Christian plot: What have police uncovered?

DAP demands public disclosure of the outcome of investigations.

BUTTERWORTH: DAP has demanded that police reveal the outcome of their investigation into an alleged conspiracy to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia.

Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow said police wrapped up the investigation some time ago and should have informed the public what they had found out.

The seriousness of the allegation and the uproar it caused warranted the public disclosure, he added.

The allegation surfaced on the Internet early last May and went largely unnoticed until Utusan Malaysia reported it on its front page under the headline “Malaysia a Christian nation?”

The Umno-owned daily alleged that Christians at a closed-door gathering in Penang had spoken about Christianity replacing Islam as the official religion and the possibility of Malaysia being led by a Christian prime minister.

Christian leaders denied the allegation, but pro-Umno groups, including the far right Perkasa, lodged police reports demanding an investigation into what they alleged was a threat to Islam.

Jelutong MP and DAP member Jeff Ooi, who said he was at the gathering, also lodged a police report, stating that the report was a fabrication.

However, the controversy took a surprising turn when Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman, another DAP member who said he too was at the meeting, lodged another report, claiming that there was some truth to the allegation.

DAP subsequently expelled Razali for refusing to clarify his stand and for working against the party’s interest.

Razali captured public attention again yesterday when he submitted an application to join Perkasa, accusing DAP of being a Chinese chauvinist party with an agenda to sideline the Malays. He said he would expose the party secrets.

Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa, a prominent PAS leader in Penang, said he doubted that Razali would create political ripples in Penang.

He described him as someone with a dubious background, noting that he quit Umno to join PKR and then quit that party to join DAP.