(AFP) Political speeches and religious sermons are not usually bestsellers on the video market, but a crackdown has targeted them alongside pornography.

A series of steps has been taken by the government in the past few weeks against the production and sale of video compact discs (VCDs).

First, cheap pornographic videos were blamed for many sex crimes and the sale of VCDs at popular street markets was banned.

Last weekend, the sale of VCDs containing recordings of political speeches by opposition leaders was outlawed.

This week, the government said it was monitoring VCDs of religious talks to ensure they do not "contain elements which can create chaos in society".

Critics of the government said the action against political and religious VCDs is part of a drive to crush dissent which has already seen public rallies banned last month.

Important aspects

Chandra Muzaffar, deputy president of Keadilan described the government's action as an attempt to curb political parties.

"Public gatherings and VCDs are important aspects of opposition public communications. It is part of a concerted and systematic plan to weaken the opposition," he told AFP .

Since the government-controlled television and radio do not broadcast anti-government rallies, opposition groups have resorted to selling recordings of speeches to get their message across.

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Chor Chee Heung said at the weekend that hundreds of VCDs seized in Kuala Lumpur contained opposition speeches which spread lies against the government and were a threat to the country.

Keadilan's Chandra said there were a lot of videos on Anwar available to the public but it "is the work of the free market and not produced by Keadilan."

Asked how they would react to the restrictions, he said the opposition would adopt new ways to keep the lines of communication open.

"In the past few weeks we formed small groups and hold closed door meetings. The people are still coming. They are not cowed," he said.

Meanwhile, PAS said the party would continue to hold public gatherings as the right to assembly was enshrined in the constitution.

Mahfuz Omar, a member of parliament and PAS youth chief told AFP : "We do not want to confront the police but we will abide by the constitution.

"The government hopes to silence the opposition."

An activist with the local rights group Suaram, Rashid Kang, said the recent trend to curb opposition voices was dangerous and violated human rights.

"Holding elections every five years is not only what democracy is all about. The government must stop the harassment."

Political interests

But Khairul Azhar, a research officer with the government-sponsored Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia, defended the move against VCDs.

"I do not think the government has any malicious intent to silence the opposition, but to prevent individuals or groups from manipulating the people through use of Islam," he told AFP.

"I think what the government is doing is right because if you do not have the permit to produce and sell video compact discs (VCDs) or tapes it is an offence.

"If the tapes contain information about fasting it is okay but many of these tapes have also political linked contents to promote their interests."