Haul Pakatan leaders that defame the government to court, Utusan says

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — Putrajaya should sue leaders from the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) when they defame the government, Utusan Malaysia has said.

In its “Awang Selamat” column, the Umno-owned daily said it was bored of the allegedly defamatory statements of PR politicians, saying that stern action would force them to act more responsibly.

“Although confident that the truth would finally emerge, but Awang hopes the government will not continue to practice the attitude of “giving face” to the opposition pact.

“Awang agrees with the calls made by many quarters previously for opposition leaders that slander the government to be dragged to court,” the Malay-language paper’s editorial voice wrote today.

“We are already bored because from time to time, various issues will be raised by the opposition for the sake of achieving their political ambitions. Therefore, stern action should be taken so that the opposition become more responsible when politicking,” it added.

Awang was commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s reported rebuttal yesterday on the purportedly false claims that 40,000 Bangladesh nationals had voted in Malaysia’s 13th general elections and the alleged wastage in lighting the prime minister’s official residence.

Awang said Najib had criticised PR leaders for making unfounded accusations on the official residence’s electricity bill.

Chided for the multi-million-ringgit cost to taxpayers to light Seri Perdana, Najib acknowledged the high energy bill, but pointed out that although he stayed at the prime minister’s official residence, it was not in the main house.

The prime minister added that the mansion in Putrajaya also did double duty as a venue for him to host visiting heads of states.

Putrajaya had last month revealed in Parliament that Seri Perdana’s electricity bills totalled RM2.2 million in 2012.

In a written reply to Seremban MP Anthony Loke in October, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the government paid RM311,174 for the prime minister’s water bills.

Shahidan, who is also Arau MP, told Parliament on November 11 that Seri Perdana’s utility bill was still cheaper than the US’ White House or the UK’s Downing Street, as Malaysia practised a “frugal system”, pointing out that the Prime Minister’s Office — also in Putrajaya — lacks the facilities to host guests, unlike at Seri Perdana.