It’s about that time of the week again: Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) chief Ibrahim Ali has filed another defamation suit, this time against Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jospeh Kurup over what he said were false accusations.
Ibrahim takes issue with Kurup’s statement on Christmas Eve, which called Perkasa “bigots” and “extremists”, a claim Ibrahim said was seditious in nature.
Kurup, the federal minister in charge of unity and race relations, urged the Attorney-General’s Chambers last month to reopen the case file on Ibrahim’s threat to burn Bahasa Malaysia Bibles, in a move that would demonstrate Putrajaya’s earnestness in fostering racial unity.
“We have come to court to prove these allegations against us,” Ibrahim said, as quoted by The Malay Malil Online‘s Mayuri Mei Lin.
“Perkasa is not chauvinist, Perkasa is not racist,” he added.
Ibrahim defended his statement that Bahasa Malaysia Bibles that contained the word “Allah”, saying that burning was the most proper way of disposing holy texts.
“It’s the same with the Quran. If they were old or damaged, we can burn them. We can’t just throw it away,” he said.
“I’m not about to say that if parents received these bibles, they should just throw it in the drain. That is not good.”
He added that Kurup urging the Attorney-General to reopen the case against him was tantamount to interfering with the A-G’s mandate.
“Then he (Kurup) should resign and be Attorney-General and give the (Cabinet) post to me,” he said.
