I refer to the letter Horror films: Puteri Umno motion more scarier .

Let me say from the outset that I am no great fan of Puteri Umno, but the way I see it their exhortation at the recent Umno AGM calling for the government ban of Malay films and TV dramas with horror, mystical and superstition elements was the most sensible thing that was said.

The rest, including the ‘setuju sebulat suara’ motions on the party's various amendments were nothing but hogwash.

I am saddened to see that even a Malay intellectual like the above writer, by ridiculing the Puteri's call, still cannot fathom the detriment this phenomenon would or could do to the Muslims.

Producers of Malay films have also criiticised Puteri Umno for their 'ridiculous' suggestion calling for the ban of such films.

I want to simply go over this argument without going into matters of aqidah etc by asking these people ‘is this culture of horror films etc, good for the Malays and the Muslims in the midst of our jihad to ensure that we become a great community respected and admired by the non- Muslims?

Since the socio-economic numbers of the Muslims in this country are always far behind the non-Malays, will this culture of horror films and such dramas change the situation for the better other than for those film companies raking in millions from such movies?

At best, don't you think that spending time watching and talking about such films and dramas are a complete waste of time, including spending a fortune and then asking our children to waste valuable time reading JK Rowling's Harry Potter series which are also condemned by the Christian churches?

As Muslims, we all know that before being cast out of Heaven into this world, the ‘Syaitan’ had vowed that he was going to mislead humankind until Doomsday. As such, is it alright for us to glamourise this permanent enemy of us, the Believers, through films and dramas for the sake of nothing else but money?

We all know that since Astro began entering our homes, our children are continuously bombarded with 'porno' shows in the shape of American and Hindi pop videos with our radio stations playing all kinds of obscene lyrics from many American songs.

Still, many people would say that the way our children would turn out would largely depend on their parents.

The question is, surveys had shown that compared to 10 to 20 years ago (when most households would have had only working fathers), parents today are spending less and less time with their children.

This because in most households both parents are now working (thanks to a ‘modern lifestyle’ which demands two incomes).

Thus in the course of bringing up their children, parents today are in constant battle with the entertainment merchants. I would offer no prizes for your correct answer as to who is the winner.