Kuala Lumpur, Sep 9 (Inditop.com) A Malaysian court Wednesday charged six men with sedition for dragging a cow’s head during a street protest and then stamping and spitting on it.
Six other people were charged with illegal assembly in front of the state secretariat building in Shah Alam in Selangor state Aug 28 to denounce the relocation of a Hindu shrine.
The cow incident caused uneasiness among Malaysian leaders who are proud of their country’s multi-racial society. Hindus, who number nearly two million in Malaysia, revere the cow.
The 12 men were among some 50 people who Aug 28 marched about 300 metres from the state mosque to the gates of the secretariat building to protest against the relocation of the 150 year-old Sri Mahamariamman temple from Section 19 to their neighbourhood.
The six charged with sedition pleaded not guilty and bail was set at RM4,000 ($1,142) each with one surety.
Star Online, the web site of The Star newspaper, showed six of them walking up with ‘V’ sign.
Ibrahim Sabri, 42, and Ahmad Mahayuddin Abd Manaf were charged with allegedly stepping on the cow’s head, where the act could create “feelings of unsatisfactory and animosity towards Hindus”, the website reported.
Eyzva Ezhar Ramly, 31, was charged with allegedly carrying the cow’s head while Mohammed Azmir Mohammed Zain, 35, Ahmad Suhairy Zakaria, 30, and Mohd Hilmi Ni, 40, were charged with carrying and stepping on it.
The lead defence counsel Saldin Salehuddin contended: “For Malays, a cow is synonymous with stupidity and not synonymous with religious matters. It is not as a serious offence as portrayed.
“The fact that there is wide coverage should not be a consideration in setting the amount of bail. So what if the coverage is wide? If the reporters blow the case out of proportion, can the accused be punished for this?” Salehuddin told a packed courtroom.
Meanwhile, the case took a new twist with a woman lawmaker who tried to intervene in the matter allegedly being threatened with rape.
Women’s and civil society groups demanded that the police investigate a rape threat against Rodziah Ismail during a dialogue initiated by the Selangor state government to resolve the issue.
The women’s wing of the Parti Kealatan Rakyat (PKR), which rules Selangor state, took up the legislator’s case.
The PKR women’s wing chief Felicia Ling said they condemned those who allegedly said in Bahasa Malayasia during a meeting: “Rodziah, saya akan rogol you sekarang (Rodziah, I will rape you now).”
