Rani Kulup lodges report against Najip

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore's funny man Najip Ali may have apologised for his remarks on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak but this means nothing to local activist Abdul Rani Kulup.

"Making jokes out of current issues is rude and we cannot accept Najip's apology," said Rani Kulup, president of Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia.

He and members of Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim Malaysia and Dewan Ekonomi Sosial Muslim Malaysia lodged a report against the comedian at the Dang Wangi police station on Thursday.

Najip was a panellist on a weekly live programme, Ok Chope! on Singapore's Channel 5 and he was asked by host Vernetta Lopez to complete the headline "Najib slams... for threatening Malaysia's progress."

Mediacorp's chief customer officer Debra Soon, in a joint statement with Najip, admitted that the episode, which aired last Wednesday, did make references to Najib that were in "poor taste and offensive".

The NGOs also urged local broadcaster Astro to stop airing programmes with featuring Najip to serve as a lesson to others.

The Foreign Ministry said it has taken note of the apology from Mediacorp and Najip.

Najip was a popular host on the 90s talent show, Asia Bagus. It was reported that he would be axed from the panel of judges on local talent show for comedians Maharaja Lawak.

The NGOs also lodged a report against lawyer and activist Siti Kassim claiming she insulted Islam in an online Chinese programme and want the police and for the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) to take action against her.