The religious affairs minister said in a brief reply in the Dewan Rakyat that “there were no elements of provocation” in his response to Minderjeet Kaur yesterday.

He was replying to Sivakumar Naidu (PH-Batu Gajah), who said he watched a video clip on the way he and deputy human resources minister Awang Hashim had answered Minderjeet.

Sivakumar urged the PAS duo to publicly apologise to the reporter and her family for using “harsh language”.

“The language used was harsh and should be avoided. The reporter was doing her job. She wanted to know the reason for the Kedah government banning the 4D outlets,” he said, adding that it was not wrong to ask the question.

“I understand the move is for PAS to gain votes in Melaka. But the way the minister handled the issue with a female reporter is unacceptable,” he said.

Yesterday, after the launch of Perikatan Nasional’s manifesto in Shah Alam, Idris, the PAS vice-president, pointedly asked Minderjeet if she could tolerate her husband being a gambler, while Awang, the Pendang MP, insisted that she ask the question in Bahasa Malaysia.

Minderjeet had approached Idris to comment on the decision by the Kedah government, to which he claimed that everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, was against gambling.

She had also asked about the possibility of such a policy being extended to other states, to which Awang and Idris reprimanded the reporter.