KUALA LUMPUR – PAS has the right to vent its stand against a Danish-Swedish leader who burnt a Quran in Stockholm, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
The government will not interfere in the party’s protest planned for tomorrow unless it gets out of hand, he added.
“It’s their right (to stage a protest). They have (taken) the initiative and we support it.
“If there is a problem, the government will intervene. Please don’t cause any commotion,” Anwar told reporters after launching the Knowledge, Tradition and Civilisation: Essays in Honour of Prof Osman Bakar book here today.
He said the government had clearly made known its stand against the burning of the Quran by conveying its “disgust” at the act to the Swedish ambassador here.
“While there is also a tendency to incite religious hatred in the name of Islam in our society, we will not tolerate such barbaric acts because we value humanity and we respect the right of people to advance their faith and values,” he said during his speech.
PAS is organising a march from KLCC to the Swedish embassy here tomorrow to protest the actions of extremist far-right politician, Rasmus Paludan.
There are other similar protests planned, with one scheduled for 8.30am from the Tabung Haji Mosque to the Swedish embassy, and another starting at 2pm at the As-Syakirin KLCC mosque.
Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya has cautioned the public against joining the two planned marches to the Swedish embassy tomorrow.
He added that this would violate public assembly laws, and participants would be liable to prosecution, seeing that police did not receive any notification on the marches.
Paludan, who leads the Danish party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burnt a Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on January 21 – an act Swedish authorities said did not violate any of the country’s laws.
Anwar had previously urged the Swedish government to take urgent measures against the perpetrators of this “vile act”. – The Vibes, January 26, 2023
