Investigate Utusan Malaysia, says Penang Gerakan
By Athi Shankar, Free Malaysia Today
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan has called on the police to take stern action if there was no basis to the reports in Utusan Malaysia and two blogs that a group of Christian community leaders want to make Christianity the country’s official religion, replacing Islam.
State Gerakan chief Dr Teng Hock Nan pointed out that given that Utusan Malaysia was widely perceived as an Umno mouthpiece, the Malay language daily should be “more responsible, matured and professional in its reporting”.
“The newspaper will be seen to be helping to spread a rumour without prior verification and this is incorrect and dangerous.
“Such rumour can have detrimental effects on the peace and harmony of our nation,” he said.
Teng said Utusan Malaysia should have approached the authorities concerned to take early action to nip “the problem” in the bud, instead of highlighting the matter and raising the sentiments of its readers.
He stressed that such sensitive and negative reports can be exploited by any party, within and outside of Malaysia, for their vested interest to destroy the foundation of Malaysia’s nation-building.
Teng urged the police, especially the Special Branch, to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the report in Utusan Malaysia and by two bloggers.
The reports claimed that a meeting had taken place in Penang, attended by Christian leaders who want Christianity to be the official religion in Malaysia.
He said that police must take appropriate action according to the laws of our country if the reports by Utusan Malaysia and the two bloggers were found untrue.
“I urged the media, including newspapers, to stop speculating and exploiting on the issue of religion that can stoke tension,” said Teng, who is also Gerakan national vice-president in a press statement yesterday.
‘Virtually impossible’
Lawyer Baljit Singh, who heads the Penang Gerakan’s legal and human rights bureau, chided Utusan Malaysia’s report saying it contained a “hidden political agenda”.
He claimed that the daily was only interested in propagating a hidden agenda of its political masters for “obvious reasons best known to them”.
He accused the newspaper of instilling fear among Malays without a second thought that it was mocking the country’s constitutional foundation.
He also called on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation on Utusan Malaysia’s reports.
