MINGGUAN MALAYSIA's Awang Selamat, in his weekly column yesterday, ran Tan Sri Vincent Tan's response to the writer's May 25 column on Tauke Cina, Mesin Slot.
Tan, according to Awang, felt the writer was unfair towards him, although the column did not mention Tan's name, it was written following the Prime Minister's statement that the Government did not approve a new casino at the Bukit Tinggi Resort.
During a meeting with Tan, Awang said that Tan stated the article was not only derogatory towards him but had racial undertones against Chinese businessmen.
“Tan said the article had, in fact, hurt the feelings of the Malays as well because it inferred that they could be easily bought to act in concert with towkays in breaking the law.
“He told me that my writing was inaccurate and advised that I first conduct a thorough research to avoid sensational articles that not only deviate from the truth but, in fact, portray him negatively and also affect racial and emotional sensitivities,” Awang said in his column.
He apologised to Tan for any inaccuracy in the article and expressed regret for any misunderstanding that may have arisen from the column that had hurt Tan's feelings and tarnished his character.
In the same column yesterday, Awang wrote that the booklet entitled Rundingan Air – Hakikat Yang Sebenarnya was of Singapore's unfair views on the water discussions with Malaysia.
Awang said Singapore made two unfair conclusions; that Malaysia was unreasonable and caused the discussions to stall, and that Malaysia often changed its stand during the discussions, especially in fixing the price of raw water.
Meanwhile, Berita Minggu highlighted on its front page two Selangor Religious Department (Jais) officers who were suspended for a month for allegedly manhandling a student in Klang recently.
Jais director Datuk Mansor Ramli was quoted as saying that the two, in their 30s, would be transferred to another district after their suspension ends.
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