Isma says president’s charge opens floodgates against Islam’s defenders

(Malay Mail Online) – Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman’s sedition charge today heralds  “many other charges” against the self-professed defenders of  Islam, Muslim group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) claimed today.

Isma vice-president Muhammad Fauzi Asmuni said the charge against his president was merely a ruse, and that other leaders from the Islamist group and other NGOs will come in for prosecution for their defence of the country’s official religion and constitution.

Fauzi alleged that the complaint lodged against Abdullah Zaik by DAP MP Lim Lip Eng over the former’s categorisation of the Chinese as intruders was contrived, and meant to stifle the group’s offensive against the party

“The series of opposition against the DAP’s agenda is why they have tried to drag Ustaz Abdullah (Zaik) to court.

“After him there will be other victims who may be charged for different things,” the Isma leader said in a posting on the group’s official website.

Muhammad Fauzi alleged that Abdullah Zaik was being targeted for highlighting DAP’s alleged attempts to do away with the “social contract”, and for upholding the law and the special rights of Malays.

“The bigger question now is — the Islamic NGOs, leaders of Islamic political parties, Islamic scholars and Muslims in general…on which side should they be on?” he asked

Isma president Abdullah Zaik today claimed trial to sedition at a Sessions Court for labelling the country’s ethnic Chinese as “intruders”.

He was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act over the remarks made on May 6, and would be liable for fine of up to RM5,000 or jail of not more than three years or both if convicted.

He was alternatively charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the same act.

On May 6, Abdullah wrote on Isma’s website that the influx of Chinese migrants into Tanah Melayu had been “a mistake” which must be rectified.

He said that the ethnic group were considered intruders into Malay land, and had been brought by British colonialists to oppress Malays.

Infuriated by the remarks, lawmakers from both DAP and MCA filed police reports against the group.

The Islamist activist group has been raising its public profile over the past one year with its provocative remarks against Malaysia’s racial and religious minorities.