KUCHING: Various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) came together to lodge a police report against the improper remarks made by Pasir Puteh MP Nik Mohammad Zawawi Salleh, at Kota Sentosa police station on Monday (Sept 7).
The NGOs are Persatuan Adat Asal Bidoyoh, Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia), Dayak Bukit Kelingkang, Sarawak Association for People’s Aspiration (Sapa) and YATT Society Sarawak (YSS).
Persatuan Adat Asal Bidoyoh secretary Alim Mideh said their purpose was to let the government know, especially the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) MP that the NGOs were disappointed with his remarks that ‘Kitab Injil telah dipesongkan ataupun diubah’ (The Bible is distorted or changed).
“And yet Nik did not want to apologise and said that we as a community, do not have the right to be offended.
“He has to understand that as human beings, it is natural that we are angry when religion is being touched and claimed to be distorted by him.
“We are in opinion that Nik is not fit to be an MP in the Malaysian Parliament. We demand that he apologise and retract his statement.”
Sapa president Dominique Ng pointed out that the words spoken by Nik were totally out of line.
“I do not believe that when an MP expresses some opinion in Parliament, he is protected. Especially when he touches on religious freedom and religious sensitivity, even that protection should not be afforded to him.
“So what if he’s an MP, he must respect the law and all religions. His remarks have no place in Sarawak. It is an insult not only to Christians, but to all with other faiths.”
Sadia secretary-general Nicholas Mujah said Nik should not have spoken the way he did.
“His statement has caused great concern for the Ibans because we do not want to incite our own brothers in Sarawak and people from Peninsular to hate each another.
“We hope that the MP will show respect and retract his statement. That is just good enough for the Iban community.”
YSS representative Freddy Misid explained that the Pasir Puteh MP’s remarks had hurt many Christians in Sarawak.
“We are asking authorities to conduct proper investigations.”
Dayak Bukit Kelingkang co-founder Lawrance Clement said that his members comprising Christians, Muslims and other faiths were very annoyed and angry with Nik.
