Umno Youth came under more fire today for its reaction to MCA parliamentarian Loh Seng Kok's speech at the Dewan Rakyat on the thorny issues of history and religion.

Writers' Alliance For Media Independence (Wami) drew a comparison between the political wing and the mafia.

"The action of Umno Youth amounts to hooliganism, threatens freedom of expression and parliamentary democracy in Malaysia," said the media watchdog in a statement.

Recently, some 50 Umno Youth members from the Kelana Jaya division went to Loh's office and slapped him with an ultimatum .

They wanted the Kelana Jaya MP to explain his speech , which complained about imbalanced history textbooks and problems faced by non-Muslims, or face action.

Take action

Wami urged Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who also heads Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, to instruct the police to initiate a probe into the matter.

"As BN chairperson, he should also take disciplinary action against Abdul Halim Samad (the Kelana Jaya Umno Youth chief who led the delegation) and his followers for threatening a BN backbencher.

"He must show that he does not condone such acts," it added.

Wami said while Umno Youth had every right to disagree with Loh, the wing should not have issued the parliamentarian with an ultimatum to silence him.

"They must not arrogantly demand a democratically-elected member of parliament to respond to their letter or threaten to take action.

"Lacking the intellect and courage for a debate, these Umno Youth members employed the lowest mean, like mafia members, in threatening people they disagree with," it added.

Citing the incidents where Umno Youth members stormed the Second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor (Apcet II) in Kuala Lumpur 10 years ago and the wing's threat to torch the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall building, Wami said these mafia-like measures seem to be the tradition of the wing.

"This time they have threatened a fellow BN parliamentarian. It is not only a threat to the 72,518 voters in Kelana Jaya but also a threat to all MPs representing 24 million Malaysians.

"It is not a question of whether one agrees or disagrees with Loh, rather it is an issue of his right to speak his mind as an MP. If you are not happy, punish him by voting him out," it added.

Credibility at stake

Reiterating its call to the premier, Wami said Abdullah has the constitutional duty to defend democracy by stopping once and for all the illegal actions of Umno Youth.

"If these hooligans can get off scot-free, the biggest casualty will be the BN government. Abdullah's own credibility as a moderate Muslim leader will be questioned.

"All MPs including those of the opposition bench must also defend Loh," it added.

Wami also noted that journalists and writers in this country also faced a similar threat on a daily basis.

"Like Umno Youth, the Internal Security Ministry by holding printing permits as ransom, is able to silence the media," it said.

In another development, Wami expressed concern over Oriental Daily 's decision to axe one of its columnists Lee Ban Chen.

The daily, which is yet to have its annual printing permit renewed, cited 'orders from above' as the reason behind the decision.

Lee, a former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee, also writes for malaysiakini .