Will Kurup resign over Ibrahim Ali controversy if Cabinet doesn’t back him, asks PAS

Will Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup quit the Cabinet if it does not support his call for action to be taken against Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali for his Bible-burning threat, a PAS lawmaker asked today.

Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin said that Kurup had called for the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to reopen the case under the Sedition Act and this differs from the stand taken by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri who had said that no charges would be brought against the Perkasa chief.

He said that Kurup had made the statement yesterday as a minister in Parliament, which was contrary to the principle of the Cabinet, which was supposed to speak with one voice.

"So is he willing to resign if his views are not supported by the other Cabinet members, given that another minister had stated in Parliament that Ibrahim Ali will not be charged ?" Hanipa asked.

Hanipa said he agreed with Kurup’s stand on the matter even though Pakatan Rakyat wanted the Sedition Act to be abolished.

"But since the Act is still in force and implementation has been selective and discriminatory, why have they failed to charge Ibrahim Ali," Hanipa asked at the Parliament lobby today.

Kurup, in winding up the debate on Budget 2015, had urged the AGC to reopen the case involving Ibrahim's threat to organise a Bible-burning protest.

Kurup said the Attorney-General (A-G) has to reconsider its decision not to charge Ibrahim in the interest of maintaining unity.

"Whether he will be convicted in court or not is another matter but my proposal is for the case to be reopened to satisfy all the vocal views on the matter," he had said in reply to points raised by MPs during the Budget 2015 debate at the Dewan Rakyat.

Kurup, who is the minister in charge of national unity, said that a review of the case was necessary to appease those who were upset with the AGC's decision not to charge Ibrahim.

Tan Sri Gani Patail had been criticised for practising double-standards with his decision not to prosecute Ibrahim who had last year called for Bibles with the word "Allah" to be burned, while at the same time pursuing opposition politicians, activists and academicians with the Sedition Act.

In defending its decision, the AGC had said that Ibrahim's call for Bibles to be burned must be viewed in its entire context, adding that the statement was aimed at a specific case where Bibles were allegedly given to Muslim students of SMK Jelutong in Penang.

"As decided by the court, before a statement is said to have seditious tendencies, the statement must be viewed in the context it was made.

"When studied in its entire context, Datuk Ibrahim's statement is not categorised as having seditious tendencies.

"It was clear Datuk Ibrahim Ali had no intention to create religious tension, but was only defending the purity of Islam‎," the AGC had said in a statement last week.

Critics, however, have pointed out that the Sedition Act does not require intent or tendency to be proven in order for a statement or action to be deemed seditious.

The AGC had added Ibrahim could not be charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code either, as he had no intention of insulting or provoking to the point that it could threaten public peace.

De facto law minister Nancy Shukri also came under fire when she said in her written parliamentary reply on October 7 that Ibrahim had not been charged as he was defending Islam.

She told critics that she was replying on behalf of the Attorney-General and that as a member of the Cabinet, she could not meddle in the issue. – November 4, 2014.