When contacted, several MCA central and youth leaders said they were unaware of the incident and had not received any formal complaint against the member, who is a lawyer.
MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha told The Malaysian Insider that he had not been informed of the incident.
“But in any case, it is obviously his personal view, made in his personal capacity. It is not MCA’s view or one of our party agenda,” he said.
When asked if the party leadership planned to probe the matter, Kong pointed out that no formal complaint had yet been issued against the member.
“We cannot simply investigate unless there is a formal request for us to do so. In any case, if there are calls for the Internal Security Act (ISA) to be used against him, the question now arises if this is an MCA issue or a police case?
“For example, if an MCA member steals your laptop, it is a police case and not an MCA case,” he said.
He stressed that the member had likely issued the request in his personal capacity and not as a representative of the party.
The member has been accused of penning a letter to the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) on December 20 last year, complaining about the volume of the Muslim’s “azan” or the call to prayer blared every morning over the loudspeakers at a mosque near his residence.
His letter had sparked an outrage among the Muslim community, leading to a protest by members of welfare group Pekida and Malay rights group Perkasa outside Masjid al-Ikhlasiah in Kampung Kerinchi this afternoon.
The group also called for the MCA man to be arrested under the ISA for threatening national harmony and demanded that he issued an open apology to the Muslim community.
They distributed the fax purportedly sent by the MCA member to PMO where he revealed that he has been a party member since 1998.
He also said that he has been living in Pantai Hill Park for five years and was roused in the mornings by the mosque’s call for prayers.
“Several months ago, I hear the sound from the mosque to be very loud until that it woke me every morning at 5.45am,” the letter read.
“I respect the position of Islam as the country’s official religion under the Federal Constitution but my right to sleep, rest and pray in peace should also be respected.
“I am of the view that loudspeakers in any house of worship of any religion should be controlled by the authorities through clear and scientific rules like the calculation of decibels, and should not flout the law.
“Like in my hometown of Seremban, the sounds from the mosque is softer and more controlled,” he continued.
It is understood that the man identified had once worked for a former MCA president who was also a Cabinet member.
The man could not be contacted for confirmation that he had written the letter, which was carbon copied to several ministers in PMO.
Several MCA Youth leaders confirmed yesterday they were acquainted with the man, who is a leader in one of the wing’s bureaus, but claimed they were unaware of the incident.
MCA Youth deputy chief Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon told The Malaysian Insider that the man was attached to the wing’s Negeri Sembilan leadership.
“Yes, he used to work for a former party president. But I am not aware of the incident. We have not received any information on this so far,” he said when contacted.
At the time of publication, MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong could not be reached for comment.
MCA Youth secretary-general Datuk Chai Kim Sen said he could not confirm if the youth member was the culprit behind the letter.
“I have not heard anything. You should check with our youth chief (Wee),” he said.
His deputy, Loh Chew June echoed his view, adding that he had read the stories on the row from web portals but did not know that the purported member was involved.
Federal Territory Islamic Department (Jawi) director Datuk Che Mat Che Ali said yesterday that no directive was issued to the mosque here to lower the volume of its loudspeakers.
The mosque concerned is situated near a new commercial development area called Bangsar South, and was first opened 30 years ago, while the lawyer only moved to the Malay-majority neighbourhood about five years ago.
Pantai Dalam used to be dominated by squatters and low-cost flats but has seen the development of luxury apartments and commercial property in recent years.
The Muslim call for prayer first became a political issue in 2008 when Selangor executive councillor Teresa Kok was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly asking a Puchong mosque to stop playing the azan over its loudspeaker.
Kok, who was released a week after her arrest, denied the allegation while the mosque’ committee members also came forward to defend the Selangor DAP chairman. - Malaysian Insider
Is it true this lawyer guy from Seremban ah!!! bikin malu orang Negeri. That Mosques in Seremban the audio system must be old model that's why not so loud. Right! Wrong. That's is the purpose, the louder the better,so the everybody can get up early and never late to work. Muslim must fulfill the early morning pray. So with Chinese and others wake up early in the morning,take their bath. I can't stand the "garlic smell" if they don't. So you can also call the azan your alarm clock.So wake up early, go to work early, you don't get caught in traffic jam. The early you clock to work the better ma!!productivity man,discipline and many other good thing for you because of the Azan. But the most important of Azan hopes you non-muslim listen to the call and understand what is it all about. May God Allah shed you with the light... than azan will part of you.
ReplyDeleteFair comment isn't?