The police are investigating Utusan Malaysia and two bloggers on their reports alleging a Christian plot to usurp Islam as the religion of the federation, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
The Umno daily carried a front-page article headlined “Kristian agama rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?) last Saturday, claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the religion of the federation.
The report, based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by two pro-Umno bloggers, charged DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister.
“(The police are) investigating the whole incident. It’s not just about Utusan,” Hishammuddin told reporters today.
“It’s about whether it happened, on the issue of reporting, issue on the role of the bloggers, issue of people that were at the function. It cuts across all. We’re not pointing fingers at anybody,” he added.
Blogger Zakhir Mohamad, who maintains the Big Dog blog, insisted last Wednesday that pastors had pledged at a dinner in Penang organised by DAP’s Jeff Ooi to install a Christian prime minister.
Church leaders, the DAP and even some pro-Umno bloggers, however, have criticised Utusan Malaysia and Zakhir for the unsubstantiated allegation.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin also joined in the chorus of condemnation, accusing Zakhir yesterday of making an unbelievable and incredulous claim without any credible evidence.
Several police reports have been made to demand the authorities investigate Utusan Malaysia and the blogger for criminal acts.
Shamsul Yunos, who had also made the initial allegations in his blog marahku.blogspot.com, appears to have removed the entire contents of his blog.
Today, Hishammuddin also said a police report was lodged claiming there was some truth in the alleged Christian plot.
“Let the police do their work. There’re two sides to the coin,” said the home minister.
If we take action against Utusan, what about the allegations against the Chinese papers?
Hishammuddin added that he will hold a meeting with editors of mainstream newspapers to let them decide the boundaries of reporting race and religious issues.
“If there is a problem, you have to have your own internal mechanism to check each other,” said the Umno vice-president.
“If we take action against Utusan, what about the allegations against the Chinese papers? Then the Chinese papers will say what about the content of the Indian papers. And the Indian papers will then look at the English papers. It will never end,” he added.
The MCA and the DAP have said that the Home Ministry’s warning letter to Utusan Malaysia yesterday over its Christian Malaysia report was insufficient.
The front-page story sparked a furore among the country’s majority Muslims and minority Christians.
Selangor DAP chairman Teresa Kok urged Hishammuddin to revoke the Umno daily’s publication licence and to sack its editors.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek called for Utusan Malaysia’s editor to be suspended if its Christian Malaysia reports are proven unfounded.
Hishammuddin, however, said today that the editor-in-chief of the Malay newspaper, Datuk Aziz Ishak, had claimed “there was some truth in what was reported”.
The Umno vice-president also denied claims that his party’s political bureau set Utusan Malaysia’s editorial agenda.
“No, not true. I can confirm. I’m in the Umno political bureau,” said Hishamuddin.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was forced yesterday to meet with church leaders over the issue, after which the prime minister said he was pleased the church leaders had pledged to respect Islam’s position as the religion of the federation.
According to Najib, the church leaders also said Christians had no desire to challenge the provision in the Federal Constitution.
Najib did not, however, offer an apology for the report by his party’s mouthpiece.
comments
Hisham is just another UMNO hypocrite. Remember, he condoned the work of the cow-head demonstrators. Then of course this time round he approved of Utusan's venomous falsehood and now, only because of public outcry, he slaps Utusan with a warning. If the same thing had happened with Harakah or the Rocket, not that it would, you bet they would have been closed down.
We know Utusan is UMNO's venomous mouthpiece and it speaks what Najib, Muyhiddin, HIsham and Rais do not wish to voice out in public though it is in their hearts and minds. These are a bunch of men without honour and integrity, men who abuse the power entrusted to them by the rakayt, men who inflict injustice on their opponents, men who are at heart convenient racists who use racial and religious divides to cause chaos and fear so that they can stay in power and continue to plunder the nation.
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