IGP: No laws broken by police officer speaking at anti-Christian seminar

(The Star) – No laws have been broken by the police who allowed its officer to speak at an anti-Christian seminar on Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Lendu campus.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pic) said on Wednesday that the Bukit Aman special branch officer was invited as a speaker at the seminar, which was held on Saturday.

“It’s not a problem for any of us to speak at any legally held seminar.

“What law was broken? Under what provision? Did the police breach any law? Did the organiser breach any law?

“In this case, we were invited as one of the speakers. There is no problem for my men to speak at any forum or seminar. If the Christian groups want us to speak at their event we will also be there,” he said.

Last Saturday, UiTM organised a forum entitled “Ancaman Gerakan Pemurtadan Kristianisasi (Threat of the Christian proselytisation movement) at its Malacca’s campus.

It was reported that the seminar touched upon attempts to convert Muslims to other religions, both in the country and in other nations and meant to strengthen Muslims’ faith, especially among university students.

Meanwhile, Khalid said police would cooperate with Islamic religious bodies, including Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), to monitor Christinisation activities involving Muslims in the country.

The presence of the officer at the forum drew flak among the Malaysia Christian Youth Association, questioning the police’s involvement at the anti-Christian seminar.

Its president David Ngu said the involvement was “upsetting”, adding that the police were supposed to maintain and restore public order.

Ngu was quoted as saying that the seminar had also misled the public who identified Christians as a national threat, which could damage interfaith relations.