Veteran journalist Abdul Kadir Jasin should stop defaming Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the flood issue in the country at a time when all parties should stand united, says Penang Umno.

State Umno secretary Musa Sheikh Fadzir said that the question of Najib's overseas travel should not be brought up anymore as the prime minister has already returned home and helped out during the floods.

In a report by Umno-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia , Musa ( left ) questions the sincerity and the real agenda behind Kadir's criticism of Najib.

He said Kadir appeared not to have criticised the overseas holiday trips and claims of lack of help for flood victims made against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

“This is the time when all parties should stand united. He (Kadir) should not have taken advantage of this by defaming the prime minister as he already came down to help (the flood victims),” Musa is quoted as saying.

'Stop your wayang kulit'

He said Kadir should also stop his “wayang kulit” (shadow puppet play) under the pretence of freedom of expression as many see his objective of defaming Najib is to weaken the government.

Last Friday, Kadir a former New Straits Times group editor-in-chief, posted an entry in his blog calling for a rebellion.

Premising his attack on the prime minister’s golf bungle amid raging floods in Malaysia, Kadir quoted the Malay adage, “Sekali air bah, sekali pasir berubah” (Each time it floods, the sandbank will move).

“If that saying holds true, I believe the wave of change will only get stronger. Umno has to do something about its president and prime minister if it wants to stop the situation from getting worse. Like the sandbank, it could be swept away in the next general election,” Kadir had said.

As such, Musa said, Kadir needed to “take a look into the mirror” and see if he himself was free from weaknesses as he enthusiastically defamed Najib.