Saturday, February 27, 2010

No ceasefire in Selangor, even for Maulidur Rasul


PETALING JAYA, Feb 26 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders in Selangor slammed the distribution of a “newspaper” at the official Maulidur Rasul celebrations which they claimed was defamatory and designed to undermine the coalition.

The 17-page tabloid Selangor Kita which was distributed to the public at the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebrations at the Shah Alam stadium, raised the ire of Selangor Pas deputy commission Dr Che Rosli Che Ma.

The Ulu Langat MP, who was speaking after a press conference to announce the state PR convention, described the contents of the newspaper as highly defamatory, adding he was shocked there were those who would distribute it at the Maulidur Rasul celebrations, attended by the Selangor Sultan .

Among the headlines of the Malay language newspaper was ‘Arak Menu Biasa di Selangor’ (alcohol freely available on Selangor’s menus), Selangor ‘Darul Urut’ (land of massage parlours) and Pengakuan Mangsa liwat Anwar (confession of Anwar’s sodomy victim).

The newspaper also carried a Sept 6, 2000 Timeasia.com interview with openly gay journalist Ashley Lee, with the headline ‘During the Anwar Trial it Was Easy to Get Lucky’.

“I can’t believe there are those who would use the opportunity to distribute the newspaper during the religious event.” he said, pointing out that it was handed to him as he left the event.

Dr Che Rosli said the tabloid, which had a cover price of RM2, did not appear to have a printing and publishing licence which is mandatory for newspapers in the country.

The articles in the newspaper also targeted Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, state executive councillior Ronnie Liu and the PKR’s Azmin Ali.

Besides Selangor Kita, Dr Che Rosli said he had collected a bundle of other pamphlets also targeting the state government.

He said they will study the contents before taking the necessary action.

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