk of moderation at the international stage by Prime Minister Najib Razak, Lim added.
 
“The public questions the IGP’s loyalty to his duty, impartiality and professionalism in absolving the protesters of any crime, just because his own brother was present amongst the protesters together with Umno Selangor leaders,” he stressed.
 
Fear of selective prosecution
 
Meanwhile, Gerakan national legal and human rights bureau chief Baljit Singh asked how was is possible for Khalid to say the protest was not seditious when he has yet to conduct a probe into the incident.
 
“He should investigate the incident and send papers to the attorney-general who will decide whether to charge the persons or not,” Baljit told Malaysiakini.
 
“The IGP is not the AG, the prosecutor or the judge,” he added.
 
Baljit ( left ) said the main problem of the Sedition Act, and its amendments which was recently passed in Parliament, was the fear of the act being “abused and its selective prosecution”.
 
Khalid has been strongly condemned for arresting individuals - mostly opposition leaders, activists, and even journalists - under the Sedition Act since last year.
 
He praised Zahid for his professionalism in considering the incident as seditious as it involved religion, but urged the minister to now act on Khalid.
 
“Justice must not only be done but seen to be done. How can he issue a statement that the incident was not seditious, in less than 24 hours, without a proper probe?” Baljit questioned.