PUTRAJAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Ir. Dr Wee Ka Siong said ‘The Star’ should have been more sensitive in managing the perception of its Muslim readers.
He said although the newspaper never intended to offend its Muslim readers with its controversial May 27 front page, the English daily should nevertheless been more alert.
"There are many angles to it," Wee said when asked to comment on the matter, which saw two of the newspaper’s top editors being suspended indefinitely.
"Some readers may be observant and read every line,"
"Some may not feel anything. Some readers may read it and just see the big headline and the picture first ... So we cannot just make a general statement", he said.
In the context of Malaysia, Wee urged everyone to be more sensitive towards each other, especially when it comes to religious sensitivity.
"That's why you don't see me drinking any water at this press conference out of respect for the Muslims who are fasting,"
So putting picture of Muslims praying with an unrelated story on terrorism on The Star's front page was "a valuable lesson learned," he said.
He adds that the MCA leadership would leave it to the top management of the newspaper to sort out the matter professionally.
On May 29, the Home Ministry, gave the newspaper seven days to respond to a show cause letter over its front page last Saturday. It depicted a picture of Muslims performing terawih prayer sandwiched between the headline “Malaysian terrorist leader” and a spa advertisement.
Ministry secretary general Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim was quoted as saying that the badly-placed headline painted a poor image of Muslims, as though those performing the prayers were terrorists.