PETALING JAYA: The Attorney-General’s Chambers has instructed the police to probe further into the “Allah” issue concerning Catholic weekly The Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew.
Selangor police chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said police had submitted their investigation papers to the AG’s Chambers. Hours later the papers were returned with instructions for further and refined investigations into the case, online news portals reported.
Earlier, Mohd Shukri had said that following 82 police reports against Father Lawrence and recording 99 statements from various individuals, Selangor police had wrapped up investigations.
He said the case was being investigated under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948. On the part of the police, he said there were no other ongoing investigations into the “Allah” issue at the moment.
On Tuesday, Father Lawrence was hauled up by the police for questioning, over his allegedly seditious remark. He was questioned over a Dec 27 article by news portal The Malaysian Insider, in which he was quoted as saying that churches in Selangor will continue to use the word “Allah” during their weekend Bahasa Malaysia services. This was despite the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s (Jais) intention to send churches a reminder on the 1988 state enactment prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word.
Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said police investigation into Andrew grossly violated the spirit and letter of the Federal Constitution which provides for fundamental freedom to profess one’s religion.
Lim said this is especially so since “racist and extremist provocateurs preaching religious and racial hatred on non-Muslims and non-Malays” have not been hauled up for investigation.
He added that the lack of action against those “preaching religious hatred and calling for demonstrations outside churches” has displayed the “growing tendency of tyranny over the religious minority”.