Cops probe preacher's viral video deriding other religions, race

Police have confirmed that they are investigating a viral video containing alleged insults on non-Muslim faiths and races made by Muslim preacher Syakir Nasoha.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Abdul Jalil Hassan said the clip has sparked outrage among people after going viral on social media.

“An investigation is being carried out by the Classified Crime Investigation Unit, Prosecution and Law Division (D5) of Bukit Aman CID under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code for making a statement with intent to incite or which is likely to invite any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community of persons, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988 on abuse of net facilities or network services,” he said in a statement. 

Yesterday, Syakir explained that his sermon was taken out of context.

In a video uploaded on Youtube, he said the viral clip in question only showed short segments from that sermon, and the meaning of some words may not have come across clearly especially to a non-Muslim audience.

Multiple police reports lodged

This explanation came after a slew of police reports were lodged against him for allegedly inciting religious unrest, including from former Umno MP Tawfik Ismail.

Tawfik in his police report sighted by Malaysiakini accused the preacher of insulting and defaming Buddhists, Hindus, the Dayak community, as well as other non-Islamic faiths.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism also described the sermon as extreme, racist, and filled with hatred, and urged the government to take action against the preacher.

According to a report by theSun yesterday, NGO Global Human Rights Federation claimed it lodged 3,000 police reports nationwide against Syakir, while the Malay Mail quoted Brickfields district police chief Anuar Omar saying on Sunday that five or six reports were received in his jurisdiction.

Jalil said the investigation is related to an ongoing case and police advised the public not to make speculations that can affect the probe.

He warned that stern actions could be taken against individuals who deliberately threaten public order and security.

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