PUTRAJAYA, July 17 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak advised Malaysians today not to be swept away by their emotions in their reaction to reported incidents, such as the theft of a handphone at Low Yat Plaza that led to rioting last Sunday.

Malaysians should focus on the bigger picture like peace and harmony during times of unease, he added.

“There are times when there is an incident like at Low Yat that we get carried away with our emotions but we must remember that there are bigger things like unity and harmony,” the prime minister told reporters at the Raya open house celebrations at his official residence here.

He also reiterated that Malaysians should not believe false information spread online, reminding the public again to not act emotionally.

“Don’t simply believe any news and don’t act according to emotions because what we’ve built, the development, is important to defend,” he said.

The riot started after 22-year-old Shahrul Anuar Abdul Aziz was handed over on Saturday to the police for allegedly stealing an RM800 phone from a store at the popular tech mall.

Rumours swirled on social media after the alleged theft that the Chinese trader had sold the Malay man a counterfeit phone, leading to calls to boycott the “cheating” Chinese traders and the complex itself.

Najib has also since said that the Low Yat Plaza incident was not racial in nature, but involved a criminal case.

However, several people have been investigated for sedition and one has also been charged under the controversial law for allegedly inciting racial tensions.

To date, a total of 24 people have been arrested over the riot that saw five people injured, including three journalists from Chinese media organisations.