“They are the root cause of the Najib government’s latest PR disaster.”
Najib and Malaysia have not come out of the deplorable episode, over two ABC Four Corners journalists pursuing answers on Najib’s 1MDB scandal, said Lim who has been suspended from Parliament as Gelang Patah MP. “The government side is not smelling like roses.”
The DAP veteran was commenting on Najib achieving another “first”, two self-inflicted “black eyes” on the Ides of March.
On the Ides of March, the 15th, Malaysia in fact became international news for a double event, the arrest and deportation of the two journalists from ABC “Four Corners” and the closure of the Internet news portal, The Malaysian Insider (TMI), added Lim. “The closure of TMI was the result of government harassment against independent journalism and violation of the 20-year Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees of ‘No Internet Censorship’.”
Malaysia was the subject of international news for these two events, not to Malaysia’s credit, but only to the national detriment in further undermining a plunging international reputation and image, lamented Lim. “A sampling of the adverse international reporting of the Malaysia’s first self-inflicted ‘black eye’ on the arrest and deportation of the two Australian journalists tells the story.”
Lim referred to newspaper headlines in Australia, the UAE, the UK, Turkey, the Manila Times, Deutsche Welle in Germany, the Nation in Bangkok, the Voice of America, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Jakarta Post, Japan Times, Hong Kong Standard, Times of India, Financial Express Bangladesh, and Today Online in Singapore.
The DAP veteran wondered whether this was the international publicity Malaysia needed at this time, when the country has been buffeted with one bad news after another for the past two years.
Lim added that he had viewed the video of the ABC journalist Linton Bresser questioning Najib in Kuching last Saturday. “It showed that the journalist did not breach any security cordon, as claimed by police.”
Bresser, said Lim, joined a group of press photographers who crowded around Najib as he got out of his car to enter a Kota Sentosa mosque, and asked him: “Hello Mr Prime Minister, it’s ABC Australia. I am wondering if you could explain the hundreds of million in your account?”
Bresser was ignored by Najib who continued walking with a stony face, said Lim, but the journalist persisted: “Hello, Mr. Prime Minister, can you explain all the hundreds of million of dollars in your account? Mr. Prime Minister?”
At this point, said Lim, the police intervened. “There was no security cordon as claimed by the police. Bresser did not ‘aggressively’ approach Najib, as claimed by the authorities concerned.”
The video shows that the excuses which have been given by the various Ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hamzah Zainuddin were groundless, said Lim.
Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto, continued Lim, had asked why taking selfies with Najib was okay but asking questions were not. “The Prime Minister was busy in Sarawak to ‘meet the people’ so that they can shake his hand and take selfies.”
“When the two journalists asked questions about the 1MDB scandal, suddenly it’s considered a crime.”