Paulsen lodges report on threats to his life

PETALING JAYA: Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Eric Paulsen lodged a police report on several death threats he has received since last Saturday.
Paulsen, who is also the co-founder of LFL and a human rights lawyer, claimed he received numerous threats on his life through his WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter accounts and phone calls after alleging in a tweet last Saturday that the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) is a body that promotes extremism.
"I only criticised Jakim, a government agency under the ministry. My tweet did not even refer to Islam."
"The statement was misunderstood by the public," Paulsen told reporters after lodging the report at the PJ police station yesterday.
Accompanying him were, among others, lawyers Latheefa Koya and Michelle Yesudas.
Latheefa said criticising Jakim should not be construed as insulting Islam.
"It is all about Jakim. It is an agency. It is not a religion or a person. It does not mean you criticise Islam when you criticise Jakim. That's a stretch," she added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, speaking at an event in Cyberjaya, said Paulsen's tweet was made because he does not understand what is going on.
He said that the sermons made by the khatib (preachers) during Friday prayers are not only on Islam but in the context of community and humanitarianism.
"Paulsen might not understand how it is, and deemed it extreme."
"Since when do we act out of the norm and extreme? The Muslim community is among the most moderate in Malaysia," said Muhyiddin.