The New Straits Times (NST) has been accused of distorting a speech by Nicholas Xenophon, an Australian senator who observed the Bersih 3.0 rally, as an anti-Islam. 

Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported that NST had quoted an an exceprt of Xenophon's three-year old speech to the Australian Parliament with a word intentionally replaced to discredit him.

nick xenophon 290412According to the SMH report, Parliament's Hansard showed that Xenophon had made a speech criticising Scientology, but references to that belief was replaced with the word "Islam".

"He told the SMH last night that the word switch was an example of the kind of dirty tricks the ruling party employs and had used against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"The article appeared in NST and appears to be an attempt to discredit Senator Xenophon and Anwar after the two met in recent days," says the report.

Xenophon was part of a seven-member international team on a fact-finding mission on Malaysia's electoral system. They were commission by Anwar, as parliamentary opposition leader. 

According to the SMH report, an article titled 'Anti-Islam Australian lawmaker comes under fire' published by NST quoted a 2009 speech delivered by the South Australian senator in Australian Parliament.

It claimed that Xenophon (above, right) had said: "Islam is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs".

Legal action sought

However, SMH pointed out that the Australian Parliament Hansard recorded his speech as: "Scientology is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs."

The senator also told SMH that he was seeking urgent legal advice to take NST to court and wanted an immediate retraction.

SMH also reported that NST had refused to comment on the matter.

An Internet search showed that NST has removed the article from its news website but its cached report can still be viewed through Google's cache.

Another search on the NST Online archive showed that the article was indeed published yesterday.

It was titled 'Observer under scrutiny'. SMH had mistaken the article's blurb 'Anti-Islam Australian lawmaker comes under fire' as the headline.

The article also contained comments from Independent MP Zahrain Mohamed Hashim.

A similar article also appeared in Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia on Tuesday, quoting the same 'doctored' speech from Xenophon, describing him as an anti-Islam politician as well as a staunch supporter of same sex marriage.

The article can still be accessed on the Utusan Malaysia website.

Xenophon was in the seven-member international team invited by Anwar on a fact-finding mission on Malaysia's electoral system.

He attended the Bersih 3.0 rally last Saturday as an international observer.