NGEH: Treading on dangerous ground. Pix: The Malaysian InsiderKUALA LUMPUR: Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham may have inadvertently waded into a potential minefield when he questioned the decision behind Muslims protesting against the controversial anti-Islam film, "Innocence of Muslims".

On his Twitter account today, Ngeh had raised the motive behind Umno Youth’s decision to organise an upcoming protest at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur this Friday.

He questioned whether Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s decision to hold the protest was in defence of Islam, or for political gain.

"Khairy wants Muslim protest against Sam Bacile. For Islam or for his political gains?

"Are Muslims wasting too much time and energy on this?"

Sam Bacile is the name adopted by the film's American director, who has since come under fire from the world’s Muslim community following the release of the short film.

Ngeh's tweet comes ahead of Friday's upcoming protest organized by Umno Youth against the film made by Bacile. Umno Youth had invited Pas Youth to join the demonstration to show their disdain for the film, which mocks the Prophet Muhammad.

It was reported that PAS Youth had accepted the invitation and would join Umno Youth in the protest.

Khairy, who is also Rembau MP, in response, was quoted by Malay-language daily Sinar Harian as saying that he wasn't surprised by Ngeh’s perspective.

"We are already used to DAP members being disrespectful towards the sensitivity of Muslims."

Khairy added that DAP does not understand the importance of Prophet Muhammad to Muslims in general.

Ngeh's comments have already sparked outrage among Twitter users. One user, Faizal Rahman, questioned Ngeh: "Why provoke Muslims?"

Ngeh in turn, responded that he was merely inviting people to "think and share thoughts about the situation."

Another Twitter user, Maruf Ismail said, "So how about the Opposition? For Islam or political gain?"

Ngeh replied by saying that to avoid possible abuse, DAP has always been of the stand that religion should be separated from the State.

Others also commented, such as Mohd Farhan Ahmad, who asked Ngeh on how he could even ask if the demonstration was for political gain.

"You should look at your Pakatan Rakyat leader (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim. Separated from religion? Look at PAS."

"Protest for Anwar isn’t wasting time, and not for an individual. Protest for Sam Bacile is wasting time and for an individual," he wrote.

Nur Nara Rauddah wrote: "Pemimpin DAP Ngeh Koo Ham tidak sensitif terhadap perasaan marah umat Islam memprotes Sam Bacile. Stupid fool." (DAP leader Ngeh Koo Ham isn’t sensitive to the anger of Muslims who protest against Sam Bacile.)

Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, also an avid Twitter user, also responded to Ngeh.

Abdul Rahman said: "It sounds as if you won't allow PAS to make decisions based on religious principles. Tell me it ain't so."

Meanwhile, Nasrudin Hassan, who is PAS Syura Council's committee member and also the organizer for PAS Youth’s peaceful protest against the film, has yet to respond.

The crudely made 14-minute English-language film, filmed in California and circulated on the Internet under several titles including "Innocence of Muslims", mocks the Prophet Muhammad.

The film sparked a violent protest at the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi during which the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed on Tuesday. Protests have spread to other countries across the Muslim world.

Clips of the film posted on the Internet since July have been attributed to a man by the name of Sam Bacile, which two people linked to the film have said was likely an alias.

Reuters news agency had reported that a California man, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, convicted of bank fraud was taken in for questioning on Saturday by officers investigating possible probation violations stemming from the making of the video clip.

Google has blocked the anti-Islam clip from the YouTube video-sharing service in Malaysia since Sunday, following complaints from regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

- mD