KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — MIC deputy president Datuk SK Devamany demanded that the Sedition Act be used on the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer who prepared factually erroneous slides that belittled minority religions in contrast to Islam.

The public university issued an apology immediately after the slides were leaked on the Internet two days ago and promised a thorough investigation on what it called an “isolated incident”, but community leaders have not been placated by its measures.

“The way I see it, this is very seditious, and the lecturer in question must face action,” Devamany told Malay Mail Online today.

“You cannot just give a warning to the lecturer and let it go. The constitution is very clear, anything that disrupts national harmony comes under (Sedition Act),” he added.

The slides, which have been widely circulated online for the past two days, claimed Hindus revered dirt on their bodies and did not have a sense of hygiene, and that Sikhism borrowed elements from Islam.

“The fact that such an incident has happened in such a long-standing institution makes it even more dangerous for Malaysia. It is a very serious offence,” Devamany said.

He said Hindus and Sikhs were “belittled” in the slides and the issue would not be so easily resolved unless firm action was taken against those responsible for the fallacious content.

The Perak assembly speaker called for a review of the compulsory Islamic and Asian Civilisation Studies (TITAS) module, saying it must incorporate lessons from other religions in Malaysia.

“[The module] should be teaching about not only Tamadun Islam, but also other religions in Malaysia. That way, everyone who studies the module will also learn and understand about other religions. Then everyone will know why we follow our respective religions.

“All religions have their own goodness. We need to appreciate that,” Devamany said.

Several police reports have been filed against UTM nationwide after public uproar over the slides.

Despite Malaysia’s multicultural image, religious and racial tensions continue to simmer amid growing fears of creeping Islamisation in the country.