tumpang sekole...?: Dakwalah kumpulan bantah salib guna Akta Hasutan...

Setiausaha publisiti DAP Tony Pua mencabar Putrajaya agar menggunakan Akta Hasutan 1948 terhadap sekumpulan individu yang mengugut dan membantah tanda salib di sebuah gereja di Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya semalam.

Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara itu berkata, cabaran itu perlu disahut jika Putrajaya serius mahu membuktikan yang ia tekal dalam mengekalkan keharmonian dan bukan sekadar mahu menyalahgunakan akta itu untuk menutup mulut pengkritik kerajaan.

"Walaupun kami kekal menolak Akta Hasutan kerana mudahnya ia disalah guna terhadap pengkritik pertubuhan sivil, kami menyeru penyokong akta tersebut untuk menyatakan pendirian mereka sama ada tindakan perlu diambil terhadap peserta protes itu.

"Ini kerana, ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) mempertahankan akta tersebut dan pindaan-pindaannya atas alasan ia akan diguna untuk menangani isu-isu sebegini," kata Pua dalam satu kenyataan malam tadi merujuk kepada tindakan kira-kira 50 individu yang berhimpun membantah penggunaan tanda salib di sebuah gereja, sewaktu upacara keagamaan mingguan gereja itu berlangsung sekitar jam 10 pagi semalam.

Bantahan yang berlangsung di Taman Medan itu dianjurkan atas alasan tanda salib itu mencabar akidah dan kepercayaan majoriti penduduk kawasan itu yang beragama Islam.

Menurut Pua, masanya sudah tiba buat MCA dan Gerakan untuk membuat desakan sama kerana mereka turut menyokong pindaan ke atas Akta Hasutan baru-baru ini.

Pua mahu Ahli Parlimen Simpang Renggam merangkap setiausaha agung Gerakan Datuk Liang Teck Meng yang mempertahankan akta itu, untuk mendesak agar kerajaan bertindak.

"Adakah MCA dan Gerakan yang turut mempertahankan akta itu akan menuntut tindakan diambil di bawah akta tersebut?

"Atau adakah isu ini akan sekadar membuktikan akta itu diadakan semata-mata untuk digunakan terhadap bukan Islam sementara orang Islam yang mencabuli hak bukan Islam akan dibiar begitu sahaja?" tanya Pua.

Pihak gereja semalam bersetuju menurunkan lambang salib gergasi yang dipasang pada tingkap gereja yang terletak di tingkat dua sebuah bangunan rumah kedai.

Menurut Pua, pihak gereja sebenarnya tidak perlu berbuat demikian kerana perlembagaan melindungi hak mereka untuk mengamalkan agama mereka sebagai golongan majoriti.

"Isu yang lebih besar di sini adalah, jika kerajaan tidak melindungi hak minoriti di negara ini, pihak majoriti akan menjadi pembuli besar dan bertindak serupa terhadap orang lain yang sekadar mengamalkan hak mereka di bawah Perlembagaan Persekutuan," kata Pua lagi.

Dalam kenyataan sama, Pua (gambar,bawah) berkata sepatutnya tiada sebarang halangan ke atas mana-mana penganut agama mempamerkan simbol kepercayaan mereka.

Putrajaya pada 10 April lalu meluluskan pindaan ke atas Akta Hasutan ‎dengan 108 undi BN menyokong dan 79 ahli Parlimen daripada Pakatan Rakyat membantah.

Di bawah pindaan itu, hukuman lebih berat dikenakan bagi mereka yang disabitkan kesalahan di bawah Akta Hasutan.

Pindaan itu menambah hukuman penjara daripada 3 tahun kepada minimum 3 tahun dan maksimum 7 tahun, serta memansuhkan hukuman denda.

Peruntukan baharu juga dicadangkan bagi mengenakan hukuman minimum penjara 5 tahun dan maksimum 20 tahun mengikut jenis kesalahan.

Pindaan turut mencadangkan perbuatan menghasut sehingga mendatangkan kebencian, penghinaan atau membangkitkan ketidakpuasan hati terhadap kerajaan tidak lagi menjadi kesalahan di bawah Akta Hasutan.

Ia tidak memberi kelonggaran kepada pesalah muda atau baharu apabila secara automatik boleh dihukum tiga tahun penjara, dan memberi kuasa kepada mahkamah mengarahkan bahan berbaur hasutan di internet dibuang.

Begitu juga dengan kritikan terhadap kerajaan atau sistem kehakiman yang berbaur hasutan, serta kesalahan menimbulkan kebencian antara agama.

Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, sewaktu menggulung perbahasan pindaan itu, menyifatkannya sebagai alat paling berkesan menangani unsur-unsur berbaur hasutan dan mengekalkan keamanan negara.

Akta itu pada asalnya diumum akan dimansuhkan oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak pada Julai 2012.

Bagaimanapun, Najib membuat pusingan U apabila mengumumkan pengekalan akta itu pada Perhimpunan Agung Umno ke-68 November lepas.

Langkah itu menerima kecaman dan kritikan hebat kumpulan masyarakat sivil, pertubuhan hak asasi manusia dan juga Pakatan Rakyat. – tmi

Would church protesters be held for sedition...

Police’s decision not to arrest demonstrators who protested against a church in Petaling Jaya yesterday shows double standards in enforcing the Sedition Act, DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said.

Pua argued that the same would not have happened if non-Muslims were the one protesting against a Muslim place of worship.

While DAP is adamant against the Act, he said, the law’s proponents should now answer if the protestors today should be held under the law, which was said to meant for such situations.

This is because the Act outlaws actions which promote "ill will or hostility [...] on grounds of religions".

"Will MCA and Gerakan who had similarly defended the Act now demand action to be taken under the Act?

"Is this for example the “goodwill” promoted in the Act which the secretary-general of Gerakan and MP for Simpang Renggam, Liang Teck Meng proudly declared in his support of the Act?

"Or will the above case only goes to show how the Act was constructed strictly targeted only against non-Muslims while Muslims who infringed on the rights of others will get away scot-free?" he asked in a statement.

A church in Taman Medan today agreed to remove its cross sign after a group of residents held a demonstration against the symbol put up by the two-day-old church.

The residents claim Taman Medan is a Muslim-majority area and they were not consulted on the cross sign.

Condemning the "bullying", Pua said the federal constitution guarantees freedom of religion and anyone should be free to put up symbols representing their faiths.

"Just as the DAP has defended the right of any Muslim to have his or her place of worship even if they are a minority in a residential township or a village; any Christian, Buddhist, Taoist or Hindu must have the same right to ‎set up their own without barriers or fear of intimidation," he said. - mk

Looking at cross won't alter Muslims' faith...

Looking at a cross would not alter a Muslim's faith, but infringing on minority rights is against Islam, said PKR's Taman Medan assemblyperson Haniza Talha (below).

She was responding to reports of a protest against a new church in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya yesterday demanding the sign of the cross be removed from the exterior.

"They claim the faith of Muslims are under threat because the church has put up a cross (on their building). This is a shallow thinking.

"Islam teaches its followers that it is wrong to stop non-Muslims from practising their faiths," she told Malaysiakini.

The church, set up three days ago in the middle class suburb yesterday, obliged to bring down the cross after the protest.

The group said the cross was put up without consulting the locals, whom they claim are 95 percent Muslim.

They questioned if the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) had approved the church located at a shop lot.

The protestors also carried placards condemning Haniza for "sleeping" on the job.

When asked, Haniza could not say if the church had MBPJ approval or if the residents were consulted on the place of worship before it was established.

She said all queries on this must be directed to MBPJ.

Malaysiakini has contacted the area’s MBPJ councillor Raja Fairuz Raja Mazlan on the matter and is awaiting her response.

Last November, a group claiming to represent local Muslims protested against the construction of a church at Dataran Mentari in Petaling Jaya claiming it is a Malay-majority area.

Selangor executive councillor and local elected representative Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad condemned the protest and confirmed the church received council approval to build there.

Local councillor Halimey Abu Bakar reportedly said a public hearing was held before the area was gazetted for non-Muslim place of worship, but the local surau committee had snubbed the council's invitation.

Last month, Selangor Menteri Besar and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali assured Christians that he would safeguard freedom of religion on the state.

Village head without village

Meanwhile Haniza in a follow up statement this morning called yesterday’s protest “narrow politics”.

She claimed that the protest, allegedly by Umno Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS) members, was “politically motivated” and “has primarily given a negative perception of Islam and Muslims”.

“Umno has once again used Islam for their narrow political and racial agenda,” she said.

“The incident at the Taman Medan church reeks of political motives.

"One of the demonstrators Munaliza Hamzah was the Umno-BN candidate for N33 Taman Medan who ran against me in the 12^th general election. She lost to me,” said Haniza.

She added another demonstrator shown in the video clip of the incident, Abdullah Abu Bakar is not a village head as claimed.

“It is clear he is lying, because there is no kampung in Taman Medan,” she said, adding Abdullah is one of the branch chiefs in Umno Petaling Jaya Selatan division.

'Giving Islam bad name'

Haniza also alleged that when probed further, others in the crowd had links to Umno PJS including former and present office holders in the Youth and Wanita divisions and branches.

“Their hateful act has insulted the Muslim community especially in Taman Medan. Their outrageous actions have given a negative perception towards Islam and Muslims,” she said.

Such acts, she said, made it look as if Muslims were extremists who prevent non-Muslims from practising their respective religions.

Haniza reminded the protestors that Islamic education in the state has improved vastly since the opposition took over the state administration in 2008 and the Muslim community were happy with the development of religious erudition in the state.

“The understanding of Islam for the (Selangor) residents have also improved.

“Islam teaches its followers to treat those of other religions well, so that Islam doesn’t come under attack in extreme fashion,” she said.

Therefore, she said, yesterday’s protestors should “return to the ideals of Islam” as espoused by the Prophet and put a stop to acts that go against the religion. - mk