Published: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 4:13:00 PM

Letter of demand issued to Dr Khir

By DHARMENDER SINGH and EDWARD RAJENDRA at the Selangor state assembly

SHAH ALAM: Senior Selangor state executive councillor Teresa Kok has issued a letter of demand asking former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo to retract his statement, apologise and pay RM10mil over claims that she supported a petition to lower the sound of the azan (call to prayer).

Kok said she had sent the letter to Dr Khir by facsimile on Tuesday and personally hand-delivered a copy of the same letter to him outside the assembly hall on Wednesday.

The letter prepared by Kok’s lawyers claimed that Khir had posted an answer on his blog claiming there was a petition from the Chinese community in Kinrara calling for the volume of the azan to be lowered and this was supported by Kok.

It also quoted Dr Khir as saying that Seri Serdang assemblyman Datuk Satim Diman had raised the matter with the Selangor state assembly and he feared that no answer would be given because Kok had promised to help ensure demands were implemented.

Dr Khir was also quoted as saying that he would continue to protest the matter as the Opposition leader because Islam is the official religion of the country.

He is said to have also claimed that work to prepare a petition took place because DAP supporters had become “big headed” (too proud) of late.

Kok is claiming that the Dr Khir’s reply was understood to mean that she was a religious and racist bigot, untrustworthy and a politician bereft of integrity as well as intolerant, unprincipled and of low moral values.

The statement is said to mean that Kok is chauvinistic, anti-Islam, anti-Malay and had committed a serious offence under the Penal Code and other laws of Malaysia.

The words were said to be grossly negligent and irresponsible and aimed to disgrace and lower her reputation and expose her to public hatred. The letter also claimed that the comments were false, malicious and the attack on Kok wholly unjustified and were libellous.

Dr Khir is being asked to make a public retraction of his reply and impugn the words from his blog, other blogs and media and the removal of the offending and defamatory comments.

Kok has also called for an apology to be published in newspapers and an undertaking from Dr Khir not to repeat the allegations as well as pay RM10mil in damages for the injury caused to her. Dr Khir has been given seven days to reply to the letter of demand dated Oct 21 or legal proceedings will be initiated against him.