Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud has denied having witnessed the burning of controversial novel ‘Interlok’ by a group of NGOs on Saturday, saying she had left before the book was torched.

Referring to yesterday’s Mingguan Malaysia report, she said the Umno-owned newspaper had conveniently left out the fact that she had left the venue well before demonstrators burned the book and a picture of its author, Abdullah Hussein.

NONE Siti Mariah ( left ) acknowledged that she had attended the event as it involved PAS Supporters’ Club (DHPP) members and Indian voters from her constituency and nearby Klang.

She indicated on her blog that she felt it necessary to attend the protest, as there was the undeniable fear of violence breaking out as “all who were involved were Indians”.

“DHPP members asked me to be present as their elected representative, so it was only right that I attend as a show of solidarity at a time when they needed their leader.

“I may not necessarily agree with them, but my presence could cool their anger. Incidentally, the author is Malay, as am I. My absence could be misinterpreted as siding with a Malay author and not empathising with them.”

NONE Siti Mariah said the novel should not be banned, but urged the Education Ministry to take it off the secondary school syllabus if the author does not voluntarily tone down the allegedly offensive references to the Indian community.

She accused Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of a hidden political gambit - to send a message to Indian students to “know where you came from” when reading the book.

“It is not wrong for me to say that this issue is perpetrated by BN/Umno leaders with hidden motives. This did not happen by chance,” she said.

'Shallow and fearful behaviour'

Meanwhile, former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said Siti Mariah’s presence at Saturday’s event was “shocking” and that it was a mistake for her to attend.

“Even if she left early, her presence was not proper. New politics that is mature and intelligent cannot agree with the presence of an elected representative or politician on such a stage,” he said in a brief statement.

While stating that he is neither supporting nor opposing the novel, Mohd Asri stressed that burning literature without basis is shallow and fearful behaviour and only displays wild and uncivilised behaviour.

“Maybe there are certain issues in the book that cannot be accepted by the Indian community. It may be truth, or something that is subjective. Such issues need dialogue, criticism, writings and challenges on the academic stage or intellectual discussion, not burning,” he said.