MCA today distanced itself from a complaint made by one of its youth leaders on the volume of the azan from a mosque nearby his house,which has sparked strong protests by some Muslim groups.

NONE "His stand does not represent the MCA. He is only a member of the party and we also do not know why he made the complaint," said MCA president Chua Soi Lek ( centre ), after attending a function at the MCA headquarters today.

Last Friday, about 100 Muslims gathered outside Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque in Kg Kerinchi after Friday prayers in a show of force to condemn a MCA youth leader who complained to the Prime Minister's Office about the excessively high volume of the azan from the mosque's loudspeakers.

Burning his effigy, the protestors also demanded that the complainant, a lawyer, to be arrested under Internal Security Act and the Sedition Act.

It was reported that after the protest, the lawyer had moved away from his Pantai Hillpark condominium as he feared for his security, and also to defuse the issue.

Chua today stressed that the youth leader had to face the consequences of his action, although the party is not considering taking any disciplinary action against him.

NONE "Why should I take action against him? He is allowed to say what he wants to say and if he says something wrong, he has to face the music."

He added however, he thought that the youth leader had done nothing wrong as he is entitled to express his views and have freedom of expression, within limits.

"I am sure he is matured enough to know the sensitivities of all religions, not just Islam."

Chua said he will not contact the youth leader to look into the details of his complaints.

"I have not seen the (complaint) letter and I do not even know what it says."

He added that the suggestion by MCA vice president Gan Ping Sieu that the speaker volume be regulated in all houses of worship did not represent the party's view as it was never discussed by the party.

"MCA has one million members,it does not mean that an individual's view represents the party. In the same way, Umno has three million people and every time an Umno member says something, it does not represent what the prime minister wants to say."

He, howeve said all religions should be treated equally.

"If you want to have a mechanism to regulate the volume of sound, then we should have all the religious bodies sitting down and discussing it properly."

No plans to buy out Da Ma Cai

Meanwhile, Chua has reiterated that the party has no plans to acquire Pan Malaysia Pools (PMP), the gaming subsidiary of Tanjong PLC.

He was responding to a question on a recent rumour that the party will still buy out PMP or Da Ma Cai, which he had previously denied.

"You better check who the source is. It's better if you ask him. That would be better than me talking about it."

He said right until today, nobody has approached them and they also have no intention to purchase the gaming business.