KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Malaysia’s online regulator today quizzed the mother of sex blogger Alvin Tan over the son’s controversial Ramadan greeting on Facebook which had sparked a cyberstorm.

Her lawyer Chong Joo Tian today claimed that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was unable to provide reasons when it summoned Tan’s mother for questioning.

“It’s actually about Alvin’s case but how the mother gets connected with Alvin’s case, it totally escapes us. We don’t know what is the connection at all between Alvin’s case and his mother.

“So we don’t know why they have to ask questions, take a statement from the mother,” Chong told reporters when escorting Tan’s mother after almost two hours of questioning by the MCMC here.

“So why should MCMC ask family members about this; in fact they have already been charged in court, so why are they still asking questions from family members,” he later asked.

The lawyer did not give the name of Alvin’s mother, who kept her face covered during the brief press conference.

Tan, 25, and his girlfriend Vivian Lee, 24, had stirred up a hornet’s nest last month when they posted a mock “Selamat Berbuka Puasa” (breaking of fast) greeting on their Facebook page that showed them eating “bak kut teh”, and describing the pork soup dish as “wangi, enak, menyelerakan” (fragrant, delicious, appetising).

The picture also included a “Halal” logo, although the consumption of pork is forbidden to Muslims.

Better known as “Alvivi”, a contraction of their two first names, the couple were hauled in for questioning by the MCMC, and were slapped with three counts under the Sedition Act, the Film Censorship Act and the Penal Code, not just for their Ramadan video but for a previous offence of posting pornographic images on the Internet.

They claimed trial to the charges on July 18 and were jailed for about a week after they were denied bail.

The public prosecutor argued that setting them free would inspire them to repeat their offences.

The bail denial drew condemnation from opposition lawmakers and civil society leaders who accused the government of selective prosecution.

They argued that while swift and stern action was taken on “Alvivi”, the same treatment had not been accorded on others guilty of past racial slurs, like Perkasa’s Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Datuk Zulkifli Noordin.

The couple were released on bail on July 26.

Case management for the duo’s case has been fixed for August 23.