MP slams daily over 'khalwat manipulation'

(fz.com) - Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule.

PETALING JAYA (Dec 10): DAP MP Liew Chin Tong today accused The Star newspaper of allowing itself to be used as a "cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda".

 

"The Star's further exploitation of the Kelantan summons for indecent behaviour issue on its front-page today entitled "Khalwat issue heats up" is a clear proof that a very desperate Barisan Nasional will do anything to manipulate facts and concoct stories," Liew said in a statement.

 

"Of the three pages of reporting under six different headings in The Star today, only the part involving PAS Supporters Congress advisor Jeff Lee Weng Chun was new.

 

"The rest were regurgitation of earlier news reports, even after PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali categorically denied that there were any khalwat cases involved," he added in his statement titled "When the election is around the corner, MCA-owned The Star is no better than Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia."

 

Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule.

 

"By lumping all together, The Star wants to paint a picture to its mostly non-Muslim readers that PAS is an extremist party in the hope of frightening non-Muslim supporters of PAS and Pakatan Rakyat.

 

"It's a shameful, immoral and devious act of  The Star to allow itself, a daily mainstream newspaper, to become a cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda," he said.

 

According to Liew, the next election will very much be decided by whether non-Malay swing voters were prepared to vote for PAS and whether Malay-Muslim swing voters were prepared to support DAP in the context of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

 

"DAP urges all Pakatan Rakyat state governments to beware of Little Napoleons in our respective states and local governments attempting to plant the seed of doubt among the people to discredit Pakatan Rakyat as a credible national alternative," he added.