KUALA LUMPUR – About 3,000 police reports are being lodged nationwide today against preacher Ustaz Syakir Nasoha, who was seen in a viral video making disparaging racial comments about non-Muslim religions and the Dayak community.
Global Human Rights Federation president S. Shashi Kumar said several non-governmental organisations, civil society groups and activists will also file police reports en masse in 17 districts nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak.
“We, the non-Muslims, are fed-up of being targeted. Enough is enough. This is a deliberate attack on non-Muslims.
“So, we are lodging these police reports because we want this preacher to be arrested immediately and charged.
“There are many cases where those who insult and defame non-Muslims are only arrested but not charged,” Shashi said outside the Sentul district police headquarters after lodging his own report.
Representatives from Sabah and Sarawak were also present to make their police reports against the preacher.
On Friday, a one-minute TikTok video of Syakir saying that “at the end of time, disciples of non-Muslim religions will be scrambling together to kill Muslims in the world” made the rounds on social media and WhatsApp.
He also claimed that Buddhists and Hindus are behind the killings of Muslims in Thailand and India.
However, in a separate video response, the preacher said the viral video is an old clip, claiming that its resurfacing is the doing of certain individuals out to malign him.
Checks by The Vibes revealed that the viral video was taken from a video titled Ustaz Syakir Nasoha – Nak Syurga Tapi Takut Nak Berjuang, posted by Ar-Rahman TV on March 16.
In addition, Shashi urged the government to table a religious and racial hatred bill in Parliament to protect the unity and harmony of all Malaysians.
“The reason this bill needs to be tabled is because there are always double standards when it comes to the treatment of non-Muslims.
“When one insults Muslims or Islam, actions are taken immediately and that individual is charged. However, it is not applicable when it happens the other way around.
“We have seen cases against Muslim preachers dropped, even though there is concrete evidence against them,” he said.
He added that National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique must step down should she fail to table the bill in the august House.
He slammed lawmakers and ministers for setting bad examples as they, too, have made derogatory remarks against non-Muslim Malaysians.
“The core of this problem comes from the government itself.
“The MPs and ministers always call the people penumpang and pendatang. What kind of leader are you? Treat everyone as Malaysians and treat us with respect.”
He also said the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) should buck up and monitor preachers for racist and demeaning behaviour, which is unacceptable.
“We don’t find preachers of other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Taoism and others, preaching these kinds of negative teachings to believers in their houses of worship.
“Muslim preachers should talk about their own faith and not other religions.” – The Vibes, October 3, 2021
