Hadi forgives Nanyang, invites Muslims to do the same
(The Sun Daily) – PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (pix) has called on all Muslims to forgive Chinese publication Nanyang Siang Pau for its recent caricature depicting him as a monkey.
In a statement, Abdul Hadi said his party had received an apology letter dated April 12 from Nanyang Siang Pau’s editor-in-chief as well as an open apology published in the newspaper.
He added such magnanimous conduct shown by Muslims would help foster harmony and understanding among Malaysians.
“I am inviting Muslims who were offended by the caricature’s publication to join me to forgive the newspaper, with a hope that it will not happen again in the future,” he said.
“I believe the error was due to the publication’s ignorance in understanding the very fine line of religious sensitivity limitation,” he added.
Abdul Hadi stated that the incident had brought an unpleasant atmosphere in the country following protests from groups offended by the caricature.
He also said certain groups in Malaysia faced problems in defining the boundary of freedom of expression, satire and Muslims’ sensitivity.
The Chinese daily had published a cartoon on April 8 which featured two monkeys sitting on a tree, one wearing a songkok labelled as “speaker”, the other donning a turban labelled “Hadi Awang”, while other monkeys fought under it.
The cartoon, which later sparked outrage among PAS members and Muslim organisations, was published in the newspaper just two days after Abdul Hadi tabled his Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 355 on April 6.
The Home Ministry on Sunday said that it would not take action against the newspaper but wanted it to take action against the staff responsible for publishing the cartoon.
Nanyang had since removed the cartoon from its website and made an open apology for publishing it.