KIALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Parti Amanah Negara's Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa yesterday demanded an apology from PAS for alleged defamation.

The former religious affairs minister took issue with the Islamist party's accusation that he is supportive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

Mujahid yesterday initiated a defamation suit against PAS for a Facebook post titled ‘Former PH Religious Minister Support Eljibiti?’ on October 16.

"We ask them to comply with the following demands in 48 hours, including deleting the posts, withdrawing the writing, apologise to Mujahid Yusof, and make compensation towards his damaged reputation,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

"Eljibiti" is a phonetic spelling of LGBT used by homophobes to escape Facebook's moderation filter.

The Islamist party cited Mujahid's meeting with Nisha Ayub, a transgender activist, during his stint under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.

Mujahid warned that he would not hesitate to take legal action against other members of PAS who continue to make connections between him and the LGBT community.

PAS has stepped up its attacks against PH in the run-up to the election, going as far as to label PH of harbouring iblis, or the leader of devils in Islamic teachings and that DAP is pro-communist.