PAS has lodged two police reports against two Malay dailies for publishing articles which allegedly violated election laws.

Party deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa said the reports were lodged on Friday against three articles one which appeared in Berita Harian's Nov 29, 2005 edition and two published in Utusan Malaysia on Dec 2, 2005.

"We believe that the articles are personal attacks against PAS and therefore violated section 4(a) and section 8(a) of the Election Offences Act 1964," he told a press conference at PAS election headquarters in Mankasar, Pasir Mas, yesterday.

He also claimed that the reports were "disparaging and insulting to PAS" and that they breached the Sedition Act.

He added that an official complaint will be lodged to the Election Commission today.

"PAS lodged the official complaint because we believe that the Barisan Nasional is using the media to attack PAS," he said.

Nasharuddin however declined to identify the reports to the media stating that the party was advised by their lawyers not to do so.

However media sources believed that the party was referring to a front-page report in Utusan Malaysia's Dec 2 edition entitled PAS tidak layak jadi kerajaan (PAS is unfit to govern).

Underhand tactics

Meanwhile, PAS secretary general Kamaruddin Jaafar who was also present told malaysiakini that the party refused to tolerate such underhand tactics of the BN.

"The articles were extremely unfair. We have always received unfair treatment from the media and we refuse to tolerate it further. We have to do something to stop such negative portrayal of the party."

On other issues, Kamaruddin also exposed the action of unknown people who displayed banners casting a bad light on PAS.

"We see banners like Undi PAS Masuk Syurga, Undi Umno Masuk Neraka (Vote PAS go to heaven, Vote Umno go to hell) which obviously aims to portray the party as extremist. We have also lodged a police report on the matter and demanded that those banners be taken down."

He believed that the unfair media reports and the banners are part of "underhand tactics" by BN.

"We believe the game will get dirtier in the next three days and we will not just sit back."