But then the Malaysian government has been known to always put its foot in its mouth like when they sentenced a young woman to caning for drinking beer and then went down on their hands and knees and begged the woman to appeal the sentence so that the caning punishment can be aborted.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Dr Mohd Puad, who is the Deputy Education Minister, said Raja Petra’s return to Malaysia was also important to assist police in investigating the “Allah” issue. – The Star, 1 February 2010
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The police investigation into the Allah issue has been completed and Muhammad bin Abdullah was today indicted for being the man behind the controversy.
Earlier, the Deputy Education Minister called upon the police to complete their investigation against Raja Petra Kamarudin as soon as possible.
According to the Deputy Education Minister, Raja Petra, also known as RPK, Peter Pete, Pet, Putera, The Pink Panther, The Avenger.Malaysia (his e-mail address), and so on, is suspected of being one of those behind the Allah issue.
This was confirmed by Dr Mohd Puad, the Deputy Education Minister, in a Star news report on 1 February 2010, although he did not clarify in what way RPK is involved and what role he played in the issue.
The Royal Malaysian Police, who have come under severe criticism for its lack of action and its inability to bring back RPK to face trial, announced that although it was not able to detain RPK, it has, however, managed to arrest the man suspected of being the person who first started this whole controversy.
When asked how he pleads, Muhammad bin Abdullah pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
Muhammad bin Abdullah’s lawyer, Moses Abraham Jesus, said that they will be contesting the charge and claimed that the arrest is a political stunt aimed at giving the impression that the police successfully completed their investigations.
The police are at a loss and are not able to solve the controversy, claimed Moses Abraham Jesus. So they are looking for a scapegoat, a fall guy, and my client, Muhammad bin Abdullah is it.
The police claim that they have strong and tangible evidence that Muhammad bin Abdullah is their man, said Moses Abraham Jesus. And they are going to present verses of the Quran, extracts of the Sirah, and quotes from the Hadith to buttress their case.
But they are going on the assumption that the Muhammad bin Abdullah mentioned in all those documents is the same Muhammad bin Abdullah who is my client, argued Moses Abraham Jesus.
Just because these two people share the same name does not mean they are the same person, explained Moses Abraham Jesus. You also have to check their identity card (IC) numbers.
So far, the police have not been able to produce the IC number of the Muhammad bin Abdullah mentioned in all those documents. So how can they say this is the same Muhammad bin Abdullah as my client?
The police have no case against my client and are merely clutching at straws, added Moses Abraham Jesus. We will prove that the Muhammad bin Abdullah that the police are talking about is another man who died some time ago. That Muhammad bin Abdullah is not the Muhammad bin Abdullah my client.
We will not dispute the allegation by the police that it was Muhammad bin Abdullah who started this Allah business and which is the source of all this controversy today, explained Moses Abraham Jesus. We are confident the police would know what they are talking about so we shall avoid going into that issue. We shall only focus on the argument that that was another Muhammad bin Abdullah and not my client who is now facing charges of starting this entire Allah problem.
Is this a case of mistaken identity or the case of a fall guy being set up to take the rap and make it appear like the Malaysian police have efficiently solved ‘the Crime of the Millennium’?
Whatever it may be, the trial is going to attract a lot of interest and will raise the question as to who should take the blame for starting this whole problem and whether the Muhammad bin Abdullah now facing trial is the culprit or, as his lawyer claims, another Muhammad bin Abdullah who has since died.
The Malaysian judiciary and the Malaysian police may eventually end up as the ones on trial if they do not handle this case properly. If the court agrees with the line of defense that Muhammad bin Abdullah is guilty of starting the controversy but that it was another Muhammad bin Abdullah who has since died and not the one on trial, this may trigger another controversy if the supporters of Muhammad bin Abdullah who regard him as a Prophet come out in protest.
The Malaysian government may be stepping into very dangerous territory by pursuing this case. The government would be best advised not to pursue with this indictment as it may open a ‘Pandora’s Box’, which may never be closed again. But then the Malaysian government has been known to always put its foot in its mouth like when they sentenced a young woman to caning for drinking beer and then went down on their hands and knees and begged the woman to appeal the sentence so that the caning punishment can be aborted.
Until today the woman is yet to be caned even though she has refused to appeal the sentence and has demanded that the sentence be carried out.
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