A I S E H M A N . O R G

NST MAY ARGUE FURTHER IN STRICT LEGAL SENSE

I think NST is attempting to argue that the caricature has nothing to do with the Prophet Muhammad or Islam.

The caricature merely says "...Muhammad...".Who is Muhammad? Tan Sri Muhammad Taib ? Tan Sri Muhammad Ghazali Shafie (King Ghaz)?

Therefore the caricature by itself is nothing but a joke by the cartoonist.But because we are still haunted by the depictions done by the Danish newspapers, we tend to read/see too much in a thing.

By taking this strict legal sense, I believe that NST may be pardoned.

It is unfortunate that the timing of this 'innocent' caricature is published is wrong.

Our Datuk Hishamudin Aun is already under immense pressure from our Info Minister Datuk Zam to quit.Now he was knocked by the ladder after a fall. Good luck to him.

If I may read "much deeper", it appears that Pak Lah's "stronghold" in NST has come under serious onslaught by "some quarters" from "another team". Datuk Zam apparently is the infantry man who fired the first shot.

Next target may be TV3. Stand-by Datuk Kamarulzaman!

aisehmen tries to make the case that the NST cartoon is offensive without depicting the Prophet by focusing on the fact that there do exist depictions of the Prophet that Muslims haven't exactly risen up in arms about and that the NST's argument is therefore moot.

Pardon me, but I'd like to point out that aisehmen also has missed the wood for the trees.

aisehmen hasn't explained how the NST cartoon is offensive, especially in light of the fact that it largely criticises the motivations of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons' cartoonists by casting its character as being purely driven by ego and a desire for attention in his pursuit of blasphemy - note sideline: "Kevin finally achieves *his dream of becoming the world's most feared man*". That's something that aisehmen, Jeff Ooi, as well as PAS and the three NGOs who lodged reports against the NST for the cartoon need to consider in their criticism. If they refuse to, then they become no better than the knee-jerk reactionists among us Muslims who condemn *all* of the Jyllands-Posten cartoonists despite the fact that at least three of them actually didn't depict the Prophet and two of those even went so far as to criticize Jyllands-Posten itself as well as the Danish author who started this whole thing, depicting them as, again, being driven by ego and desire for attention in their pursuit of blasphemy.

(Slightly off topic) Wow, never knew about the depiction of the Prophet on the frieze in the US Supreme Court Building. Goes to show, you discover something new everyday. Consider me enlightened...

I got to agree with namaemonai on this. I really don't see how NST's action could be equated with the Danish cartoons unless we allow our judgements to be clouded by our feelings toward Jalan Riong.

However I must say that at least Aisehman has been consistent on his principles in both cases unlike Jeff Ooi. I find it strange that Jeff Ooi is now busy drumming up emotions and asking (indirectly) that NST should be banned for the comics. I say strange because he was arguing AGAINST the ban/suspension of the Sarawak Tribune and Guangming Daily just a few days ago.

"As far as the Muslim in me is concerned, what is unpardonable is that the top Muslim officials in the NST seem to have no qualms in remaining defiant."

I agree.

It is a good thing to join in the chorus calling for NST's head, because in someway or another, Jalan Riong has always been the government's favourite child. We can now test how consistent and impartial the KDN is going to be.

But please be careful about this whole issue. A few days ago there was the whole Zam and the Western style press freedom thing. NST came out with a good diatribe to counter that. I had to agree with the NST's stand on the issue. Whether Kali, Hishamuddin or the whole of NST deserve to be called the bastions for Malaysian press freedom is another issue altogether though.

My point is, the NST, China Press, Guang Ming and Sarawak Tribune have all in someway made mistakes in one way or another. Some more serious mistakes than others. And yes, the NST does need to be taught a lesson.

But the thing is, the very fact that we are calling for "justice" to be meted on the NST is short sighted and just missing the whole point!

You see, the enemy is neither the NST nor the mainstream media.

The enemy is the culture of self-censorship, no balls reporting, editorializing, sensationalizing and abuse of agenda setting powers by the mainstream media, as epitomized in the English broadsheets by the NST and the Star. I would like to see the NST punished, for these. I myself (and other Malaysians) would like to punish the NST in our own ways. Not Zam. Not the KDN. Not the PPPA. Not anyone else.

At this moment in time, I don't think we want to destroy the Grand Old Lady. Instead, we should be calling for the repeal of such laws as the PPPA 1984.

Stupidly enough, NST and Sarawak Tribune have all shown how incapable the press is in being "responsible" such that the powers that be have no good reason to repeal them. And here we are, all calling for "justice" on the NST.

Right now, somewhere in Angkasapuri or Putrajaya, Zam is having a good laugh.

Why? We all, the people and the press, have become the pawns in his game. Congratulations Malaysia!

Agree with namaemonai.
Should we fight only for the airing of views that agrees with ours? Or should we fight only for the airing of views by people who are agreeable to us? Or should we fight for eveyones freedom ?

"So if anyone in the NST would listen, let me lay it out for you: The cartoon you published need not have depicted the Prophet for it to be offensive to Islam.

Furthermore, the act of re-publishing the cartoon is a direct challenge to Muslim sensitivities, compounding what in the first instance was likely an oversight."

reductio ad absurdum: Jeff Ooi should be censored for reproducing the strip.

We don't need selective free speech.