Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar should sue the portal responsible for reporting her statement rather than Utusan Malaysia .

According to a Bernama report, Muhyiddin was asked on the PKR vice-president's plan to sue Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian for allegedly twisting her statement, Muhyiddin said it was a normal reaction by a member of the opposition when rebutting a claim.      

NONE "Anyway, wasn't the story lifted by Utusan from a portal? That one (the portal) she doesn't want to sue.

“It is a lame excuse to show that she is not at fault and her statement was twisted. But the facts are there, we can browse through and read what she had actually said," said Muhyiddin ( left ).

The DPM described the MP’s statement made during a forum last weekend as “unwarranted”.

"Such statement should not have been made. What we fear most is that it could go against akidah (Islamic creed). Furthermore, it was made by a Muslim.      

"It's something that should not have happened," he said after witnessing the signing of the Pagoh Higher Education Hub Concession Agreement between the Higher Education Ministry and Sime Darby Property Selatan Sdn Bhd in KL yesterday.      

Today the Umno-owned Utusan continued playing up the issue with reports reproducing in full the article from Malaysiakini - that the daily called ‘pro-opposition’ - on Nurul Izzah’s comments at the forum.

Penang local council forum Nurul Izzah It also carried excerpts from the MP’s blog as well as a brief report that TV3 will air a video clip tonight of her speech during the forum.

The mainstream media and BN politicians have had a field day accusing Nurul Izzah of endorsing apostasy after she commented to a question on religious freedom during the public forum ‘Islamic State: Which version; Whose responsibility’ in Subang Jaya last Saturday.

According to Bernama , former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad jumped in to comment, reminding Muslims that western liberalism, including the freedom to change religion, would not appropriate be for the country.      

"As Muslims, we do not change our religion, others might allow that," he said after being appointed the patron of the Malaysian Institute of Planners.       

He said extreme freedom would lead to disunity and chaos like allowing the production of anti-Islamic movies and legalising same sex marriage.       

Bernama also reported that in Jasin, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Nurul Izzah should acquaint herself with Islamic rules before making any statement about Islam.      

"In Islam, the rules are based on the Quran, hadis (Prophet Muhammad's sayings) and Islamic scholars' interpretations.      

"The verse stating that there is no compulsion in religion means Islam does coerce non-believers to convert to Islam, but by generalising that Muslims are free to choose their religion after a certain age is against Islamic teachings," he said at Laman Belia 1Malaysia, Sungai Rambai yesterday.

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