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KUCHING: Bandar Kuching MP Dr. Kelvin Yii says Dewan Rakyat has responded to his demand that Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh retract his insensitive comments on the Bible and apologize.
“President Azhar Harun has sent a letter to Zawawi asking for an explanation and to include any evidence to justify his claim,” he said in a statement today, adding that he has also received a letter from parliament on the matter.
“I will continue on the subject of the Bible, as it is important to send the right message that regardless of position or power, no one is above the law.
“His comments have clearly contravened Standing Order 36 (10) (c) of Parliament, and if left unaddressed, they set a bad precedent in the honorable House where such insensitive comments against other religions can be made without repercussions.
Yii said Zawawi had refused to apologize despite multiple demands from the public, including the Association of Churches in Sarawak, the Malaysia Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism Consultative Council (MCCBCHST), the Council of Churches of Malaysia. Sabah and the Sarawak Evangelical Christian. Association.
He said that MCCBCHST had also asked Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to intervene and take action on the PAS MP, but there was no response.
“This is contrary to his recent statement (by Muhyiddin) that divisive sentiments like racial politics or divisive religious politics have no place in a multicultural Malaysia,” he said.
Yii also said that MPs should be the first to set a good example by promoting unity and not division, and so a precedent must be set in Parliament where such comments should not have been tolerated in the first place.
During Dewan Rakyat’s debate on the proposed higher penalties for driving under the influence last month, Zawawi said that biblical injunctions on drinking had been “distorted or altered,” prompting a reprimand from Christian associations and politicians.
