Don't Corrupt People's Minds With Trumped-Up Stories And Lies, Najib Tells Media

SHAH ALAM, 6 July (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Tuesday reminded the media not to corrupt the people's minds by publishing concocted stories, lies and defamatory statements.

Najib said personally, he could accept media reports that were true even if they touched on his weaknesses as prime minister.

"I can accept whatever (news) stories as long as they are credible and not creations or lies, such as 'Felda bankrupt'...If the articles criticise my weaknesses, I can accept that," he said in his speech during his visit to the Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd complex, here Tuesday.

Najib said news stories or reports that contained such negative elements would not help build a strong society but would be detrimental to it instead.

"If a building or road is damaged, we can repair it, but if it's the people's thinking and values, the consequences will be bad.

"We will never me a strong, awesome society. So, the media should help in developing society's intellect, way of thinking and noble values."

Also present were Karangkraf Group chief executive officer Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar, Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz, and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohammad.

At the same function, Najib also launched the national edition of 'Sinar Harian' and the 'Karangkraf Cares' programme, a community service effort.

Praising Karangkraf's success as a wholly-owned Bumiputera company, he hoped the company which now publishes 28 magazines and one newspaper, could contribute to improving the reading habit of Malaysians and building their intellect, to make Malaysian society a wise and respected society.

The prime minister spent about 45 minutes touring the Karangkraf complex and looking at the writing, editing and printing processes there.

Najib also commended the company for investing in sophisticated, high-performance printing machines, hence reflecting its innovativeness and competitiveness.

Karangkraf began small 33 years ago with only two publications, 'Mingguan Kanak-Kanak' and 'Bacaria'. It now has a readership of five million per month for its many publications.