A youth group today lodged a police report against Malaysiakini and blogger Syed Akbar Ali for a picture it published featuring rice bags for flood victims with pictures of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The group, Briged Kesatria Muda Malaysia, said the picture was "manipulated" to make it seem that stickers with Najib and Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's faces were pasted on the rice bags.

The picture was first published by pro-Umno blogger Syed Akbar on his blog Out Syed the Box , and reproduced by Malaysiakini after the portal sought confirmation and comment from Ismail Sabri.

"This report is to refute the statement made by Syed Akbar and Malaysiakini , which spread slander meant to smear our dignity and create ill-will against us.

"We are also lodging this report for the purpose of legal action which we will take to clear my name and the names of Briged Kesatria Muda Malaysia, the prime minister and Ismail Sabri," the police report by the group's chairperson Armand Azha Abu Hanifa reads.

Syed Akbar had used the picture in a blog post questioning the government’s handling of the floods.

Syed Akbar has since removed the blog post earlier published at the blog address http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/2014/12/najib-took-commercial-flight-home-wifey.html?m=1

Briged Kesatria Muda Malaysia is an Umno Youth humanitarian initiative to assist in flood relief efforts.

 

Its chief Mohd Eddy Casmady Che Hussin claims to be the person in the photograph, and had previously denied that he was placing labels featuring Najib’s and Ismail Sabri’s photo.

 

“We had some labels which were used to differentiate the packets of rice between those from the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, and non-governmental organisations.

 

“But there were no labels with Najib’s face and we have eyewitnesses and photos to prove it,” he was quoted as saying in The Rakyat Post .

Minister's response

Malaysiakini had contacted Ismail Sabri for confirmation that the ministry had included pictures of him and the PM on the aid, and sought comments on criticism over the matter.

"It doesn't matter if people want to condemn, what matters is that the items from the Ministry of Agriculture reach flood victims and help lighten their burden," Ismail told Malaysiakini.

The minister did not deny the picture, which the portal sent to him via instant messaging application Whatsapp.

Asked of this again at a later press conference, the minister did not deny the veracity of the picture but slammed the opposition for posing in flood waters instead of helping.

"If we talk about politicising the floods, there are opposition leaders who take picture with (flood) water up to their chest, what is that for?

"We don’t even know if it is photoshopped, but no one comments about that,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya, reported KiniTV .

During the floods, Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub was also criticised when pictures were circulated online of the distribution of rice bags with his face imprinted on them, together with the BN and 1Malaysia logos.

However, he has since refuted the allegations, stating that the bags of rice were leftovers from his 13th general election campaign.