Blogger Jeff Ooi was called up today by the police who are investigating an allegedly contentious comment by a reader posted months ago on his weblog, Screenshots, in relation to Islam Hadhari.

A police report on this issue was only lodged last Friday, although the comment had been posted on Oct 2 last year.

The reader, who used the pseudonym 'Anwar', had claimed it was contradictory for premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to promote Islam Hadhari when money politics was rampant in Umno, and equated Islam Hadhari and money politics to faeces and urine.

This sparked off prominent coverage in the Bahasa Malaysia dailies, with Berita Harian giving the issue front-page treatment for four days.

Among the claims made were that the comment had the potential to incite disharmony in society, and that Ooi had allowed the reader to use offensive language.

Ooi received a summons last Saturday, issued under Section 298A of the Penal Code, which prohibits actions or conduct that could cause disharmony in society.

He was subsequently told to give a statement at the Subang Jaya police station in Seri Kembangan today.

Two-hour interview

Serious Crimes Division senior investigation officer ASP Ratnakumar recorded Ooi's statement for two hours.

Among other matters, the questions focused on Ooi's purpose in establishing the weblog. He was also asked whether he had been contacted by Berita Harian before it ran its reports, and how he had acted in relation to the posting.

Ooi said he was surprised as to why the investigations had not been conducted sooner.

According to him, the report was filed by the police themselves.

He reiterated that Berita Harian had not asked him for a response before publishing the first report, saying "the next thing I knew, it was on the front page".

He also told police that the blog reader concerned had been given sufficient time to retract his statement before the remark was deleted, and that he had banned the reader from posting entries on the weblog.

"As much as I promote 'thinking allowed, thinking aloud' on the weblog, I do not want to be the Internet police and filter comments sent by readers. I believe that readers should be mature and responsible in giving feedback," he said.

Police officers at the station declined to comment on the case.