Selangor Umno to decide action over priest-nun analogy, says Azalina

PUTRAJAYA: Any action against a Selangor Umno delegate over a controversial priest-nun analogy at the 2026 Umno general assembly will be decided by the Selangor Umno liaison body, said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The Umno information chief said she did not believe the delegate had intended to insult or offend anyone, although she acknowledged that the analogy involving religious figures could have been inappropriate.

"I think he may have overlooked it. From the way he spoke, I did not see any bad intention or intention to insult. He was only making an analogy," she told reporters after attending the Program Kayuhan Fashionista: Bulan Kebangsaan Dua Sambutan Satu Jiwa at the Putrajaya Lake Promenade.

Azalina, who is also the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), said the matter should be left to the Selangor Umno leadership as the delegate represented the state.

"For me, I do not see any bad intention. In legal terms, it is not mala fide. He was only using it as an analogy. Perhaps the analogy was wrong in terms of the character used," she said.

She was commenting on a remark by Sepang Umno chief Datuk Noorazli Said, who, while debating the president's policy speech on Saturday, recounted a joke involving a priest driving a manual Proton Saga who gave a nun a lift.

Noorazli was said to have used a phrase he attributed to Psalm 129 in the Bible, although the passage does not contain the words he cited.

Azalina said political leaders should nevertheless be cautious when using religious issues or figures as analogies in speeches.

"We were also rather surprised because I think when we debate, even if the intention is to make jokes or entertain the delegates, if we use religious issues, there is a risk of misinterpretation.

"It may not affect us, but it may affect people of that religion," she said.

She said the same principle would apply if another political party used religious figures such as an ustaz or imam as an analogy during its convention.

"So I think religion is a sensitive issue. As leaders, we should be careful," she said.

Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, who described the joke as "highly inappropriate and offensive", subsequently urged Noorazli to apologise. The call was also supported by Umno veteran Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.

Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh, who also urged Noorazli to issue a public apology, stressed that religion should not be made a subject of jokes.

Noorazli later said he was prepared to apologise to Christians if the analogy he used in his speech had caused misunderstanding or offended anyone.

He said he understood that stories involving religious figures or references could be interpreted differently, particularly in Malaysia's multiracial society.