KUALA LUMPUR - It looks like Home Minister Zahid Hamii has been busy. Fresh from stirring up a storm over the Shia issue, his ministry has switched gears to steamroll over a weekly news publication, which recently ran article titled 'All eyes on big spending Najib'.
"Why are Najib and Rosmah suddenly so publicity shy? If they dare to commit misdeeds, then they should be prepared to be exposed. And why is Zahid so quick to defend them, is he their personal bodyguard," MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
"To issue a show-cause letter over such a matter is draconian of the Home Ministry and a slap in the face for the Umno-BN leaders who keep talking about reforms. What sort of reform is this, to punish someone for questioning the high expenses of government leaders?"
Tian also slammed Zahid for targeting PAS deputy president Mat Sabu, whom the Home Ministry has accused of being a follower of the Shia sect, an arm of Islam.
"Attacking Mat Sabu is not only vicious and defamatory. It also shows Umno's ignorance and bigotry in the the Islamic faith," said Tian.
Even the show-cause letter is 'hush-hush'
Najib is of course Prime Minister Najib Razak, who recently came under fire for his lavish lifestyle and refusal to tone down his spending despite slamming on new taxes on the people to cut record-high government debt.
According to Malaysiakini, news weekly The Heat was issued a show-cause letter by the Home Ministry.
In typical government fashion, the Home Ministry did not mention Najib and wife Rosmah's names in the letter.
However, sources were reported to have claimed that the article on the couple's free-spending ways was the reason for the show-cause letter.
"The Heat has no comments to offer," editor David Lee Boon Siew said when asked to confirm if a letter has been issued over the article that was published on Nov 22.
The Heat is published by the HCK Media Group, which is linked to corporate player Clement Hii.
Why so sensitive?
Just days ago, it was reported that TV channel Astro Awani had been ordered by the Prime Minister’s Office to retract an article on Rosmah, based on a blog posting by former New Straits Times group editor A Kadir Jasin.
In his posting, Kadir had quipped that Rosmah could be appointed a minister or even make her way to the Prime Minister's post.
The prime minister's wife had triggered public outrage after news leaked she had flown to Qatar to attend a women's summit on the government's executive jet. Her participation in the summit was a personal invitation from the event organizers and Najib and Rosmah were accused of abuse of power for making use of the jet while she could have flown by commercial plane.
The cost of using the government jet is about RM500,000 per trip and by comparison, the commercial flight would be much cheaper.
This is not the first time Rosmah and Najib have drawn flak over their jet-setting lifestyles. Just last month, Najib was grilled for spending about RM2.2 million on utility bills at his official Seri Perdana residence. - Malaysia Chronicle
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