By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
May 09, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee accused Putrajaya today of giving free rein to Utusan Malaysia to publish and promote what he called lies dressed up as news reports and continuing to stir up religious fear and unrest.
The lawyer joined a growing choir in urging the authorities to get their priorities in order and immediately investigate reporters and editors in the Umno-owned daily for repeatedly pushing provocative religious rhetoric rather than hauling up Christian leaders over unproven claims.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), which represents over 90 per cent of churches nationwide, have also demanded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak act immediately against Utusan for false reporting and spreading dangerous lies.
“Instead of questioning Utusan Malaysia’s journalistic conduct and ethics, the immediate responses from the ministers in charge of home affairs and communications were to order investigations into the alleged incidents themselves,” Lim said in a statement.
“In this way, the authorities are gullibly assisting those who seek to play up lies and falsehoods in order to artificially create religious conflict,” he added.
Because of that, Lim said, the authorities have shown themselves to be biased in favour of irresponsible parties and allowed them to get away with “wantonly [instilling] fear and religious disharmony in the country”.
He slammed the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government and its agencies for making a mockery of the basic principle of justice — innocent until proven guilty — which he said “is clearly a dangerous erosion of the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and must be stopped”.
Lim said that any independent observer would conclude that “Utusan Malaysia is beyond the reach of the law”.
“The Malaysian Bar is concerned that no action has been taken against Utusan Malaysia although it has persistently published intemperate and wild accusations, written in inflammatory language, which threaten Malaysia’s social fabric,” he said.
“Utusan Malaysia continues to act with impunity, and thus appears to enjoy a status that is above the law,” he added.
The Malay daily carried a front-page article on Saturday claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.
The report, based entirely on blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.
#1 by Bunch of Suckers on Monday, 9 May 2011 - 9:38 pm
UM, good jobs to hint those foreign investors that our Bolehland is full of craps and suckers running around in the Putrajava… Do you think those investors are smart enough to believe Bolehland is political and social stability favorable for investments! Yes, UM you do excellent jobs to attract more investors to Bolehland! Keep bluffing and sucking more…
#2 by negarawan on Monday, 9 May 2011 - 9:49 pm
In Singapore, race and religion have not been an election topic since decades ago. In Malaysia, after 50 years, race and religion are still raging topics and getting worse by the day! As some world leaders put it, Malaysia is a failed state. SHAME ON YOU BARISAN NASIONAL AND UMNO FOR YOU UTTER FAILURE IN UNITING ALL THE RACES AND RELIGION IN MALAYSIA!
#3 by rockdaboat on Monday, 9 May 2011 - 9:50 pm
“The Malay daily carried a front-page article on Saturday claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.”
Is Utusan managed by morons?
#4 by ktteokt on Monday, 9 May 2011 - 9:59 pm
Malaysian government always do things this way. The never go after the perpetrators but instead the victims. Remember Teresa Kok. She was put under ISA for no reason. And after she was released, BN government had the cheeks to tell the country that she was put under ISA to “protect” her!
Take another instant, the cow-head gang! Were any of the gang punished? No, instead they were given a pat on the back!!!!
This is Malaysia, the BOLEHLAND!
#5 by ablastine on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - 12:33 am
We are in such a predicament because Malaysia has always been ruled by BN. BN is UMNO. Utusan is UMNO propanda arm. Perkasa is a branch of UMNO to spread racism. Pembela is an UMNO branch to spread Islam fundamentalism. UMNO is controlled by warlords whose primary aim is to remain in power for as long as possible with whatever means in order to plunder as much money as possible from the rakyat for themselves. So the power in Malaysia is concentrated in the hands of some bigtime UMNO robbers who will stop at nothing to achieve their aim. But guess what. It is the stupid rakyat who has given them the mandate to rape the country for more than 50 years by voting them in every time. Of course parties like MCA, MIC, Gerakand, SUPP have also sold their souls to these devils to perpetuate this. Frankly how does one expect Putrajaya to hold back Utusan when it is UMNO or Putrajaya itself which instructed them to spread the poison.
#6 by undertaker888 on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - 7:29 am
It is high time the opposition lodge a report to the united nations on the possibly of genocide perpetrated by umno and its cohorts.
#7 by Bigjoe on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - 7:56 am
Permitting? Contributing and conspiring is closer to the truth..Some UMNO Supreme Council knew this and approve it.
#8 by Thinking Two on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - 8:36 am
It was that signal that being sent out from Putrajaya.
“We Must Capture It At All Cost”.
#9 by on cheng on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 - 10:38 am
Christian cannot even hv their bible in bahasa indonesia for so long (stuck at custom), then hv to get stamped n serial nos, so how can Christian threatened others???
If a party/person want to be a fool, go ahead, Don’t try to fool 25 million Malaysian !
Christian cannot build a church with their money without a long, long wait for approval (as long as 17 years, or even never approved), so how can they threatened others, so real brainless report ! Only idiots would believe such report.
All Christians should know not vote whose party, come GE13