Steven Sim: Utusan trying to pit me against Syed Saddiq

DAP man accuses Umno-owned paper of trying to sow divisions between the new political leaders in the ministry, and PH parties against each other.

Steven Sim says Utusan Malaysia is trying to sow division between him and Syed Saddiq, and between DAP and PPBM.

BUTTERWORTH: Utusan Malaysia, frequently criticised by DAP politicians, is under fire again for purportedly twisting Steven Sim’s words about lowering the voting age and for writing a “provocative” headline which he viewed to be defamatory.

Steven Sim, who is deputy youth and sports minister, accused Utusan of trying to portray him as being at loggerheads with his minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, by using their respective speeches from two different events in the same report.

Sim said Utusan had carried a provocative headline “Janji umur undi 18 tahun – PPBM dan DAP tak sehaluan” (Voting age of 18 – PPBM and DAP not on same page) for their report yesterday. He wondered if the Malay-language daily’s staff themselves did not understand Malay.

“When you read the contents of our speeches, there is no contradiction at all. Both Syed Saddiq and I support lowering the voting age. Utusan has got its facts wrong,” he said, and claimed the Utusan report was defamatory.

He accused Utusan of trying to pit the new political leaders of the ministry, and their respective parties in Pakatan Harapan, against each other. Sim is with DAP while Syed Saddiq is with PPBM.

Utusan Malaysia and its Sunday sister publication Mingguan Malaysia, which are owned by Umno, have in the past been frequently criticised by DAP politicians for trying to portray them as being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

Sim urged Umno to be a responsible opposition party and Utusan to be a responsible media organisation. -FMT