COMMENT Imagine a Special Branch officer speaking at a Christian seminar on Islamisation of Malaysia, should not the officer be suspended and investigated immediately under the Sedition Act?

Even if the officer was not sacked, he should be removed from his position or posted to a remote post somewhere in Lahad Datu.

Although this is a hypothetical situation, the fact that the inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar has behaved in a certain manner which appears to suggest that he is working hand-in-glove against religious minorities, is nothing surprising.

Other columnists and members of the public have highlighted this, with the hope that the IGP could pick up some hints that the people are not with him on a number of issues, including the one involving his own brother in Taman Medan protest against a small church bearing a cross on its façade.

In another case, despite the Ipoh High Court having ruled in favour of a mother who wanted to gain custody of her children, whom their father had allegedly hidden away, Khalid did not budge. This is uncalled for, as we would have expected the IGP to be non-partisan, especially on religious matters.

Claiming that numerous police reports have been made regarding the conversion of Muslims to Christianity, the IGP cannot say this is a sensitive issue just because the complainants are people who share his own faith, without taking into consideration the sensitivities raised by other religious groups.

In Sabah and Sarawak, for example, police reports have also been made against teachers who were proselytizing the local bumiputera, but I am asking whether actions have been taken. Are these issues equally sensitive?

As IGP, he would not earn the respect of the people if he continues with the way he behaves and talks, as the country’s top cop.

In the first place, the Special Branch officer has no business in running down other religions. Even the things he handles are supposed to be ‘top secret’, so what business does he have in speaking to a group of students about a subject that does not come under his purview?

His action can be construed as creating religious discord amongst the rakyat of this country who subscribe to the first tenet of Rukunegara, ‘Belief in God.’

Where is UiTM’s main focus?

As an institution of higher learning, UiTM has no business in organising seminars that continue to provoke religious sensitivities in this country.

Such seminars have become more a major controversy that leads to ill-feelings between people of different religious backgrounds. The management has no respect for religious sensitivities of other groups.

Last year, a speaker from Indonesia who claimed to be a former Roman Catholic priest (until exposed otherwise) was a speaker at another seminar on anti-proselytisation.

Despite the expose by The Malaysian Insider, the organisers failed to provide evidence to prove otherwise. The damage had apparently been done, not only to the reputation of the institution which hosted the event, but the organisers of the seminar had not had to face justice. Since then, the speaker who claimed to be a Muslim preacher has never re-surfaced with his blatant lies.

This is not the first time that the Mara institution has hosted such a seminar, which was made compulsory for students to attend. Therefore, its intents are clear, yet the government under Najib Abdul Razak has not taken any firm actions against the institution.

To add on to this, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had made dangerous statements when he claimed that deviant teachings among Muslims were the result of “liberalisation policy as desired by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs).”

What Zahid is saying is that the government is willing to go right-wing on matters relating to the Muslim faith, since he has started calling others as liberals (left-wingers).

I have no doubt that many of my friends in the Group of 25 eminent Malays (G25), for example, represent the middle-ground Malaysians. They are as respectable as any Muslims can be.

To blame them for the Home Ministry’s failure to act on the self-proclaimed Iman Mahdi, Muhammad Zubir Amir Amir Abdullah, would reflect badly on Zahid’s ability to handle religious issues, without hitting out at government critics.

I am sure G25 coordinator Noor Faridah Ariffin would not protest if Zahid, and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), nab Muhammad Zubir and others like the self-styled Raja Bomoh Sedunia (World Shaman King), Ibrahim Mat Zin, whose antics at the KL International Airport (KLIA) had put Malaysia on the world map for the wrong reasons.

Sources have also confirmed that there are also bomohs (including those from the Hindu faith) who are allegedly behind some of the country’s top politicians.

As a Christian, I urge the churches to hold a special time this coming New Year’s Eve to pray against the powers of darkness. Until the dark clouds are removed, we will not see the silver lining.

The actions undertaken by government leaders these days do not reflect very positively on Najib’s leadership. During Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era, despite claims of corruption, abuse of public funds on mega projects and dictatorship, such blatant disregard of the people’s concerns would not have escaped the attention of the former prime minister.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.