Ti: Gag order shows Pakatan has flunked championing of free speech

KUANTAN: The several gag orders issued by Pakatan Rakyat in less than three years of its formation shows it has “flunked” its own championing of the freedom of speech.

MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker said that after each order was issued, the matters at hand were never resolved or the outcome made public.

The latest order forbids Pakatan leaders to make any statements regarding the controversial hudud issue until the opposition top leadership meet today.

Other previous gag orders included issues touching on seat allocations, the proposed ban on beer sales in Selangor several years ago, and the operation by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on a thanksgiving dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodhist Church in August, alleging there was proselytisation towards Muslims.

Ti said the opposition parties, especially the DAP, had often belittled and accused the MCA over the party’s closed-door consultative approach in dealing with sensitive issues.

“This has been our practice for a long time. However, now the DAP appears to be using the same concept of ‘locked door approach’ over the hudud issue and this is non-consultative,’’ Ti said yesterday.

He added that the gag order reflected the Pakatan’s failure to deliver the things they had propagated all this while, which included freedom of speech.

“They have simply flunked,” he said.

Umno vice president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the opposition would always be loud in Parliament when raising matters involving freedom of speech.

However, the gag order issued reflected their hypocrisy, he added.

Mohd Shafie said the opposition parties were at loggerheads over the hudud issue.

“It shows they are unable to sit together and resolve problems,’’ he told reporters during a Hari Raya gathering organised by Mara.

In Ipoh, Perak MCA youth secretary Tony Khoo said that as a coalition that claimed to fight for democracy, each Pakatan party should be allowed to speak its mind.

“They are merely sharing the same pillow but having different dreams,” he added.

-The Star-