A defiant Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar has refused to respond to a show-cause letter asking him to explain the discrepancies in the nude squat scandal.

Instead, he said DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Teresa Kok should be the ones to receive show-cause letters for 'creating trouble'.

Yesterday, a coalition of non-govermental organisations calling itself 'Action against political interference in the media' submitted the two-page letter at the ministry's office in Putrajaya.

Among others, Noh was asked to explain why he had not corrected the identity of the woman in the scandal when four newspapers - China Press, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and the New Straits Times - described her as a Chinese national.

The coalition also asked him if the identity of the woman - later established to be a Malay Malaysian - had been deliberately concealed.

The deputy minister was given 10 days to respond, failing which, the coalition demanded his resignation.

Hot issue

Speaking to reporters in Penang yesterday, Noh pinned the blame squarely on DAP.

According to a Sin Chew Daily report, he said the interference of opposition parties had turned the scandal into a hot issue.

DAP parliamentarian Kok was the first to expose the video-clip which showed a woman police detainee being ordered to perform nude ear squats at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.

The clip caused a massive uproar, prompting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to call for the setting-up of an independent commission to probe the incident.

The scandal also saw the two top editors of China Press being pressured to resign amid strong protests from concerned groups who described it as an attempt by the government to muzzle the media.

The Chinese newspaper, which was the first to break the news, had been taken to task for identifying the woman as a Chinese national in its report.

Questions were also raised as to why only China Press had been targeted and the other dailies which had committed the same mistake were let off the hook.

Ministry's conditions

Meanwhile, Noh said the two editors had to resign because they bore responsibility for the erroneous report.

The ministry, he added, issued licences to newspapers with certain conditions which they must observe and any newspaper which makes the same mistake as China Press must also be accountable.

Now that it is proven that a wrong report had misled the people, the deputy minister said he considered the matter over and there was no need for him to make any clarifications.

During the height of the scandal, Noh landed in the limelight and earned a reprimand from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for asking foreigners who were unhappy to return to their countries.

He later blamed the media for misinterpreting his words.