6 theSun | MONDAY AUGUST 17 2009

news without borders

Ooi to sue Malay daily

by Himanshu Bhatt and
Bernard Cheah
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN: Jelutong MP
Jeff Ooi yesterday said he would
sue a Malay-language daily
over a report which he said had
defamed him for alleging that he
had insulted Islam.
Ooi said the “malicious” report
by Utusan Malaysia about him
and DAP youth chief and Rasah
MP Loke Siew Fook on Aug 13
had triggered police investiga-
tions on them.
Loke was interviewed by the
police at his service centre in
Seremban on Aug 14.
“I did not insult Islam. Obvi-
ously Utusan Malaysia’s reports
are politically motivated,” Ooi
told a press conference at his
service centre here.
“I have instructed my legal
team to proceed with legal action
immediately in order to uphold
my rights as a legislator and a
Malaysian citizen under Utusan’s
malicious attacks,” he said.
Ooi, who is also chief of staff
in the Chief Minister’s Office, said
the daily had shown a pattern of
defaming DAP and its leaders as
anti-Islam, pointing to an earlier
report on Feb 24 on the state gov-
ernment setting up the Penang
Religious Consultative Council.
So far, at least three other DAP
MPs have initiated legal suits
against the daily, namely party
chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP
Karpal Singh, secretary-general
and Penang Chief Minister Lim
Guan Eng, who is also Bagan
MP, and organising secretary and
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.
Ooi was later questioned for
about 90 minutes by police at his
service centre as part of investi-
gation under section 4(b) of the
Sedition Act 1948.
His lawyer, R.S.N. Rayer,
DAP’s Seri Delima assemblyman
who had accompanied him,
said Ooi was queried on what
had transpired during his press
conference on Aug 1.
Ooi had reportedly told the
press that Penang Island Mu-
nicipal Council’s PKR councillor
Mohd Razali Abdullah, a member
of JIM, was a “religious extrem-
ist” and expressed concern about
Razali’s behaviour in the MPPP
administration.
Group says it is not an
extremist organisation
by Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Jamaah
Islah Malaysia (JIM) said it
is not an Islamic extremist
group but a non-governmen-
tal organisation championing
Islam as a way of community
development.
Unperturbed by the recent
Rafa spat with Jelutong MP and
admits Penang chief minister’s chief
of staff Jeff Ooi where he re-
problem ferred to JIM as an extremist
but slaps Islamic organisation, its presi-
Fergie dent Zaid Kamaruddin said
although the group’s vision is
again to see the implementation of
pg 29 Islamic law or syariah in the
country by 2020, it does not
mean they are attempting to
encroach into the rights of
followers of other religions.
Ooi, under pressure from
other NGOs and his peers,
subsequently withdrew his
remark about JIM, which was
formed in 1990 and is also
known as the Islamic Reform
Society of Malaysia.
He said the mission of
JIM, which has about 8,000
members nationwide, is nur-
ture thought-sharing among
Malaysians and developing
human capital to contribute to
society through mutual con-
sultations with the authorities
of other religions.
“We often hold discus-
sions, discourses and work
with other religious NGOs
such as the Hindu Sangam and
the Christian Federation of
Malaysia as a way of sharing
our thoughts and beliefs,” he
said at the JIM headquarters at
Taman Melawati, Ampang.
“We prefer to present Islam
as a choice, work on building
acceptance and consensus
while leaving it to the people
to make their choice.
“We stand for peace and
justice for all. Those who think
we are extremists do not know
us at all. We are not disturbed
by the remark and those who
are familiar with JIM know it is
untrue,” he said.
He said he was puzzled
by Ooi’s attempt to remove
Penang Municipal councillor
Mohd Razali Abdullah from
the One-Stop Centre (OSC)
committee just because he
belonged to JIM.
“Mohd Razali should be
judged by his performance.
He was appointed to the OSC
on the basis of his political
association and not for his
affiliation with JIM,” he said.

MACC denies Gestapo

tactics in Wong’s arrest
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) has denied using “Gestapo”
tactics when arresting Wong Chuan
How, the special assistant to a Sel-
angor exco member on Friday.
“MACC officers never pushed
Wong until he fell. Wong would not
have been injured if he had fol-
lowed directive and cooperated in
the investigation,” the MACC said
in a statement here yesterday.
It said initial investigations found
that several aid programmes to be
funded by the allocation to the Sg
Pelek state assemblyman could
not be implemented although they
had been approved and cheques
for the sum given to Wong.
This made Wong the main
suspect and the MACC decided to
arrest him on Aug 5, but telephone
calls and text messages sent to
him went unanswered, the state-
ment said.
“Finally on Aug 13, Wong sent
SMSes to MACC officers saying
he was prepared to meet them at
the Sg Pelek state assemblyman’s
service centre at 9am on Aug 14.”
On Friday, a team of MACC offic-
ers met Wong and his two lawyers
at the said place and showed them
their authority cards, the statement
said.
“He (Wong) was told he would
be taken to the MACC office in Put-
rajaya for further investigations as
case documents were kept there.”
The MACC said Wong and his
lawyers however, protested, saying
he was bound by the Selangor State
Secretary circular Bil. 4, 2009.
Wong was then arrested under
Section 18 of MACC Act 2009
and Section 406 of Penal Code.
He refused to sign a notice under
Section 53 (3) of the Act which was
read and given to him, the state-
ment said.
Wong, through his lawyers,
then asked to be allowed to lodge
a police report on his arrest before
being taken to Putrajaya, it said.
The MACC officers agreed but
told Wong he was under custody
and would have to go to the police
station in their car, the statement
said.
“However, when Wong who
was not handcuffed was about
to get into the car, he suddenly
pushed the officers’ hands away
and tried to escape. The officers,
to stop Wong from escaping, held
him from behind as he struggled.
He then fell on the five-foot-way of
a shop.” – Bernama

Strong quake shakes Sumatra

JAKARTA: Seven people were injured after a strong, 6.9-magnitude quake
struck Indonesia’s western Sumatra yesterday.
The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 2.38pm (3.38pm in Malay-
sia), was located 43km southeast of Siberut island off western Sumatra. It
was measured at a depth of 32km.
West Sumatra provincial health crisis centre chief Jasmarizal told AFP
seven people were being treated in hospital for “light injuries” in Padang
city on the west coast of Sumatra.
“Five people were injured when an escalator at a mall in north Padang
collapsed. Two others were hurt when the fences of their homes gave way.
They had light injuries on their arms and legs. Everyone panicked and ran
out of their houses. But the situation is calmer now and people have gone
back into their homes,” a Padang city police official said.
There were no reports of casualties or damage on Siberut island,
Jasmarizal said. “But the residents there had fled to the mountains for
safety.”