'A group of irresponsible people are trying to stoke the flames of religious hatred. A minister should not jump into the fray.'
Christianity agenda a serious matter, warns Hisham
Onyourtoes: Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, you are already playing politics. Before you got all the facts on the table, you have already warned those purportedly trying to make Christianity the official religion.
If you have no facts, why must you be giving warning? What do you mean when you said you are trying to give explanation to those who fan sensitive issues? Was there explanation to give when no one has actually made such a statement?
Look minister, it is always so easy for you to accuse others for this and that. But have you looked the statements made by Perkasa, Pembela and the headline news made by Utusan Malaysia . What if those statements are not true? Are you going to punish them for fanning racial and religious sentiments? Did those who made accusations think of the implications and consequences?
David Dass: How can the minister give credence to such a report before seeing the evidence? A group of irresponsible people are trying to stoke the flames of religious hatred. A minister should not jump into the fray.
When a group of Muslims desecrated a Hindu temple in Kerling, the Indians did not think that it was a battle between Muslims and Hindus. When some people tried to burn a number of churches a while back, Christians did not think that all Muslims were attacking Christians.
And when a group of Muslims dragged a cow's head and stomped the head with their feet in a deliberate attempt to insult and provoke Hindus, the Hindus did not respond as if all Muslims were insulting Hindus.
The minister should be vigilant and sensitive to the fact that there are people in our midst who are bent on creating problems. Those in power should be rational in their response.
Vijay47: I have always held that Umno, Utusan and NGOs like Perkasa and Pembela are part of a clandestine trinity to incite religious strife in Malaysia. The objective of this move is political dominance and has nothing to do with the protection of Islam because there is no threat to Islam to begin with.
Someone has directed Utusan to come out with a ludicrous statement and then treat it as gospel truth and attach a criminal intent to the meeting of Christians and slowly stoke the fires of religious fanaticism. In this venture, logic and intelligence can be dispensed with, and the absolute absurdity of Christians plotting to change the Malaysian constitution can be disregarded.
With the rapid decline of support from all quarters, Umno in its desperation has turned to that old stand-by - the religious card. What truly surprises is that a product of St John's Institution can reflect such abhorrent and repugnant brainless thinking. Then again, with a product of Umno, anything is possible.
Quigonbond: Hishammuddin, how about Najib's involvement with Altantuya Shaariibuu, Abdul Razak Baginda's involvement with millions of Scorpene commission, bailing out Tricubes, Utusan's battlecry for 1Melayu, MACC's complicity in Teoh Beng Hock's death, or Abdul Taib Mahmud getting away without a single investigation launched? Aren't they all serious?
Every home minister since Mahathir has been nothing more than self-serving and repressive individuals and unfortunately you have proven time and again that you are no different. Your outreach to Christians before the Sarawak elections have all evaporated with this latest pre-judgment on your part. It only goes to show the outreach was a farce in the first place, calculated to win elections, not out of genuine desire to solve problems.
You can't win them over, therefore you try to intimidate them. The end result is very simple. Not only they will stay away from BN, but more Malay/Muslims will swing away. You've just signed your electoral defeat.
Ferdtan: Hishammuddin, what type of home minister are you? You are in charge of the police and the ever powerful Special Branch and you still listen to 'rumours'.
If it is true about the allegation that some Christian pastors are discussing to make Christianity the official religion of the federation, then with all the resources you have, go pull them up and charge them in open court that is, if it is against the law.
Religious matters are contentious, and dangerous to be treated so lightly by none other than an important member of the government. In your Sembrong constituency, don't forget you have 46 percent non-Malays voters to represent. Will they still vote for you?
Anonymous: This is probably another failed attempt to scare the Muslims into voting for BN - get a blogger to blog about a non-event, then a newspaper prints the rumour, the coin-operated fanatic groups like Perkasa and Pembela lodge police reports, and the police (puppets on a string) investigates the report.
And this will become a huge sideshow for the extremist groups and Umno. The only problem was that the home minister had to open his big mouth, and give away the plot.
Joker: If I publish a blog anonymously that Hishammuddin bombed Altantuya, will he be investigated for murder? Of course not. But now someone is blaming Christians for 'stirring up hatred' when no Christians ever said anything. The lie-spreaders are instead allowed to continue to spread their nonsense.
Anonymous_410a: I think we should all take this issue seriously as the perpetrators here are trying to play up racial and religious issues. The more well-educated ones can see through their charades but there are many more in the rural areas can be easily swayed by these lies.
The fact that the home minister can make such statements shows that they are planning something. If I were to take a guess, they are trying to create fear in the hearts of the rural Muslims in the run-up to the next GE. They know the city and educated folks are already fed-up with them and this was evident in the recent Sarawak elections. So they are going for the rural folks.
We will all need to be vigilant as the current goons are pulling out all stops to make sure they win the next GE.
Puchong Mali: This is so typical of Umno - create a straw man and then shoot it down. Any person in their right mind would not even think of Christianity being made the official religion, let alone discussing the possibility of it to be done.
Gerard Samuel Vijayan: The minister seems to think that what was reported in the Utusan is the revelation of Allah. Isn't he just jumping the gun?
Call in the organisers of the forum in Penang and the relevant pastors who attended and get an explanation from them. Until then the minister should stop speculating as to what was allegedly said at the forum. Let the police investigate the matter and if seditious statements were made then charge the persons involved.
But it would seem that the Utusan is playing politics by trying to incite religious tensions without any credible evidence simply to attack the DAP and undermine Malay/Muslim support for Pakatan Rakyata.
Frankly, no right-minded Christian will say that he has a calling to convert all Muslims in Malaysia and make this into a Christian country. It just cannot be done given the sheer number of Muslims, the laws and the pre-eminent role of Islam as the official religion under the federal constitution.
Poppyie: This is in response to the Christian clergy who came out in the open to denounce the lewd attack on DSAI (Anwar Ibrahim), whilst most Muslim clergy dared not open their mouth for fear of reprisal to their position.
Similar to the lewd video involving DSAI, which the public could hardly believe, this allegation against the Christians does not hold logic at all. This is my belief, when one is destined to parish, one is deemed to do the unthinkable. Look out for more wayang kulit .
Anonymous_417c: Most comments in this thread reflect anger at the home minister for his eagerness to earn brownie points by commenting with bias to accusations through unsubstantiated comments by troublemakers. For this alone, PM Najib Razak should admonish his home minister.
Rest easy Malaysians, let us not allow this insecure group of desperados to provoke another May 13. Sane Muslims, where are you?
Utusan wants to set 1M'sia on fire, decries Lim
Tan Kim Keong: The response of Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is despicable. His response clearly showed he is already taking the side of Utusan without even verifying whether the discussions was on making Christianity the official religion of the Malaysia.
Is this even possible in Malaysia today? His response does not reflect his stupidity. His response is from the position of a racist and religious bigot. Otherwise, his response would not be what as reported.
Against The Wind: What sort of journalism is this which is dirty to the core? How can the authorities allow this sort of thing to continue? It has gone on far too long with serious repercussions on national unity and nation building.
If this sort of reporting continues unabated, the bells of doom will ring loud and clear and the non-Malays will totally lose their faith in the 1Malaysia concept. The PM has to step in immediately and put a stop to this nonsense which is breaking up our beloved nation.
FairMind: Utusan has gone overboard this time. It is very clear that they are trying to create chaos in the country and cause the peace-loving Malaysians to hate one another and split all Malaysians along religious lines.
Ttloo: Utusan, with the blessing of Home Ministry, has started to hurl false accusation on racial and religious issues at DAP without bothering about 1Malaysia since Pakatan captured Penang and Selangor in 2008 GE.
Pretending to be powerless, PM Najib Razak can only claim this is a private opionion even as the smoke is choking the people. Is Najib hoping for the fire to raze 1Malaysia so that he can declare emergency and seal the gates to Putrajaya?
Cannon: There are unruly and dangerous elements loose within Umno who are determined to remain in power at all costs. Reacting to the loss of BN support in the Sarawak state elections by picking on the Christian community, these rogues are threatening Malaysians that they won't tolerate Umno's hegemony to be challenged.
Blinded by greed and lust for power, these extremists are prepared to create trouble for the people if Malaysians vote for the opposition in the coming general election. They are a serious threat to national security and public order and should be dealt with under the ISA. Najib must act swiftly to contain these elements before the situation gets out of hand.
This heinous newspaper ( Utusan ) is committing sedition and is bent on creating trouble to disrupt the peace and harmony of our country. DAP and the Christian church groups should file a police report and demand that the authorities take action against Utusan . The conduct of Utusan deserves to be condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians. We call upon PM Najib to act immediately.
Anonymous: "The discussions amongst the nation's pastors to make Christianity the official religion of the federation, if true, is serious," tweeted the minister. If false, are you going to punish Utusan for spreading lies?
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