Wednesday May 8, 2013

GE13: Najib calm when pestered for comments on Utusan Malaysia’s front page headline

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak kept his cool when a reporter pestered him continuously for comments on Utusan Malaysia's front page headline.

The newspaper had carried the headline titled “Apa lagi Cina mau?” (What more do the Chinese want?) yesterday.

At a press conference held after a closed-door session with Barisan Nasional's newly elected Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister was asked by a reporter to comment on the headline.

Najib replied by explaining how the DAP had manipulated the Chinese into believing they could change the Government.

He then went on to take several more questions before the same reporter asked Najib whether he endorsed Utusan Malaysia's headline as well as the term “Chinese tsunami”.

“What I am saying is that the Opposition created a false assumption that it could change the Government,” he said.

About five minutes later, as Najib was explaining the need for all quarters to terangkan (expose) DAP's tactics, the reporter again interjected by asking: “How do you terangkan when Utusan (Malaysia) came up with a headline like this?”

The Prime Minister kept calm when he replied: “You blame Utusan, but what about the Chinese papers? Are you saying that they (Chinese newspapers) are saying the right things all the time?”

His response drew loud cheers from many of the other media personnel covering the press conference at PWTC.

The headline accompanied an article on page six of the newspaper which questioned why the Chinese community had failed to respond to Najib's efforts to win them over.

The article said that although the Government and the Prime Minister had met and fulfilled many of the community's demands, they were unappreciative.

“The question is, what more do the Chinese want?” the article asked.

In George Town, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang slammed Utusan for its report.

“The paper should start behaving like a responsible Malaysian media by staying away from racial issues,” he said at the Wisma DAP in Jalan Rangoon yesterday.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

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