'Did PM know US consultants are Israel supporters?'

Is Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration aware that the US consultants it hired to attack political rival Anwar Ibrahim are ardent supporters of the Israeli regime, asks PKR.

PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (left) said Najib must answer many questions pertaining to the engagement of former United States president George W Bush’s speechwriter Joshua Trevino and other American bloggers, through Apco Worldwide and FBC Media, at the expense of taxpayers.

FBC Media and Apco are agencies hired by the Malaysian government to spruce up its image internationally.

“Is the government aware that many of the consultants hired are staunch and avid supporters of Israel, to the detriment of the Palestinians?” were among the questions Nik Nazmi posed in a statement today.

The same right-wing writers hired by the BN-led government, said Nik Nazmi, are also anti-Islam and have been criticising the Muslim Brotherhood and Muslims in the US.

He also wants the PM to explain why and how much more of the rakyat’s money has been spent for propaganda, who else have been hired and who did the recruiting and coordination of the campaign, which are mainly slander attacks against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

He claimed that Trevino was behind the site Malaysiamatters.comwhich carried articles aimed at discrediting Anwar to international audiences.

Pakatan had intended to ask the question in Parliament, said the PKR leader, though as it was clear that there will be no Parliament sitting convened, he said the onus is on Najib.

“We hope the PM will answer,” said Nik Nazmi during a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

Asked what they will do if the PM refuses to answer, he said that they will then think of other avenues to engage the powers-that-be.

It was reported last week that Trevino (right) had, on Jan 24, filed a disclosure form to the US Department of Justice in which he revealed he was paid some US$389,724 by the Malaysian government, the ruling BN regime or closely-related interests.

Trevino was tasked with facilitating a campaign promoting Najib’s administration while engaging in a smear campaign against the PKR de facto leader and opposition leader.

Trevino, it was reported, had his contract with UK newspaper The Guardian terminated in August last year after it found he had failed to reveal his connection with FBC Media, as this went against the publication’s editorial code.