COMMENT A news article titled, ‘Bananas are a no-no, Islamic cleric tells Muslim women’ has gone viral on social media since it first appeared in bikyamasr.com on Dec 6, 2011.

It quoted a Muslim cleric based in Europe, who warned Muslim women to stay away from bananas in order to avoid “sexual thoughts”. The unnamed sheikh had claimed that bananas, carrots and zucchini “resemble the male penis”.

The article came back into circulation locally, after the sight of white crosses on rooftops in Langkawi caused another brouhaha .

I cannot help but agree with Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that Malaysians - in particular, those connected to his own party - are simply wasting too much time on unimportant issues, instead of addressing mega scandals affecting the nation that also bring a bad name to their religion.