The police raided the DAP Perak headquarters in Ipoh today after a report was lodged by an Umno member over the opposition party's campaign against Islamic state as declared by the prime minister last September.

According to DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang, the raiding team comprising 20 policemen searched the premises for an hour and confiscated some 5,000 copies of campaign leaflets.

The opposition leader said the police had crossed an "important line" to stay above political fray and not allow themselves to be used by ruling political parties.

"Would the police immediately raid the Umno headquarters and state premises if the DAP lodges police reports against them?" asked Lim in a press statement.

"The unprecedented raid of opposition party premises with an excessive show of force will only feed the national and international scandal about the lack of professionalism of the Malaysian police," he added.

The raid comes barely 48 hours after Lim was detained in Ipoh for distributing the leaflets which allegedly contain seditious remarks about Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration that Malaysia was an Islamic state Sept 29 last year.

He was later released on a RM3,000 bail and was told to be present at the Ipoh Magistrate's Court on July 5.

Campaign to continue

Meanwhile, DAP Perak chief Ngeh Koo Ham said the police had obtained a search warrant despite being aware that the leaflet campaign did not constitute an offence.

Ngeh asserted that the material printed in the leaflets were not seditious but the police has been used by another party to disrupt DAP's campaign to create awareness to the consequences of Mahathir's declaration.

Ngeh said that police officer Roslan Ishak, who led the raiding team, informed him that a police report was lodged by an Umno member but refused to disclose the person's identity.

However, the DAP leader said the party will persist with its campaign by printing another 100,000 copies of the same leaflets. "The people can judge for themselves if the leaflets are seditious."

Ngeh also said that similar leaflets were distributed by the party in Penang early last month without facing any legal repercussion.

Among others, the 929 leaflet explained that the 1957 Merdeka Constitution clearly states the country's status as a democratic, secular and multi-religious state and that there is no such thing as a secular Islamic state.

The leaflet also said that Mahathir's Islamic state declaration was a "fundamental breach" of the Social Contract entered into by the nation's founding fathers and the Constitution identifying Malaysia as a progressive state with Islam as the official religion and not as an Islamic state.

The police could not be reached comment.