Dr M: 1Malaysia slogan needs to be explained in detail

GEORGE TOWN: The 1Malaysia slogan must be explained in detail to the people of various races living in the country, to provide a holistic understanding of the concept, said former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"When I speak to the Chinese and Malays, they have differing views and cannot be united. I feel an in-depth explanation is needed," he told reporters here today when asked by delegates of the Malaysian Muslims Welfare Organisation (Perkim), to explain the confusion surrounding the people with regard to the 1Malaysia slogan.

"They (people) do not know which one is for the Chinese or which one is for the Malays. If you ask me to explain, how can I explain because it was not me who introduced the slogan," he said.

On former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik, who was charged in court with alleged corruption in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, Mahathir said nobody can escape the arms of the law.

"That is only an accusation; whether it is true or not will be the job of the relevant authorities to explain, because in a court of law, nobody is an exception.

"If (Ling) is not guilty, let his lawyers prove it," he said.

Ling, 67, was charged at the Putrajaya Sessions Court with cheating the government into agreeing for the purchase of land in Pulau Indah, Port Klang, for the “Mega Distribution Hub” known as PKFZ in 2002.

The charge said he (Ling) had misled the Cabinet into agreeing for the conditions over the land acquisition in Pulau Indah as agreed by Kuala Dimensi and the Port Klang Authority.

The alleged offence was committed by Ling at the 4th floor of the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.

Meanwhile, Mahathir said the government should consider the proposal to amend the law for rape because the existing law may be outdated.

"Times have changed. Pornography and pornographic pictures are easily available so, when some see such movies or pictures, they loose their sense of direction and cannot decide what is right or wrong," he said.

Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh has called for the death penalty to be introduced for the rape of children and urged that Section 376 of the Penal Code (rape) be amended to provide for the death penalty in such cases.

Under Section 376 (2) (e) of the current Penal Code, punishment for raping children below the age of 12, is jail of not more than 30 years and caning.

He added that the government can also take action by barring Internet sites that offer phonographic contents or materials.