KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak either endorsed Utusan Malaysia’s claims that the Bersih rally will spark a Jewish-led siege on the country, or the prime minister has no control of his party’s newspaper, Lim Kit Siang said today. The DAP adviser also said Umno’s “spin doctors” in Utusan Malaysia were damaging Malaysia’s international image and national interests.
“Either the Utusan Malaysia spin doctors have the full endorsement and a blank cheque from the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein to spin their worst, or the Umno spin doctors are totally out of control...which is which, Najib and Hishamuddin?” said Lim in a statement today.
In an editorial yesterday, the Malay newspaper said Bersih could lead to Jews and Israelis infiltrating Malaysia. The paper made the claim in reference to former police chief Tan Sri Rahim Noor’s assertion that there were parties who wanted any country that was against Jews and Israel to be toppled.
Lim (picture) pointed out that Rahim lost his job after assaulting Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the infamous 1998 “black eye” incident.
“He could have no evidence for his sensational allegation in the Mingguan Malaysia interview apart from a very fertile figment of imagination,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.
Utusan Malaysia’s Jewish conspiracy claims forced the government to issue a statement distancing itself from the editorial.
The Singapore Straits Times carried the statement, purportedly issued yesterday in response to the daily’s Jewish conspiracy claim, and quoted the official as saying: “The claims made by Utusan today do not reflect the views of the government.
“Malaysia is a tolerant and moderate nation which has long benefited from being home to people of many faiths. Regardless of their political views, it is unacceptable for anyone to stir up hatred and suspicion against any religious group in the way we have seen today.”
The government has been eager to project an image of religious moderation following yesterday’s meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Najib in Rome, and the announcement that Putrajaya and the Vatican would establish diplomatic ties.
Utusan Malaysia has been training its guns on Bersih 2.0 since the electoral reforms march, publishing hard-hitting articles with anti-Islam accusations against the group and claiming that it was funded by Christian groups such as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from Germany and the Canadian Allied Foundation.
The Malay daily’s views, however, come at a time when the Najib administration is attempting to repair its international image, said to have suffered a major bruising after the massive police clampdown on the Bersih rally.
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