DAP: Act against Utusan for lying about Selangor CPO

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has urged that action be taken against Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia for alleging that police will use the Sedition Act 1948 against anyone who circulated photographs of a SK Seri Pristana using a washroom as a makeshift canteen.

“Firm action should be taken against Utusan Malaysia under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) or Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 for false news that police will be using the Sedition Act against those who spread photos of the makeshift canteen in the shower room controversy,” he said in a statement today.

Lim said the penalty for false news, under Section 8A of the PPPA, is a maximum fine of RM20,000 or imprisonment of up to three years or both, while Section 233(1) of the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 carries a maximum fine of not more than RM50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding a year or both.

Yesterday, the online version of Utusan Malaysia reported acting Selangor police chief A Thaiveegan as saying that those who spread the photos could be investigated under the Sedition Act as such images could result in provocation and racial conflict.

‘Police misquoted’

The acting state police chief was quoted as saying in Sin Chew Daily today that he had not said anything to the effect of using the Sedition Act.

“Opposition leaders like myself winning defamation suits in court against Utusan have not stopped Utusan from continuing its lying culture,” said Lim, who is also Penang chief minister.

However, Lim said he was pessimistic that the government would act against the Umno-owned daily.

“BN practices double standards and selective prosecution in only punishing its opponents but not those who support BN,” he said.

A parent had uploaded pictures of the makeshift canteen, claiming that non-Muslim students were being made to eat in a shower room during Ramadan.

However, the school had responded by saying that the shower room had been used as a makeshift canteen since March and students of all races and religions had eaten there prior to the fasting month.