In a rare gesture, parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang hailed Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik for stating that no action would be taken against blogger Jeff Ooi for carrying an allegedly anti-Islam posting by an errant reader.

"Malaysians can heave a sigh of relief, not only for the sake of Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi)'s credibility as a reform prime minister but that good sense has prevailed in the artificial ' Screenshots ' ruckus," said Kit Siang, who is also member of parliament for Ipoh Timur.

Screenshots - which has been dubbed as Malaysia's most influential blog - has come under fire over an allegedly blasphemous comment posted by a person calling himself 'Anwar', which ridiculed the concept of Islam Hadhari.

The issue found its way to the front-pages of Berita Harian over the past four days after an anonymous source informed the Malay daily that Ooi had failed "to control the forum".

According to 'Anwar', the comparison of Islam Hadhari and Umno's money politics to water and oil - that they do not mix - was inaccurate. He argued that it would be more apt to liken the two to "faeces and urine".

Ooi had responded to the offending posting by rebuking the writer and banning him from further contributing to his weblog's forum on Oct 1, a day before Berita Harian published its report.

The e-business consultant, who is also a columnist for a weekly business magazine, has been penning his personal weblog for over a year.

In the wake of the controversy, Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar warned that the Internal Security Act - which allows detention without trial - could be invoked against the blogger.

Yesterday, Keng Yaik told reporters that Ooi had immediately barred 'Anwar' when he realised the person had abused it.

"To be fair, he (Jeff Ooi) tried to stop it," he said.

However, Keng Yaik said regulator Communication and Multimedia Commission was working closely with the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems to identify 'Anwar' and bring him to book.

Crisis averted

According to Kit Siang, the minister should be commended for averting an contrived crisis victimising Ooi and his weblog.

The opposition leader had in the past exchanged verbal blows with Keng Yaik, the leader of Barisan National component party Gerakan.

Nevertheless, Kit Siang slammed the prime minister for his remarks disparaging Ooi.

"The initial comment by Abdullah on Monday suggesting that Ooi's blog was an incitement tantamount to actionable sedition raised alarm bells all-round for two reasons: firstly that the prime minister had made a misinformed statement as he had clearly not been briefed of all the facts surrounding the Screenshots ruckus, and secondly, that it seemed to presage a prime ministerial 'green-light' for a crackdown on Ooi and Screenshots , heedless of the grave damage not only to human rights and Abdullah's premiership but also to Malaysia's Bill of Guarantee of no Internet censorship."

He added that the Screenshots controversy should be a "salutary reminder to all Malaysians of the urgent need for institutional reforms to usher in democracy, human rights and good governance."