Malay rights group Perkasa insists on the suspension of national daily The Star despite its apology for publishing an offending photo of American singer Erykah Badu.

Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali urged for "stern action" against the English-language newspaper, although a show-cause letter has been issued by the Home Ministry demanding an explanation over the transgression.

The photo depicts Badu with various body art on her upper body including the Arabic word for ‘Allah’ and other symbols in Hebrew.

NONE However, just a warning after the clarification would not suffice, said Syed Hassan ( left ), as the MCA-owned newspaper has repeatedly offended the Muslim community.

“The Home Ministry has issued plenty of warnings to The Star and other parties for insulting Islam.

“Perkasa wants the ministry to suspend The Star ’s permit for a certain period of time as a lesson to them to be sensitive to the sanctity of Islam,” said Syed Hassan, urging the ministry to be firmer this time.

The newspaper had run an apology yesterday, saying the photo was published “inadvertently”, and three of its top editors have been hauled up by the ministry for an explanation.

Information Minister Rais Yatim said yesterday that Badu’s concert was cancelled because it breached government guidelines on “religious sensitivities and cultural values”.

However, organiser Pineapple Concerts had responded that Badu will carry on with the show and the team is working on rectifying the matter.

In August last year, The Star got into hot water for featuring articles on non-halal restaurants in a ‘ buka puasa ’ pull-out supplement that carried photographs of pork dishes, for which it had apologised.

“This time Perkasa does not want and will not accept an apology from The Star .

“Perkasa wants The Star to be punished this time. Suspend its permit for a limited time,” reiterated Syed Hassan.

CIJ regrets show-cause letter issued

Meanwhile, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said that the ministry’s show-cause letter was a “disproportionate response” as the newspaper had an apologised for the photo on social media platforms and in the newspaper yesterday, upon being alerted by a staff member even before the letter was issued on Monday.

“The ministry’s letter came after The Star apologised for using the photograph. The publication has not caused any harm to the Muslim community nor to the newspaper’s readers.

NONE “The issue only caught the attention of some sectors of the public after an apology has been issued and after news of the show-cause letter became public knowledge,” said CIJ’s executive officer Masjaliza Hamzah (left) .

She pointed out that the ministry’s intervention was “unnecessary and detrimental” to media freedom.

“Media needs to be free to report on sensitive matters without being accused of perpetuating the perceived offence.

“If The Star had committed a mistake, these are easily rectifiable without the use of law - through dialogue and discussion of issues,” she urged.

Masjaliza reminded the ministry that such an occurrence should not be used as grounds to revoke the newspaper’s publishing permit as stipulated under the controversial Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984.

The stringent Act, said Masjaliza, reflects the extent of the power given to the Home Ministry over the print media.

“This latest sorry episode shows yet again how the PPPA is easily used as a tool to keep print media under executive control and why it must therefore be abolished in the people’s interest,” she added.

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