I refer to the statement made by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz on 1/3/2012 which was published in Malaysiakini carrying the headlines "Nazri says Anwar is 'like Iblis'."

I strongly condemn such extreme and uncouth language on (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim.

It is absolutely unwarranted, uncalled for and most unbecoming of a minister of government in getting very personal in his jibes.

Wikipedia states: " According to The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, shaytan is used in the Quran "in both the singular and the plural, often interchangeably with Iblis" who is "considered to be a particular shaytan".

How can someone, being a fellow Muslim, stoop this low and to this extent of calling another fellow Muslim an "Iblis" is beyond any rational comprehension and is cruel.

If Nazri wants to score goodwill or brownie points with his political masters, he should not dive to such despicable levels, at Anwar's expense.

Politics aside, Nazri should have taken into account that Anwar is a husband, a father and a grandfather.

In contrast, to my recollection, Anwar has never resorted to using such offending and demeaning language on his political opponents.