KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth has given news portal Malaysiakini 24 hours to issue a public apology in person at the Umno General Assembly following inaccurate graphics it posted yesterday.
Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh wants Malaysiakini to come to assembly and apologise said they wanted Malaysiakini to come in person and apologise to the delegates.
“I want to tell Malaysiakini this: I, and Umno Youth, are giving you 24 hours. We do not want an article apologising. We demand that you come to this hall and issue a public apology. If you do not come and apologise in this hall, Umno Youth will come to you.
“Regardless of whether we are in government or outside the government, if you cross our red line, we are obliged to oppose you,” he said in his policy speech at the Umno Youth general assembly here today.
Earlier today, Malaysiakini apologised over what it said was a series of social media blunders yesterday.
The portal had posted three erroneous graphics on its social media platforms, where the text on the graphics did not match the photo used or the social media caption.
Two of the graphics erroneously reused the headline of a Bahasa Malaysia article about the Umno assembly determining the party’s direction within the government.
One graphic overlaid the headline on an image of pigs at a farm, which was meant for a posting about the Selangor pig farming issue, as evidenced by the caption, which clearly was about pig farming in Tanjung Sepat.
Malaysiakini editors will also be heading to the Umno general assembly on Friday to meet party leaders and apologise.
The portal said it had contacted Akmal last night to apologise and had expressed its intention to apologise to party leaders in person.
This is before Akmal posted a social media video this morning demanding that Malaysiakini make a formal apology at the Umno general assembly.
Malaysiakini had also reached out to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s office to apologise last night.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
