The Selangor government cannot wash its hands off the issue of the Israeli boxer who took part in a sports event in the country as it paid for the programme, Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said today.
Ahmad Shabery said the state government had paid RM5 million for the programme, The Challenger Muay Thai, which also involved the Israeli boxer, Ilya Grad, to be recorded in the state.
As such, he said, the Selangor government should "stop being a hypocrite by accusing (him) of all sorts of things when it too was implicated."
The minister said this to reporters at the Parliament lobby following a press statement by the Selangor exco member in charge of tourism, Elizabeth Wong, yesterday denying that the state had provided any supporting documents for the Israeli to enter.
"It's their money, so they can determine the terms - 'I will not allow any Israeli compete' or 'I will not support the episode involving an Israeli boxer' - but the Tourism Selangor logo was on that episode," he said of the programme aired on AXN Channel.
Ahmad Shabery said his ministry did not stop the athlete from entering the country as Israelis are allowed enter for sports events and seminars, "as long as they do not publicise" their time in Malaysia, to safeguard local sensitivities.
"We differentiate between Jews and Zionists. We are against Zionism, which promotes the view that Jews are better than others, can kill and act violently towards others. We are against such bigotry," he said, noting that 20 percent of the Israelis are Muslims.
Ahmad Shabery said the state government had paid RM5 million for the programme, The Challenger Muay Thai, which also involved the Israeli boxer, Ilya Grad, to be recorded in the state.As such, he said, the Selangor government should "stop being a hypocrite by accusing (him) of all sorts of things when it too was implicated."
The minister said this to reporters at the Parliament lobby following a press statement by the Selangor exco member in charge of tourism, Elizabeth Wong, yesterday denying that the state had provided any supporting documents for the Israeli to enter.
"It's their money, so they can determine the terms - 'I will not allow any Israeli compete' or 'I will not support the episode involving an Israeli boxer' - but the Tourism Selangor logo was on that episode," he said of the programme aired on AXN Channel.
Ahmad Shabery said his ministry did not stop the athlete from entering the country as Israelis are allowed enter for sports events and seminars, "as long as they do not publicise" their time in Malaysia, to safeguard local sensitivities.
"We differentiate between Jews and Zionists. We are against Zionism, which promotes the view that Jews are better than others, can kill and act violently towards others. We are against such bigotry," he said, noting that 20 percent of the Israelis are Muslims.
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