FOUR senior editors of English-language daily The Star presented themselves at the Home Ministry this morning to give their statements regarding the paper’s Saturday front page which was criticised by some as insensitive to Muslims.

The four representatives – executive editors Rozaid Abdul Rahman, Brian Martin and N. Dorairaj, as well as specialist editor M. Shanmugam – were seen entering the ministry’s building in Putrajaya before noon, according to the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia daily.

Ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim had said the daily was careless in posting a picture of people performing their tarawih prayers with a bold headline “Malaysian terrorist leader”.

“Tomorrow, we will summon their editor-in-chief to listen to their explanation regarding their front page.

“If we are not satisfied with their explanation, we will take further action, including issuing a show-cause letter,” he told reporters yesterday after a programme attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Terengganu.

Editor-in-chief Leanne Goh is away in the United States.

Politicians from various parties had criticised the MCA-owned newspaper’s front page which they said gave the impression that all Muslims were terrorists.

The Star had issued an apology for its front page, saying on hindsight, it should have been more sensitive to the feelings of its Muslim readers.

“It has been the practice of The Star to respect the first day of Ramadan every year and to place the picture of Muslims at the first tarawih prayer on the front page of the paper.

“This has been done over the last decade or so.

“This year, there was an unfortunate coincidence of the lead story being of a terrorist leader which led to many linking the headline and the picture, which was never the intention of the newspaper.

“We sincerely apologise for the error of judgment on our part,” it said in a statement yesterday. – May 29, 2017.