‘Sorry’ not enough, Muslim preacher must be charged, say Indian groups
Penang MIC and the state Hindu Endowment Board are not satisfied with Muslim preacher Shahul Hamid Seeni Mohd's (pic) public apology today for insulting Hindus and Indians.
They said although it was good that Shahul apologised, he must still be punished.
State MIC chairman M. Karuppannan said damage has been done and that it is a serious offence in this multiracial country.
"If an apology is all it takes, then anyone can simply make an offensive remark and then apologise for it later," he told a press conference at Wisma MIC today.
He said Shahul is free to talk about the goodness of his religion without condemning other faiths.
Karuppannan was referring to the viral video of Shahul telling the audience in a religious talk not to buy curry powder products from "Hindu companies" such as Alagappa's and Baba's.
Shahul also made fun of a Hindu deity's statue located at the premises of an Alagappa factory in Bukit Mertajam in the video.
Karuppanan, who is also a lawyer, said Shahul's more damaging remarks touched on the famous Hindu celebration, Thaipusam, and the Snake Temple.
"He said 'orang Hindu tak ada Tuhan' (Hindus have no God). That is seditious," he said, adding that the remark also incited racial disharmony.
Karuppanan said Hindus are upset over the remarks and urged the Attorney-General to take immediate action to charge him.
"He has to face the consequences. When he mocked the religion, he also damaged the reputation of Alagappa's and Baba's.
"The two companies that sell halal products should consider taking legal action. His remarks were defamatory," he said.
He added that Shahul should also be taken to task for questioning the authorities in charge of halal certification.
Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman Dr P. Ramasamy said, "You can't simply say something (offensive) and then say sorry".
Ramasamy, who is also the Penang deputy chief minister II, said what Shahul said was "highly seditious and inflammatory".
He said this was no isolated incident as there has been an increase in cases of religious intolerance in the country.
"In the last five or six years, there had been many remarks ridiculing the Hindu faith and its deities," he said
Ramasamy cited how former Perkasa vice-president Datuk Zulkifli Noordin had insulted Hinduism several times in the past but never faced action.
"With Shahul making fun of a Hindu deity, we feel he is playing with fire. The police must act immediately and not drag their feet in this case too.
"There is a heightened anger among Hindus over this," he said, adding that he also learned that curry powder was thrown on Shahul's car.
Earlier today, Shahul apologised for making the remarks, which he said was not intended to insult Hinduism and the Indian community.
He said he never meant to be offensive when he made the reference, adding that the viral video was something unexpected.
He incurred the wrath of Hindus after the video of him insulting the religion was uploaded on YouTube.
MIC Youth and several non-governmental organisations yesterday staged a protest in Brickfields, calling on the authorities to take action against him.
In George Town, Penang, yesterday morning, some 30 people representing MIC, PPP and several Hindu NGOs lodged police reports against him. It was reported that over 400 police reports had been lodged against Shahul nationwide. – July 31, 2014.
