Deputy minister's presence alongside activist at court sparks concerns, criticisms

Malaysiakini : Concerns have been raised over the presence of a deputy minister alongside Temple Preservation Action Team (Tepat) chairperson Arun Dorasamy as the latter faced court charges today. Images and news reports showed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M Kulasegaran standing with the activist at the Jawi Magistrates’ Court in Penang.

The photos were believed to have been taken before Arun pleaded not guilty over a charge under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, which criminalises statements made with the intent to cause, or which may cause, disturbance to the public.

Johor PKR Youth chief Faezuddin Puad questioned why Kulasegaran, who is DAP’s Ipoh Barat MP, allegedly showed up at court to “accompany” Arun and urged the deputy minister to explain.

“We do not want this to give the wrong impression to the people, as if the government is siding with Arun or attempting to show political support for him.

“We are also concerned that this action could damage the image of the Madani government and the prime minister in the eyes of Malaysians,” Faezuddin added in a Facebook post.

Temple Preservation Action Team (Tepat) chairperson Arun Dorasamy

PSM central committee member Gandipan Nantha Gopalan highlighted that as an MP, Kulasegaran’s role is “not to provide support for a racist”, but to come up with better laws.

‘Like the upside-down flag case’

Kecik Mayong : The Boycott Man is always seen with opposition PAS leaders and promoting that party. Is that acceptable when he's a part of thr ruling govt ?

BOSSKU Kaw Kaw : Akmal, how come your idol Jibby not in ORANGE suit? Any luck with your thoughts? LOL

PurpleGuppy5319 : Don't worry Akmal, he's wearing the transparent cuffs like the ones used for Najib...

Open minded 2281 : Well done Minister as the police failed to act on police reports and DAP had to beg the police to take action on Muslims insulting Hindu faith. 

This resulted in Hindu activists taking action. Kula has a point that the Hindu activists would not have done anything if the police had acted professionally.

On the Other Hand : The Malaysiakini editorial team has really gone to the dogs. 

Not only were my comments deleted, they also had the audacity to ban me for two weeks, and failed to respond to my questions to the Editor asking for which posts of mine were at fault, for either being wrong in fact, or merely being a difference in opinion between myself and the Mkini editors. 

There was not a whimper or sound from them as clearly their actions were a reflection of the lack of professionalism and religious bias of their editorial team. Truly shameful lot we have here running the Mkini Comment section now.

apanama is back : "We are also concerned that this action could damage the image of the Madani government and the prime minister in the eyes of Malaysians,” Faezuddin added in a Facebook post. 

I am NOT aware that the Madani government and the prime minister still have an image to get damaged. Any so-called image left? 🤔 This comment against Kula is deliberate. If a Malay politician attends Vinoth's case, all will be quiet.

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