{
  "id": 7280715,
  "title": "Umno leaders call on Sepang chief to apologise over lewd ‘joke’ on Catholic clergy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/umno-leaders-call-on-sepang-chief-to-apologise-over-lewd-joke-on",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-14T07:43:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/14/umno-leaders-call-on-sepang-chief-to-apologise-over-lewd-joke-on-catholic-clergy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two prominent Umno leaders have urged Sepang Umno chief Noorazli Said to apologize for a lewd joke he made about Catholic clergy during the party’s general assembly on Saturday. The leaders, Salleh Said Keruak and Dr Akmal Saleh, join Sabah MP Wilfred Madius Tangau in demanding an apology. Salleh Said Keruak stated on Facebook that he agrees with Tangau's stance, emphasizing that sexual jokes about religious figures, including Catholic nuns and priests, are unacceptable. Dr Akmal Saleh echoed the sentiment, urging Noorazli to apologize publicly, asserting that religion should not be a subject of jokes. Both leaders emphasized the importance of treating religion and religious figures with respect and maintaining mutual tolerance and harmony among different faiths. Noorazli's joke, which was based on a misattributed reference to Psalm 129, has outraged the Catholic community, with the Catholic Lawyers' Society of Kuala Lumpur threatening to file a police report against Noorazli.",
  "summary": "Salleh Said Keruak says religious figures must always be treated with respect, while Dr Akmal Saleh says religion should not be made the subject of jokes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Umno leaders call on Sepang chief to apologise over lewd ‘joke’ on Catholic clergy",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/umno-leaders-call-on-sepang-chief-to-apologise-over-lewd-joke-on-7282182",
        "published": "2026-09-14T07:43:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}