Aussie daily issues correction on 'shopping spree' report

An Australian daily which reported on a shopping spree involving Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s daughter, which caused a stir, yesterday said that it had made a mistake.

In its Corrections and Clarifications column, theWest Australian said that it has now come to know that the PM’s daughter was not in Perth at the time.

“In a report by the West Australian on Monday about shopping and sightseeing by CHOGM delegates, it claimed that a daughter of the Malaysian PM Najib Razak spend A$60,000 in David Jones.

“The West Australian acknowledges that this was not the case and that Najib’s daughter was not in Perth at the time,” it said.

In its earlier report, the newspaper also stated that an unnamed “first lady” purchased RM450,000 worth of Western Australian pearls.

Najib, who is currently performing the haj, however yesterdayclarified on micro-blogging site Twitter that his daughter was “not even in Australia and (his wife) did not buy any jewellery.

The Malaysian consulate-general in Perth, Hamidah Ashari, in aletter to the New Straits Times, also denied the report.

Malaysiakini had contacted the daily for clarification and was directed to the reporter who wrote the story, but she was out of reach and did not reply to text messages.

The portal’s query to the Prime Minister’s Office was also left unanswered.