Pendakwah bebas Ustaz Shahul Hamid Seeni Mohd hari ini tampil mengemukakan permohonan maaf dan menafikan niat menghina kaum India atau agama Hindu dalam ceramahnya empat tahun lalu.
Pendakwah daripada Pulau Pinang itu berkata, beliau tidak berniat menyinggung perasaan mana-mana pihak apabila melarang membeli produk Hindu seperti serbuk kari Alagappa's dan Baba's di hadapan penonton.
Beliau dalam ucapannya empat tahun lalu turut mempersendakan patung dewa Hindu yang terletak dihadapan premis kilang Alagappa's di Bukit Mertajam.
"Bukan niat saya untuk menghina dan mencetuskan ketegangan kaum.
"Saya cuma hendak tarik perhatian pendengar," katanya pada sidang media di masjid daerah Seberang Prai Tengah, Pulau Pinang hari ini selepas kenyataannya direkodkan polis.
Shahul menimbulkan kemarahan penganut Hindu apabila rakaman videonya menghina agama terbabit dimuat naik di YouTube.
Semalam, Pemuda MIC dan beberapa badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) mengadakan protes di Brickfields, mendesak pihak berkuasa mengenakan tindakan tegas terhadap Shahul.
Di George Town, Pulau Pinang semalam, 30 wakil MIC, Parti Progresif Penduduk (PPP) dan beberapa NGO India membuat laporan polis, menjadikan 400 jumlah keseluruhan laporan dibuat ke atas Shahul di seluruh negeri.
Pendakwah itu dalam rakaman berkata: "Jika kamu pergi ke kilang Alagappa's dekat Permatang Pauh, kamu tengok dekat pintu gerbang ada kepala tokong terjelir lidah panjang. Tuan-tuan tahu kenapa dia jelir lidah? Pasal mana yang rempah baru tokong kena rasa dulu sebelum jual."
Presiden MIC Datuk Seri G Palanivel dalam kenyataan hari ini juga menyatakan bukan tugas Shahul untuk mengkritik kepercayaan Hindu.
Shahul juga meminta maaf kepada masyarakat beragama Hindu dan rakyat Malaysia dalam akaun Facebook dan menyiarkan video maaf kerana kenyataannya sebelum ini.
Beliau mengulangi dakwaan tidak sedar ceramah yang sudah lama itu direkodkan dan dimuat naik dalam media sosial.
"Sejujurnya saya minta maaf atas kenyataan itu dan mungkin menghina komuniti India beragama Hindu. Saya jamin perkara ini tidak akan berulang... ini kali terkahir," katanya.
Shahul berkata beliau sedar dirinya juga berketurunan India.
"Saya rela berjumpa pemimpin masyarakat India dan menjelaskannya sendiri.
"Saya juga berharap laporan polis yang dibuat terhadap saya ditarik balik dan saya tidak akan dikenakan hukuman.
"Saya harap ada peluang untuk saya perbetulkan keadaan," katanya.
Beliau turut menafikan membuat kenyataan itu atas kapasitinya sebagai ahli PAS.
"Kalau beri ceramah saya buat atas kapasiti sebagai seorang penceramah peribadi bukan ahli PAS. Saya tidak pegang apa-apa jawatan parti.
"Saya tidak faham kenapa hendak dijadikan isu, kenapa hendak kaitkan dengan parti politik," katanya.
Beliau turut mengakui menerima ugutan bunuh melalui panggilan telefon dan Facebook sejak video itu tersebar dan sudah membuat laporan polis mengenainya.
Sebelum itu, Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS Pulau Pinang Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa berkata semua rakyat Malaysia perlu bersatu demi mempertahankan keamanan dan keharmonian negara.
Ahli Parlimen Parit Buntar itu berkata, Shahul sudah pun meminta maaf dan isu itu perlu dihentikan segera.
Katanya, isu itu akan menyemai kebencian masyarakat jika terus dimainkan. – tmi
Preacher says sorry for insult to Hindus...
Embattled Islamic preacher Shahul Hamid has publicly apologised, especially to the Indian community, after remarks he made deemed insulting to Hindus were captured on video and spread online.
"I regret making those remarks, especially to the Hindu community and religion. I sincerely and honestly apologise to everyone involved,” Shahul said at a press conference at the Bandar Perda Mosque in Bukit Mertajam today.
"I realise I am also an Indian and I should not insult the Hindu religion. I did not mean to do it, nor did I intend to incite racial sentiments."
Shahul promised he would not repeat his mistake, adding it was the “first and last time” he would utter such remarks.
He said he was willing to meet all top-level Indian community leaders to issue a public apology and he pleaded with the Tamil language press members to publish his apology in big letters.
Accompanying Shahul were Penang PAS deputy commissioner I and Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa and several state party leaders.
Shahul, who is Penang PAS Tanjong division member, denied making the remarks in his capacity as a PAS member, but said he had been trying to attract the attention of his listeners.
"I am just an independent Islamic lecturer," he said, adding he does not even remember when he became a PAS member.
"I hope no further action will be taken against me," he said.
'Take down video'
He urged those who uploaded the video of his speech, said to have been delivered at a surau in Shah Alam a few years ago, to take it down and to stop spreading the links to the contentious clips.
However, when pressed, he refused to state exactly when the speech was made.
Shahul said he has since received close to 1,000 phone calls and numerous text messages, most of them threatening, with some being death threats.
A car believed to be Shahul’s was also drenched with curry power, but he has denied it was his car.
Shahul also claimed to have given his statement to the Bandar Perda police station, in connection with the more than 400 police reports lodged against him.
His public apology comes after hundreds of people rallied against him in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday, demanding action be taken against him.
In the video clip of his speech, Shahul can be heard telling the audience not to buy products such as curry powder made from what he deemed “Hindu” companies, such as Alagappa's and Baba's.
"If you go to the Alagappa's factory near Permatang Pauh, you will see a statue (of a goddess) at the entrance, and the tongue is out. Why is the tongue out? Because the goddess must taste all the curry powder before they sell it," he is heard saying in the video clip.
Shahul has also previously apologised in a short clip posted on his Facebook page.
The remarks, he had said then, were made during a closed-door event and he did not expect it to be uploaded online.
Meanwhile Bernama reported that police are investigating Shahul’s remarks under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
It reported that Penang Police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi confirmed that Shahul was picked up by police and taken to Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters in Bandar Perda at 9am, and was subsequently released after having his statement taken. - mk
PAS will be wiped out if Selangor holds snap polls...
If Selangor calls for snap elections, chances are that PAS will be wiped out and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will lose its hold on the state.
DAP Selangor chairman, Tony Pua, said the PR coalition – comprising PKR, PAS and DAP – will suffer “significant losses” should state elections be called but warned PAS would lose the most.
The warning comes following the PAS president’s backing of Khalid Ibrahim to remain as Menteri Besar while Khalid’s party, PKR, wants him replaced with party president Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
“PAS’ insistence on supporting Khalid will lead to snap elections, which will only cause PAS to lose most, if not all, of their hard-won seats. This in all likelihood will hand Selangor back to Umno on a silver platter,” Pua said in a statement today.
He said that since PKR and DAP wanted to replace Khalid while PAS, together with Umno’s support, wanted Khalid to remain, the state assembly would be split down the middle with no clear majority.
“Under such circumstances, Khalid will likely gain the consent of the Sultan of Selangor to hold snap elections.”
PR has 44 seats in the assembly while the opposition Barisan Nasional (BN) has the remaining 12 seats. PAS and DAP each has 15 seats while PKR has 14.
Pua, who is also the Petaling Jaya Utara MP, said that if both PKR and DAP were to suffer a 3% and 10% drop in Malay and non-Malay votes respectively, they would suffer a combined loss of seven seats out of the 30 contested, including Batu Tiga, Ijok, Kota Anggerik, Taman Medan, Port Klang, Kuala Kubu Baru and Sg. Pelek.
“This will leave PKR and DAP with 10 and 13 seats respectively.
“However, even in the most optimistic scenario where there is inconceivably no drop in Malay support for PAS, coupled with only a 15% drop in non-Malay support, the party will lose seven of the 15 seats won in the last general election.
The most vulnerable seats are Sabak Bernam, Gombak Setia, Dusun Tua, Selat Kelang, Sijangkang, Morib and Tanjong Sepat.”
He said, it was more than likely that non-Malay support for PAS would drop by 25%, given the controversies surrounding PAS, including a leaked WhatsApp message discussing the party leaving the coalition.
This would mean PAS would also lose Taman Templer, Hulu Kelang, Lembah Jaya, Seri Serdang and Paya Jaras, leaving them with only three seats in the state assembly.
“Even these three seats – Chempaka, Bangi and Meru are not safe. Should Malay votes decline by a mere 5% while non-Malay votes drop 30%, PAS will be completely wiped out in Selangor,” he said.
The biggest winner, Pua said, would be Umno, which will return to power in the state with up to 30 seats in the state assembly should snap elections take place.
The move to replace Khalid was initiated by PKR following numerous complaints against the two-term MB for running the state unilaterally without consulting PKR as well as the national Pakatan leadership.- fmt
Preacher says sorry for insult to Hindu
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