I’m open to criticism but Nga was too much, Najib says

(Malay Mail Online) – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that although he is prepared to receive any kind of criticism against his administration, the recent posting on Facebook by DAP lawmaker Nga Kor Ming had clearly overstepped boundaries.

According to the prime minister, Nga’s remarks on the social media site, which inaccurately suggested that his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor had attended a Cabinet meeting, reeked of ill-will.

“I am prepared to receive suggestions and criticism against the leadership, its policies and the administration but MP Nga Kor Ming’s remarks on his Facebook page, and the picture (used) of me and my wife, were defamatory and malicious.

“Therefore, I have directed my lawyer to send a letter of demand to Nga Kor Ming to seek an apology, and should he fail to comply, I will take necessary legal action,” Najib wrote on his Facebook page today.

Yesterday, Najib’s lawyer, Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, confirmed with Malay Mail Online that the letter of demand was served to Nga at his office in Taiping by hand.

“I am asking him (Nga) to put up an apology and retract his statement. He has to also publish his apology in two local dailies, be it Malay or English newspapers, but at least two local dailies.

“My client (Najib) has given him 48 hours to tender his written apology and to retract the photograph and comments entirely,” Hafarizam said.

In a social media post last month, Nga used a photograph that showed Najib and Rosmah together with several ministers, and asked why the prime minister’s wife needed to be present during Cabinet meetings.

It was later revealed that the image used was not from a Cabinet meeting, but from an official visit abroad by the prime minister.

Malay Mail Online was unable to locate the original posting on Nga’s Facebook page and it appears to have been removed.

A screen capture purportedly of the post and emblazoned with the word fitnah (slander) was shared, however, by another Facebook page, “Friends of BN-Barisan Nasional”.