Malaysian Home Ministry not satisfied with The Star's explanation on controversial picture of Erykah Badu

The controversial Erykah Badu picture which was published by The Malaysian newspaper, The Star, which angered Muslims Malaysians, prompting the Malaysian government to cancel her concert.

And now the latest news on the controversy.

The Malaysian Home Ministry is not satisfied with the explanation from The Star over the picture of Erykah Badu with tattoos of the word "Allah" in Arabic on her body.



In a statement Wednesday, 7th March 2012, the newspaper was directed to submit to the ministry its recommendations for sterner action to ensure the mistakes did not recur and to serve as a deterrent in the future.

"The Ministry wishes to advise The Star and all media organisations to take preventive, corrective and informative action to prevent the publication of content that may touch on the country's multi-racial and multi-religious sensitivities," it said.

The Star has suspended two editors over the publication of a photograph showing the American singer with body art with the word Allah in Arabic.

On Feb 28, 2012, the newspaper received a show-cause letter from the Ministry, giving it seven days to reply.

The Star issued an apology via its online news portal and Twitter the same day. The newspaper's managing editor, chief news editor and senior editor were also called up by the ministry to explain the use of the photograph.

The newspaper also published another apology in its print version, saying the photograph was inadvertently published in Star2.

The Star, in its apology, said it deeply regretted any offence it caused to Muslims.

As a result of this fiasco, the scheduled Erykah Badu concert in Kuala Lumpur was cancelled, much to the dismay of he fans in Malaysia.

The organiser of the concert, clearly angered by the Star, is reportedly suing the newspaper for causing the cancellation of the concert.

The Star newspaper suspends 2 editors

The Star has suspended two editors in connection with the publication of a photograph showing American singer Erykah Badu with body art with the word Allah in Arabic.

Star2 senior editor Lim Cheng Hoe and deputy editor Daryl Goh (who are both Non Muslims and cannot understand the word "Allah" in Arabic), and who had approved the use of the photo in Monday’s 27 February 2012 edition of Star2, have been suspended with immediate effect and indefinitely. ( i do hope they are fired to ensure such things never happened again in a sensitive and complex nation like Malaysia).

At the same time, two associate editors, Rozaid Abdul Rahman and Shah A. Dadameah, have assumed extra duties of overseeing and guiding the newspaper on issues pertaining to Muslim sensitivities.

For the record, the Star was under-fire last August 2011 for including a "haram" food menu in their Ramadhan delights edition.

No Malice intened.

Meanwhile The Star issued this apology.

IT is not easy to govern a country that is as complex as ours and we appreciate that from the time of Merdeka, our leaders have taken a moderate line in grappling with sensitive issues, especially with regard to race and religion.

The media, likewise, also knows its role and place in handling such issues. And The Star is proud to say that in the 40 years of our existence, we have always placed national interests before any other.

Admittedly, we have slipped up and made mistakes. But then again, no person or organisation is perfect. We often assume that because the many different communities of various ethnicities have lived side by side for so long, we should all be intimately familiar with all aspects of every race, religion and culture in this country.

In large part we do know. But mistakes can happen out of carelessness, thoughtlessness, plain silliness or, as in the case of the photo of American singer Erykah Badu's body art with the word Allah in Arabic, ignorance.

All our editors regardless of race and belief know that they must never use any image of the Prophet Muhammad or any photo showing the text of the Holy Quran. And we get plenty of such images from our foreign wire services.

Normally, if our editors come across any photos with words or text in a script or alphabet they are not familiar with and it can be in Urdu, Dutch, Chinese and of course Arabic they will find out what the words mean because we will not use photos containing anything that is offensive.

Which is also why we never publish gory photos of accidents or crime scenes.

Unfortunately, the editors who used the Badu photograph are non-Muslims and they did not recognise the word “Allah” in Arabic.

Ignorance may not be a good excuse but this is the real story behind the mistake. We wish to reiterate that it was made with no ill intention or malice.

We immediately acted to purge the photograph from our website and archives. We also published an apology online and on Twitter on Monday and in the newspaper the next day.

Today, we once again apologise to all Muslims for the mistake and assure them that there was absolutely no niat jahat.

Erykah Badu sad but not angry over Malaysian ban

Grammy Award winning American soul singer, Erykah Badu said Wednesday, 29 February 2012, she holds no grudge against Malaysia's government for barring her from performing after a photograph of her body art offended some Muslims.

More than 1,500 people had bought tickets to watch the Grammy-winning American singer at a Kuala Lumpur auditorium on Wednesday, 29th February 2012, but Malaysia's information minister announced on the eve of the concert that it could not proceed because a promotional photo of Badu with the Arabic word for Allah painted on her bare shoulders was "an insult to Islam."

"It's sad, because we traveled a long way," Badu told a news conference. "But I'm totally understanding of (the minister's) protection of the laws and its people. He doesn't want anything to happen. I'm good with that."

The photograph ignited criticism from some politicians and religious groups in Muslim-majority Malaysia after a newspaper published it Monday, 27th February 2012, in a feature to promote Badu's show. The daily has since apologized for what it called an "oversight" that led to the photo's publication.

Badu, 41, said the photo was inspired by images from "The Holy Mountain," a 1973 surrealist movie by Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky.

"I think art is often misunderstood in the realm of religion, and it's OK," she said. "In America, it's a lot different. Art is also misunderstood but it is not such a harsh gesture to promote the names of God. I am learning and understanding about Islam in other countries more as we travel."

Malaysian Information Minister Rais Yatim said Tuesday, 28 February 2012 that the controversy surrounding Badu's photo "could jeopardize national security and cause a negative impact to the government's image."

Public reaction to the concert ban has been divided. On Twitter, many Malaysians, including Muslims, accused the government of intolerance, but others praised authorities for being firm about defending religious principles.

Badu said she would "absolutely" welcome another chance to perform in Malaysia someday. She is scheduled to sing at a jazz festival this weekend in Jakarta, the capital of neighboring Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

The Star sudah beberapa kali melakukan kesilapan, adakah editornya buta huruf??

Akhbar harian The Star adalah akhbar paling laris di Malaysia dengan purata 300,000 naskah dijual setiap hari di seluruh Malaysia.

Akhbar berbahasa Inggeris itu sudah lama berada di pasaran, beroperasi sejak September 1971 dan kini dimiliki parti MCA, komponen BN.

Namun editor bahagian hiburan dan majalahnya seolah olah buta huruf, buta warna, buta hati kerana menyiarkan artikel yang membuta tuli, tidak sensitif dengan agama lain, sehingga menimbulkan kemarahan pelbagai pihak.



Ogos 2011, The Star terpaksa meminta maaf kerana kekhilafan menyiarkan artikel mengenai juadah berbuka puasa di bulan Ramadhan yang turut mengandungi sebuah menu "pork" atau daging babi yang sememangnya haram dalam Islam.

Justeru, The Star terpaksa meminta maaf.



Minggu ini, The Star sekali lagi terpaksa meminta maaf kerana menyiarkan gambar penyanyi soul Amerika Syarikat Erykah Badu, memaparkan tatoo kalimah Allah pada badannya. Penyiaran gambar itu membangkitkan kemarahan umat Islam di Malaysia dan sekaligus konsert Erykah Badu di Kuala Lumpur pada Rabu, 28 Februari 2012 terpaksa dibatalkan atas sebab keselamatan.

Adakah The Star akan meminta maaf lagi selepas ini?

Sudahkah tindakan sewajarnya diambil ke atas editor yang membenarkan 2 kesalahan lampau itu ditendang keluar?

Adakah The Star mahu menempuh nasib sama dengan akhbar Sarawak Tribune di Sarawak yang terpaksa ditutup ekoran menyiarkan karikatur menghina Nabi Muhammad S.A.W??

Difahamkan, penganjur konsert Erykah Badu mahu menyaman The Star kerana pembatalan konsert Erykah Badu yang menyebabkan kerugian kepada penganjur.

Ini kerana penganjur sudahpun mendapat kelulusan kerajaan bagi konsert berkenaan, namun masalah timbul dan pembatalan dibuat kerana penyiaran gambar kontroversi Erykah Badu itu oleh The Star.

Hanya The Star sahaja akhbar Malaysia yang dilaporkan menyiarkan gambar kontroversi itu.

Rapaee Kawi, Malaysia's most experienced news photographer passed away yesterday, May 22, 2009

Rapaee Kawi in Beijing before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, here seen posing with China's tallest man, Bao Xishun who stood at 7 feet 9 inches or 2.36 metres!!


UN troubleshooter: Rapaee Kawi posing with his 16mm Bolex camera during his peacekeeping mission with the United Nations in Africa in 1989.


One of Malaysia's most senior and experienced news photographer, Rapaee Kawi or fondly known as Apai, died suddenly yesterday, May 21 2009..

He was a friend of all journalists in Malaysia, especially in Sabah and Sarawak..

He was a friend of me too.

Whenever i go to Sarawak, he will always assist me and always in jovial mood.

He always came to Sabah to do assignments coverage also.

He was very active, as he was a former army commando..

Rest In Peace Rapaee.... May God Bless You..

This is the news report by the Star..

Goodbye to The Star’s veteran adventurer

MIRI: He was an ex-commando, active parachutist and scuba diver but The Star’s senior photographer Rapaee Kawi’s first passion was photojournalism.

Despite his love for tough and risky outdoor jobs, Rapaee, who passed away suddenly yesterday, was known for his gentle disposition. He was three weeks shy of his 51st birthday.

Rapaee, who was based at the Sarawak bureau in Kuching, hailed from Mukah.

He died of heart failure at noon while he was in the city centre.

He leaves behind wife Patricia Grinau, 43, and four children aged between 11 and 23.

His death shocked members of the media in Sarawak as he was a well-built and physically healthy person and had not shown any sign of a serious illness.

No assignment was too tough for him, no situation was too difficult for him – and he would do it all with a smile.

He had even ventured into high-risk zones, like when he was sent to cover the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping crisis in southern Philippines, apart from having travelled extensively throughout Sarawak and Sabah to capture news and sports events.

The Star’s staff correspondent Jack Wong told Rapaee to take a break from work yesterday after he called in the morning to say that he was not feeling well.

The news of his death also shocked his colleagues at The Star’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya and at the other bureaus nationwide.

Rapaee, fondly called Apai, which means “father”, ventured into journalism in the early 1990s.

He had served as a commando and paratrooper with the Defence Ministry. He was sent on a peacekeeping mission to Africa during the 1980s.

He was also an adventurer. He managed to climb to the base camp of Mount Everest during The Star’s expedition there with the first group of Malaysians who scaled the highest peak in the world.

He had covered many assignments, both local and overseas, during his stint as a photographer with Utusan in Johor and after he joined The Star in 1996.

He had covered many state and parliamentary elections and also visited the Penans in the interior of Baram in Miri Division, visited the Bakun dam site in the heart of Sarawak and handled a number of helicopter tragedies.

His body has been brought back to Dalat in Mukah. His burial will be held tomorrow.

Rest in Peace.. Apai

To those who glorify criminals, this is a good read

Criminals are the villains, not cops

(source – the star online)

THERE has to be some sense of trust in the police force when it involves the arrest of criminals.

Crime has increased almost two-folds within the last four years.

About 20% of serious crimes are committed by illegal immigrants and another 80% by locals. A lax police force would thus contribute to a further increase in the crime rate and more serious crimes being committed. This would bring more fear to the society.

Crime is also draining the government resources. The engagement of extra forces to combat crime, maintaining the prisons and having long trials cost the government millions that can otherwise be used to help the needy in society.

Criminals are getting more daring as there are groups in our society who would always question the police when it involves shooting and killing while engaging the criminals. This is demoralising the police force.

No police officer in his right mind would shoot a criminal if the latter does not pose a threat to his life.

Many policemen were killed while on duty and how many people have cared to sympathise with them and their bereaved families?

The society has to be wary that many of these hard-core criminals are armed. Hardly would a criminal these days enter a house without a weapon. A slight commotion would be enough for these criminals to slash their victims to death.

These have happened all too often and the aggrieved party subsequently would have to live in pain.

In most cases, the victims are not armed to fight back and most criminals would resort to violence to rob or harm the victims.

We have read about innocent people being snatched off their handbags and dying on the road, cars being hijacked and the victims harmed, victims being slashed to death in their homes and some tortured and raped.

The criminals are just brutal and merciless and they cannot be left free to carry on with their crimes. They have to be engaged in a hard-hitting manner.

The theory that poverty and unemployment are the causes of an an increase in serious crimes may not always be true.

These hard-core criminals are a totally different breed. They choose not to earn a decent income through hard work but prefer to seek a luxurious lifestyle through robbery and killing and satisfy their sexual desire by raping. These are criminals who should be purged from society for the sake of peace loving citizens.

On the other hand, the role of the police is not a painless one. Not many would want to be in the police force as it is not a safe job as their life is always at risk.
We should be grateful to these people who are willing to serve the force to help maintain law and order in the country.

If there are some miscreants in the force, this does not mean that the whole force is bad.

Let us not put down their spirit by taking them to task when criminals are shot. This matter should not be politicised to gain support from people who do not appreciate the sacrifice made by the police.

No upright policeman would want to kill an armed criminal for no reason.

Dr M.A. NAIR,
Bandar Muadzam Shah.