Teoh’s family members led by his brother offering prayers on July 17 at the Shah Alam office block where he was found dead. The family want an apology from Utusan.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — The family of Teoh Beng Hock, whose death under mysterious circumstances has sparked public outrage, are demanding an apology over an article in the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia which appeared to condemn the political aide for leading an immoral life.
The distraught family are demanding an apology from the writer, a Chinese-Muslim academic, over what they see as a highly-insensitive and thoughtless commentary about Teoh, who was found dead on July 16 after being questioned by anti-graft investigators, the day he was to marry his pregnant sweetheart.
“Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee must apologise to our family for his insensitive and hurtful comments which are like rubbing salt into wounds,” Beng Hock's younger sister Lee Lan told The Malaysian Insider, speaking on behalf of her family.
She said her grieving family was closely following the local coverage of her brother's death and inquest and had read Tee’s analysis last week and understood what he meant.
In his recent article “Nasib Melayu di bumi Melayu” (Fate of Malays in the Malay land) published by Utusan on July 28, the vice-president of the 70,000-strong Malaysian Chinese-Muslim Association (Macma) noted that certain parties had jumped onto the bandwagon and turned the circumstances surrounding Beng Hock's death to “win the hearts of the Chinese community, in the interest of politics.”
While Tee said in the article that he was sympathetic to Teoh's family and admitted there should be investigations into the MACC's interrogation tactics, he hit a raw nerve when he questioned the right for Beng Hock's unborn child to bear his surname.
The following paragraphs are a translated excerpt from Tee's article, written originally in Bahasa Malaysia:
“The Wanita MCA chief released a more extreme statement urging the Home Affairs Minister to grant legitimate status to the unborn child carried by Beng Hock's girlfriend instead of a child born out of wedlock.
"Even though we all know that they were not officially married or had been cohabiting outside of marriage. Which means, the child is still a bastard child or a child born out of wedlock (illegitimate child). How many more children born out of wedlock do we want to legitimise?
“Is the Wanita MCA chief aware of how many Malay Muslim girls have become victims (cohabiting with their Muslim or non-Muslim partners, whether forced or voluntarily), giving birth to children out of wedlock who do not carry their fathers' names? Why has the MCA not defended them? Why did MCA not go see the Home Affairs Minister to legitimise these adulterous relationships? Whatever the cause of Beng Hock's death, illegitimate relationships remain illegitimate, it cannot be legitimised just because of this incident.
“If fate had it that the Gautama Buddha (also Confucius and Lao Tzu) were still living, certainly the action of the Wanita MCA chief would be condemned because Buddha's teachings (also other religions, especially Islam) forbid cohabitation (adultery) outside of marriage, what more producing a child born out of wedlock.”
Lee Lan lashed out at Tee's insensitivity on the subject.
“If my brother did not die, the question of his child's surname would not have arisen. Who caused his death?” an upset Lee Lan said.
“My family and the public want to know the cause of death of Beng Hock, how he was killed, who are the culprits, and who are going to be held responsible for his death.
“MACC can't deny their responsibility over Beng Hock's death as he was a witness they should protect and was in their custody,” she said, adding that it was for that reason her family insisted that the royal commission of inquiry also look directly into her brother's death instead of probing possible procedural abuses by the national anti-graft body.
“We want the RCI to investigate the cause of death. This is not a political issue. We want the truth. My brother Beng Hock was killed. He did not commit suicide,” Lee Lan stressed, breaking down over the phone.
Only a year apart in age, the auditor was the closest sibling to Beng Hock and his schoolteacher-fiancee Soh Cher Wei, 28. They often went out together.
Lee Lan also told Tee to stop blaming the Chinese media for allegedly twisting facts.
“This country is ruled by law, not religion. Since the PM has promised to help solve the problem, we will wait for his solution,” she said firmly, referring to her family's face-to-face meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Tuesday.
She pointed out that the prime minister had promised them he would ask the Attorney-General and the relevant government departments to resolve their anxiety over Beng Hock's only child and a mark of what he had left behind to his family.
“No quarter should manipulate this issue,” she said.
Lee Lan added that Utusan must also apologise for publishing a one-sided commentary on her brother without considering the family's feelings, adding to their grief.
“They should think twice before publishing Dr Ridhuan's article. They are misleading the readers. They should have also published our point of view,” she said angrily.
In a calmer voice, she noted that the deed had been done, saying she understood Utusan was just a newspaper reporting the news.
But she shot down the idea that the DAP was also taking advantage of her brother's death and turning it into a political issue to suit its ends.
“Actually, the DAP has helped us a lot. We are very thankful for their help,” Lee Lan said.
“For the political issue, we don't know much about it. Whether they play the political issue or not, it's up to the public to decide. We just want the truth about how Beng Hock died,” she maintained.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — The family of Teoh Beng Hock, whose death under mysterious circumstances has sparked public outrage, are demanding an apology over an article in the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia which appeared to condemn the political aide for leading an immoral life.
The distraught family are demanding an apology from the writer, a Chinese-Muslim academic, over what they see as a highly-insensitive and thoughtless commentary about Teoh, who was found dead on July 16 after being questioned by anti-graft investigators, the day he was to marry his pregnant sweetheart.
“Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee must apologise to our family for his insensitive and hurtful comments which are like rubbing salt into wounds,” Beng Hock's younger sister Lee Lan told The Malaysian Insider, speaking on behalf of her family.
She said her grieving family was closely following the local coverage of her brother's death and inquest and had read Tee’s analysis last week and understood what he meant.
In his recent article “Nasib Melayu di bumi Melayu” (Fate of Malays in the Malay land) published by Utusan on July 28, the vice-president of the 70,000-strong Malaysian Chinese-Muslim Association (Macma) noted that certain parties had jumped onto the bandwagon and turned the circumstances surrounding Beng Hock's death to “win the hearts of the Chinese community, in the interest of politics.”
While Tee said in the article that he was sympathetic to Teoh's family and admitted there should be investigations into the MACC's interrogation tactics, he hit a raw nerve when he questioned the right for Beng Hock's unborn child to bear his surname.
The following paragraphs are a translated excerpt from Tee's article, written originally in Bahasa Malaysia:
“The Wanita MCA chief released a more extreme statement urging the Home Affairs Minister to grant legitimate status to the unborn child carried by Beng Hock's girlfriend instead of a child born out of wedlock.
"Even though we all know that they were not officially married or had been cohabiting outside of marriage. Which means, the child is still a bastard child or a child born out of wedlock (illegitimate child). How many more children born out of wedlock do we want to legitimise?
“Is the Wanita MCA chief aware of how many Malay Muslim girls have become victims (cohabiting with their Muslim or non-Muslim partners, whether forced or voluntarily), giving birth to children out of wedlock who do not carry their fathers' names? Why has the MCA not defended them? Why did MCA not go see the Home Affairs Minister to legitimise these adulterous relationships? Whatever the cause of Beng Hock's death, illegitimate relationships remain illegitimate, it cannot be legitimised just because of this incident.
“If fate had it that the Gautama Buddha (also Confucius and Lao Tzu) were still living, certainly the action of the Wanita MCA chief would be condemned because Buddha's teachings (also other religions, especially Islam) forbid cohabitation (adultery) outside of marriage, what more producing a child born out of wedlock.”
Lee Lan lashed out at Tee's insensitivity on the subject.
“If my brother did not die, the question of his child's surname would not have arisen. Who caused his death?” an upset Lee Lan said.
“My family and the public want to know the cause of death of Beng Hock, how he was killed, who are the culprits, and who are going to be held responsible for his death.
“MACC can't deny their responsibility over Beng Hock's death as he was a witness they should protect and was in their custody,” she said, adding that it was for that reason her family insisted that the royal commission of inquiry also look directly into her brother's death instead of probing possible procedural abuses by the national anti-graft body.
“We want the RCI to investigate the cause of death. This is not a political issue. We want the truth. My brother Beng Hock was killed. He did not commit suicide,” Lee Lan stressed, breaking down over the phone.
Only a year apart in age, the auditor was the closest sibling to Beng Hock and his schoolteacher-fiancee Soh Cher Wei, 28. They often went out together.
Lee Lan also told Tee to stop blaming the Chinese media for allegedly twisting facts.
“This country is ruled by law, not religion. Since the PM has promised to help solve the problem, we will wait for his solution,” she said firmly, referring to her family's face-to-face meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Tuesday.
She pointed out that the prime minister had promised them he would ask the Attorney-General and the relevant government departments to resolve their anxiety over Beng Hock's only child and a mark of what he had left behind to his family.
“No quarter should manipulate this issue,” she said.
Lee Lan added that Utusan must also apologise for publishing a one-sided commentary on her brother without considering the family's feelings, adding to their grief.
“They should think twice before publishing Dr Ridhuan's article. They are misleading the readers. They should have also published our point of view,” she said angrily.
In a calmer voice, she noted that the deed had been done, saying she understood Utusan was just a newspaper reporting the news.
But she shot down the idea that the DAP was also taking advantage of her brother's death and turning it into a political issue to suit its ends.
“Actually, the DAP has helped us a lot. We are very thankful for their help,” Lee Lan said.
“For the political issue, we don't know much about it. Whether they play the political issue or not, it's up to the public to decide. We just want the truth about how Beng Hock died,” she maintained.
03/08/09
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