KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — At least five police reports have been lodged against Kedah-based preacher Ustad Syakir Nasoha over his controversial and allegedly hatred-inciting sermons broadcasted over social media, police have confirmed.
Brickfields district police chief Assistant Commissioner (ACP) Anuar Omar told Malay Mail that several reports have been lodged under his jurisdiction but declined to elaborate further.
“Yes, there are. About five to six reports were made in our district,” he said when contacted.
This comes after videos of Syakir’s sermon at the Abu Bakar As-Siddiq mosque in Kedah uploaded in December 2017 recently resurfaced, with him claiming non-believers of Islam were out to cull them.
A report against the preacher that was made at a station within the Brickfields district, sighted by Malay Mail, alleged that Syakir had committed an offence under Section 298A of the Penal Code.
Section 298A relates to those who cause disharmony, disunity, feelings of enmity, hatred, ill will and prejudicing that affect the maintenance of harmony, or unity, on grounds of religion.
“Ustad Syakir Nasoha is a threat to the peaceful coexistence of multiracial, multi-religious, and multicultural societies in Malaysia.
“The report lodged is in the larger interest of our beloved country for the police to investigate and take appropriate action against such an offender who flouts the laws of Malaysia,” read an excerpt from the report.
The complainant, a local 70-year-old male, also suggested police go beyond investigating Syakir and recommend he undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
“I urge the police, other than investigating him for breach of the law, to seek a court order to commit him to a mental psychiatric examination at a government psychiatric hospital or facility as I truly believe he is a danger to society and those around him, as I believe no person of sound mind would utter the words or threats he has done,” the complainant added.
Checks showed that Syakir in the recordings had claimed, according to his interpretation of Islamic scripture, that non-believers, including those of the Buddhist and Hindu faiths, were out to murder the Muslims.
Syakir asserted how the non-believers were “rushing” to kill the Muslims, and alleged that Buddhists and Hindus were supposedly responsible for the murders of Muslims in Thailand, Pakistan and Papa New Guinea, as evidence to back his claims.
He then goes on to say how Malaysian society also consists of both Buddhists and Hindus, suggesting they too would likely harbour malicious intentions against the Muslims.
Among those who have openly condemned Syakir’s sermon include activist lawyer Siti Kasim, and local NGO the Global Human Rights Federation.
Malay Mail has reached out and is awaiting a response from Syakir.
