DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang today called on the government to issue a clear policy directive to stop any house-to-house search of pirated or pornographic VCDs without search warrant issued by a magistrate.

This is to respect the higher interests of the right to privacy of citizens pending amendments to the Film Censorship Act to incorporate such safeguards, he said in a statement.

Lim said he was surprised that the advice of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last Tuesday that efforts to combat pornographic VCDs should focus on the manufacturers, distributors and dealers and not residential premises has been countered or ignored with statements by both the Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung and the Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai who insisted that the police have the legal powers to enter private homes to raid for pornographic and pirated VCDs.