"The Valentine's Day Equation"  (column, The Star, 2012-02-13)

"PAS [a political party] has been equating Valentine's Day to roses + candlelight dinner + love = sex. Curious to know how Feb 14 can lead to sex, I met PAS Youth chief Nnnnnn at party headquarters.

" ' We don't want to ban Valentine's Day. What we want is to state that Muslims cannot celebrate it as it is not a day that is celebrated by Muslims,' he said in Malay. ' It is not a Muslim activity. It is from another religion. I am not clear about it. Some say it is from the Christians. But it is usual in Malaysia that it encourages couple to go for a date at a suspicious, quiet and dark place like a hotel, a park or a beach. And that is wrong. For example, I read in the newspaper a few years ago that a hotel in Terengganu had a promotion for its Valentine's Day dinner where the first ten couples to register would get a free night stay. Doesn't that show that Valentine's Day leads to immoral activities? We are taking pre-emptive measures. Usually when Valentine's Day is celebrated a couple will go for a date and we don't want that date to lead to zina. We have three conditions for a Muslim couple who wants to go on a date. First they can't be berduaduaan, they must be chaperoned by a mahram. Second, the woman can't wear clothes that show her aurat and that is menjolok mata. Third, a couple can't do activities that are prohibited by their religion (khalwat and zina). But when I say the couple can date with these three conditions I don't mean they can celebrate Valentine's Day. They can't celebrate Valentine's Day. Berduaduaan is the mukadimah to zina. I don't have the statistics. But when a couple berduaduaan in a room there is a third party. Syaitan [satan]. We have to worry about Syaitan.'

"But it is not only Valentine's Day that PAS thinks encourages free sex. ' We know that pergaulan bebas happens on public holidays, even on Hari Merdeka [Independence Day].' "

"Arab flies into a rage over couple's kiss at lodge" (The Star, 2012-02-20, Kota Kinabalu)

"It was only a kiss, but an Arab visitor blew his top and attacked two women at a backpackers' lodge here ... Tourist DG ... said he had kissed his girlfriend on the cheek in the hall area -- and this infuriated the Arab man ... At that point [the receptionist] confronted the Arab, which only made him more furious because he reckoned the receptionist, who is a Muslim, should also be angry. He then hit the receptionist in the face with a plastic bag, prompting DG and his girlfriend to come to the receptionist's aid. ' My girlfriend told him that he cannot attack a woman and then she was also attacked.'  The Arab man then stormed out of the lodge and left in a taxi. He did not settle his bill."

"Columnist handed over to Saudi cops and deported"  (The Star, 2012-02-13)

"Saudi Arabian newspaper columnist Mohammed Najeeb A. Kashgari, who allegedly posted several tweets that insulted Islam, has been deported back to his country, where he could be executed for the offence ... One of the lawyers representing Kashgari claimed that the deportation was in contempt of court as his team of counsel had obtained a court order stopping local authorities from deporting him ... She claimed that Kashgari was also denied access to any of his lawyers since being arrested in Malaysia."

"Cops set to sniff out Malacca's serial panty thief"  (The Star, 2012-02-22)

"The days are numbered for Malacca's infamous panty-sniffer after his act of stealing undies was captured on closed-circuit television. The culprit has been going around sniffing and snatching panties for the past two years, and is believed to be responsible for hundreds of missing panties. A 30-year-old housewife installed the CCTV just to track down the person responsible for her missing lingerie."

"Badu concert cancelled as it contravenes guidelines"  (The Star, 2012-02-29)

"The Erykah Badu concert scheduled to be held today at the KL Convention Centre has been cancelled. The authorities disallowed the concert on the grounds that it would be against the guidelines of the Foreign Artiste Performance and Film Screening Central Application Agency (Puspal) ... which touches on religious sensitivity and Malaysian cultural values ... With the graphic exhibition of [the Arabic word for] Allah on the body of the singer, it is sufficient to warrant irrefutable religious controversies from among Muslims who disdain such practices ... Meanwhile the Home Ministry [gave The Star newspaper] seven days to reply over the [unintentional] use of a photograph of the American singer bearing [temporary] tattoos of the Arab word for Allah in its publication."

"Be consistent with religious views, Muslims told"  (The Star, 2012-02-20)

"Mulims must be in sync with each other when expressing religious views and opinions. It would be peculiar if opposing thoughts were expressed, said the Prime Minister."