Utusan Malaysia
reporter Kasthuri Jeevandran has defended herself against a claim by
two Christian leaders that her recent report quoting them is a “complete
lie”.
The Umno-owned daily today published her comments, including her denial that she had reported their remarks out of context in her report on the church being used as a platform for politics.
The
duo are Lutheran Evangelical Church bishop Solomon Rajah and former
Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) president Thomas Philips.
Kasthuri said she had informed them that she was seeking their “general views” on a recent dialogue attended by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“I introduced myself as Utusan Malaysia reporter and told (them that) I wanted a few comments on the issue,” she said in the report.
“I first contacted Solomon to get his general view on Lim’s call to Christians not to remain quiet even if they think they are 'innocent, pure and not involved in wrongful acts'. After I obtained his views, I asked whether I could quote him and he consented.”
She said she had taken the same approach in interviewing Philips.
Last Friday, Malaysiakini reported that Lim, during a dialogue
with some 300 church leaders in Penang, had told Christians not to
remain quiet even if they think they are "innocent, pure and not
involved in wrongful acts".
The DAP secretary-general said, although believers are answerable to God, it is important to speak out on ‘Justice for All’ - a slogan which has been Pakatan Rakyat's clarion call.
Last Sunday’s Mingguan Malaysia report, headlined ‘Church is not a place for politics’, claimed that Solomon and Philips had lambasted Lim for using the church as a political platform.
Yesterday, the two church leaders had called a press conference together with CCM secretary-general Hermen Shastri to rebut the report which they described as a “complete lie”.
The duo said their words had been taken out of context, and demanded a retraction of the report and a public apology.
Las Sunday, Lim too had spoken out against the report.
The Umno-owned daily today published her comments, including her denial that she had reported their remarks out of context in her report on the church being used as a platform for politics.
The
duo are Lutheran Evangelical Church bishop Solomon Rajah and former
Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) president Thomas Philips.Kasthuri said she had informed them that she was seeking their “general views” on a recent dialogue attended by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
“I introduced myself as Utusan Malaysia reporter and told (them that) I wanted a few comments on the issue,” she said in the report.
“I first contacted Solomon to get his general view on Lim’s call to Christians not to remain quiet even if they think they are 'innocent, pure and not involved in wrongful acts'. After I obtained his views, I asked whether I could quote him and he consented.”
She said she had taken the same approach in interviewing Philips.
Last Friday, Malaysiakini reported that Lim, during a dialogue
with some 300 church leaders in Penang, had told Christians not to
remain quiet even if they think they are "innocent, pure and not
involved in wrongful acts".The DAP secretary-general said, although believers are answerable to God, it is important to speak out on ‘Justice for All’ - a slogan which has been Pakatan Rakyat's clarion call.
Last Sunday’s Mingguan Malaysia report, headlined ‘Church is not a place for politics’, claimed that Solomon and Philips had lambasted Lim for using the church as a political platform.
Yesterday, the two church leaders had called a press conference together with CCM secretary-general Hermen Shastri to rebut the report which they described as a “complete lie”.
The duo said their words had been taken out of context, and demanded a retraction of the report and a public apology.
Las Sunday, Lim too had spoken out against the report.
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