Just stop commenting as your brother is involved, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told.

DAP parliamentarian Tony Pua said the top cop should in fact recuse himself from further commenting or investigating a protest against a church.

The IGP's impartiality and judgement has been called into question when he dismissed the case against the protestors without even commencing any form of official investigation, he added.

Therefore, investigation should instead be taken over and led by Khalid's deputy, Noor Rashid Ibrahim and the latter must also report directly to Home Minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi), Pua said.

"At the very least, we will not have a disgraceful circumstance where the IGP becomes ruthlessly efficient in dismissing allegations against, and justifying the actions of his brother in order to stymie any police investigations into the matter," Pua ( right ) said in a statement today.

Khalid yesterday said that the protest in Taman Medan which had called for the removal of a cross from a church building was not seditious as it did not touch on the Christian faith.

It is about religion

Nevertheless, Pua pointed out that since the protest was against a church, which was forced to remove the cross and demanded to be shut down, there are enough proof that it was entirely about religion.

"Such extremist demands runs directly afoul of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which provides that every person has the right to profess and practice his own religion.  

"The Constitution does not specify that the freedom to practice is subjected to restricted or designated locations in Malaysia," said Pua, adding that there were no restrictions in the Federal Constitution which prohibits the use of religious motifs for its buildings.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP also questioned why the IGP did not immediately tweet for the protest to be investigated.

"What is even more dumbfounding was the fact that Khalid had justified no action to be taken because 'the cross was taken down following the community's request' and 'there was no violence'.

Fear and submission

"If violence is the measure of whether a seditious act should be investigated, then why some 150 people have been arrested or called to assist with investigations over the Sedition Act despite the fact that there have been absolutely no violence?  

"Instead what our IGP has justified was the use of thuggery, intimidation and threats by race and religious extremists to bully the minorities into fear and submission," said Pua.

Although Khalid said the protest was not seditious, Zahid had differed in his view and said that the protest involving Khalid's brother, Umno division leader Abdullah Abu Bakar, was indeed seditious.

"Of course! Yes, yes, yes!" the minister said, when asked by reporters if the protest was seditious yesterday.