MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek has jumped on the bandwagon to pour scorn over PAS Youth’s plans to go on ‘moral policing rounds’ on Valentine’s Day.

He also dispensed his oft-used argument, saying that this is just proof that the Islamist party is still hell-bent on its agenda to set up an Islamic state.

“This shows that PAS is still too committed to the kind of Islamic values that are in line with the theocratic Islamic state,” he said at a press conference after chairing the party’s monthly central committee meeting at Wisma MCA this evening.

pas umno pemuda talks parliment 010709 nasrudin hassan PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan ( right ) was previously reported to have said that authorities in Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Selangor will carry out ‘immorality checks’ on Feb 14.

“We have identified spots in these states that are used by lovers and we are deploying local religious department officials as well as party members to stop sinful acts such as casual sex, which violate Islam,” Nasrudin told AFP .

However, many of the other Pakatan Rakyat leaders - mostly from DAP - have hit out at him, saying that moral policing has never been a part of Pakatan’s policy.

Selangor state legislative assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim had more bluntly tweeted that the PAS Youth chief should “keep your big mouth shut!”

‘Proof Pakatan has no common ground’

To that, Chua further hit out at Pakatan, saying that this episode only showed that there is no common ground between the component parties.

“Although DAP has strongly disagreed with them, PAS is still insistent on going ahead with their plans.

“Therefore, the people should know that in the states held by Pakatan, although DAP can come in with their big talk, they don’t have the power nor the influence to stop PAS in their moral policing efforts,” he said.

Nasrudin had today clarified in party organ Harakahdaily that he was misquoted and that he had never imposed on local authorities to abide by his statements.

He also said that they will be merely carrying out their common routine to hand out leaflets to Muslims to avoid ‘morally corrupt activities’ in the coming festival of love.

Complaint over pre-school textbook

Chua also said that the party will submitting an official complaint to the National Unity and Integration Department over a textbook which had allegedly depicted Chinese in a negative light.

He said that he had received complaints on the new textbook for pre-school children, prepared by the department, which had stated that mahjong is a traditional Chinese game.

“This should not be a traditional game for the Tionghua. Instead, it should be Chinese checkers.

“We will contact the department so maybe they can rectify the mistakes. So that this does not send the message that gambling is a prevalent Chinese culture,” he said.

A game originating from China, mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, calculation and chance. While it can easily be played recreationally, it is a common gambling game in many parts of Asia.