MCA president Ong Ka Ting has been given until 12.30pm tomorrow to decide if his party "is prepared to reject (former Barisan Nasional leader) Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that Malaysia is an Islamic state".

DAP deputy chairperson issued the dare in quick response to Ong's statement in the New Straits Times today, which challenged DAP to openly criticise and reject PAS if it believes Malaysia should be a secular country.

At a press conference at his Penang operations centre today, Karpal reiterated his party's rejection of PAS and its proposal to implement an Islamic state if it forms the government.

"DAP does not have any relationship with PAS. We have rejected PAS 100 percent and there is no turning back," he said, countering that it was MCA that had endorsed Mahathir's view when it was expressed on Sept 29, 2001.

"I am challenging Ong to state (within 24 hours from 12.30pm today) if he is prepared to reject Mahathir's statement. Didn't Ong support Mahathir then?"

Abuse of media

Karpal also claimed that BN has misused the media by launching personal attacks against him and party chairperson Lim Kit Siang.

"The election laws state that personal attacks on candidates are prohibited during campaigning, but (BN) has openly attacked Lim and me," he said, in reference to a series of BN advertisements in newspapers since Sunday.

Earlier today, DAP sent a letter to the Election Commission complaining about the advertisements.

And in Ipoh, the party's state chief Ngeh Koo Ham lodged a police report over the advertisments as well as the use of the national flag as a backdrop for a poster featuring BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The report said that the use of state apparatus was against the election laws.