Police spring to action on Nik Azizs blasphemous remarks
Kelantan police will conduct an investigation into the remarks by Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, which allegedly implied that God is a gangster.
State CID chief Abdul Rahim Jani said his office received a fax from the Baling police station in Kedah on Friday concerning a report lodged by a businessman there, Mat Zanu Teh, 62, a day earlier.
The investigation will cover various aspects of the remarks made by the Kelantan menteri besar, he said when contacted.
Nik Aziz's remarks at a PAS ceramah in Baling gained national attention after Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM) aired a video clip of it repeatedly.
It reached the lows of political notoriety when Umno leaders accused the PAS spiritual leader of blasphemy.
Former Federal Court judge Harun Mahmud Hashim was also reported to have said in the local media on Aug 28 that Nik Aziz could be charged in court for his controversial remarks.
However, Harun, who is now deputy chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, explained that legal action against the menteri besar could only be taken if a police report was lodged against him.
Today, the Kelantan CID chief declined to elaborate when asked whether he would call Nik Aziz and other witnesses for questioning.
State CID chief Abdul Rahim Jani said his office received a fax from the Baling police station in Kedah on Friday concerning a report lodged by a businessman there, Mat Zanu Teh, 62, a day earlier.
The investigation will cover various aspects of the remarks made by the Kelantan menteri besar, he said when contacted.
Nik Aziz's remarks at a PAS ceramah in Baling gained national attention after Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM) aired a video clip of it repeatedly.
It reached the lows of political notoriety when Umno leaders accused the PAS spiritual leader of blasphemy.
Former Federal Court judge Harun Mahmud Hashim was also reported to have said in the local media on Aug 28 that Nik Aziz could be charged in court for his controversial remarks.
However, Harun, who is now deputy chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, explained that legal action against the menteri besar could only be taken if a police report was lodged against him.
Today, the Kelantan CID chief declined to elaborate when asked whether he would call Nik Aziz and other witnesses for questioning.
No report in Kelantan
He said that the police have their own way of tackling the issue, adding that so far no one in Kelantan has lodged a report against the menteri besar.
Meanwhile, Nik Aziz has clarified what he actually said:
"Allah is also known as Al-Mutakabbir (The Almighty), Al-Jabbar (The Most Stout) and Al-Muntakim (The Revengeful). People should be frightened to go against God at the mere mention of these names.
"The names demonstrate that He is superior to all the gangsters in this world, be it Namrud during Prophet Abraham's time, the Pharaoh during Prophet Moses' or Abu Jahal during Prophet Muhammad's."
But Umno politicians pounced on his statement and accused him of blasphemy, claiming that he was calling Allah a gangster.
Nik Aziz defended his use of vulgar language, saying that God also used similar language.
The 71-year-old PAS leader's explanation was however never aired by RTM or carried by the mainstream media.
YAAKUB DASAN is malaysiakini's correspondent in Kelantan.
