Spreading unverified news will lead to accusations that will sow discord and disharmony among the people, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has warned.
“For the sake of relations among the Malaysian people, spreading unverified news will lead to accusations, and these terrible accusations will lead to discord and disturb the harmony we have cultivated for so many years,” Najib said in a blog post today…
Our responsibility to verify
“It is our responsibility to ensure that any news we receive is true and accurate,” he said, citing a passage in the Quran which calls for the people to verify the truth of news.
Even though technology now makes it very easy to spread information, unfortunately, he lamented, many people do not care about verifying the truth of the news they spread.
How right the Prime Minister is. Information ought to be backed by credible evidence – Sarawak Report attempts this with every article and runs the risk of financial ruin were it to be sued for material inaccuracies (no further penalty needed).
The PM should therefore take a lead by substantiating his own strange stories and by providing proper transparent governance, instead of the cloak and dagger affair that Malaysians have long had to endure.
How about making a start with a full and open disclosure about the vast sums of money that have gone in and out of his personal accounts?
Belated, unverified and conflicting tales of an anonymous donor/ anonymous donors from the Middle East don’t create confidence and have sparked all sorts of rumours, as he himself has pointed out.
Likewise, belated, half-baked and sketchy annual reports from public companies, such as 1MDB and SRC International, create confusion and more rumours, which would be cleared by proper disclosure.
So, what is he waiting for?