"Unfair, tendentious and malicious" these were the words opposition party DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang used to describe RTM's nightly airing of "Bahaya Cauvisnisme" (The Danger of Chauvinism) in its prime news slot.

According to Lim, the five-minute clips depicted DAP and Chinese educationist movement Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ) as 'anti-Malay, anti-national and unpatriotic by distorting history' for their opposition to the government's move to switch to English as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics next year.

In a press statement today, Lim called on the cabinet which is meeting tomorrow to allow DAP and DJZ the right to reply on television.

The multi-part documentary, also shown on the 6.30pm Mandarin news and late news over RTM, uses irrelevant video clips and images to insinuate to Chinese viewers that DAP had supported PAS in the Islamic state concept, said Lim.

The mini-documentary also attempts to portray DAP as 'chauvinistic' and a threat to the national harmony by recalling the 1978 case when six DAP Perak assemblyperson did not take their oath of allegiance to the Sultan of Perak.

The flashback showed a one-word newspaper headline quoting the Sultan of Perak who had described the action as ' derhaka ' (treason).

Not fair

"The segment was most irresponsible, mischievous and seditious in not giving a fair, balanced and proper picture of the incident," said Lim.

Lim, then DAP secretary-general, explained that he had publicly apologised to the Sultan of Perak for the 'unintended disrespect' which took place because of a provision in the state constitution that 'non-Perak national' need not take such an oath.

"The six Perak DAP state assemblyperson also realised their mistake and tendered their apology to the Sultan of Perak and took their oath of allegiance," he explained.

Lim said RTM should also air the Umno Youth rally in 1987 in which they had threatened to 'soak the kris with Chinese blood' and the Umno Youth leaders' demonstration outside the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in 2000 where they vowed to burn down the building.

"We will wait for the cabinet to respond to our public call today, and if it is not prepared to heed the dictates and injunctions of justice, we will decide on the next course of action to seek justice," warned Lim.