TV3 has been found out ... for that cock & bull story of the tuition centre

An NGO has lodged a police report against TV3 for allegedly fabricating news of a tuition centre in Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur, trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, on account that the surau whose members were shown protesting the centre appears to be non-existent. The group, Jingga 13, said the private TV station on Aug 21 aired a report during its main news bulletin (Buletin Utama) alleging that the tuition centre had been spreading Christianity to its Muslim students. The news clip showed footage of a group of about 50 from the Surau Al-Musyrikin qariah(community) led by a Mustapha Kamal Mohd Yusof - believed to be an Umno branch leader in Seputeh - gathered in front of the centre, protesting the proselytisation of Muslims. “The report is meant to portray that there are efforts to spread Christianity through the tuition classes, to the point that it has caused the surau members to protest,” lamented Fariz Musa, Jingga 13's coordinator. However, said Fariz, their checks suggest that no such surau exists in the area. “From Jingga 13's investigations in the vicinity of the tuition centre in the Jalan Klang Lama squatter area, and from speaking with the locals there, we found that not a single surau exists in the area,” said Fariz, who is also a PKR exco member. “The tuition centre is located in a squatter area populated mainly by Chinese and Indians, along with some foreign Indonesians.

“It was pretty clear the qariah and the surau reported on TV3 does not exist,” he said.

Surau name 'pokes fun'

Fariz also pointed out that the name of the reported surau itself is suspect, and appears to be aimed at poking fun.

“The name of the surau 'Al-Musyrikin' that was reported looks like it was intentionally conjured up. “It is indeed impossible that someone would call their house of Allah with a name such as 'Al-Musyrikin' (polytheists). “It's pretty clear that TV3 cooked up the false news and at the same time poked fun at Muslim places of worship with that name Al-Musyrikin,” said Fariz. According to him, the residents in the squatter area concerned told him that the tuition centre has been there for years for the purpose of teaching Christianity to the children living in the area who are Christians. “They comprise students who are Chinese, Indian and a small number of Christian Indonesians. “There are no Muslims who attend Christianity classes there,” said Fariz. The NGO lodged a police report today at Shah Alam police district headquarters against the TV station for maliciously spreading false news, that it said aimed at stoking religious and racial tensions, that at the same time had ridiculed Islam. Meanwhile, the news report concerned has apparently been removed from TV3's website.

[Source: Mkini]

The flimsy reason for closing down the tuition centre is because it does not have a valid permit. I thought the issue was raised because the tution centre was proselytising to the Muslim students. A valid permit to conduct a tuition centre? Judging from the photos above, it appears to be a the front entrance of a house. If they must shut down a tuition centre because it operates from a house, then they must close down thousands of such centres in the country. In my taman alone, I have three such centres operating from homes of the tutors. There is also a home providing quran reading lessons to the children in the surrounding areas. Do they need a permit?

If indeed there was a case of proselytism, why have we not heard until today, the owner of the tuition center being apprehended and charged?

If TV3 has not done enough damage, RTM1 has also joined the bandwagon in spreading false news. Read here. The big question is, will Hishamuddin, MCMC and Rais Yatim take actions against these two stations for stepping on the sensitivities of the Christians? Well, I guess you know the answer.