Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said today that the Singapore media are not contributing to improving relations between the republic and Malaysia by frequently publishing inaccurate reports on Malaysia.

Commenting on the latest media reports from Singapore claiming that many Singapore cars had been stolen in Johor, he said that such reports would further hurt Malaysia in a situation where relations between the two countries needed strengthening.

"Actually, in the present situation, the media in Singapore should give a positive picture that can strengthen ties between the two countries," a Bernama report quoted Zainuddin as saying.

Stop writing such stories

According to the minister, the stories were purposely written to paint a bad picture of Johor which was the focal point of Singaporean shoppers.

He said the Singapore media should stop writing such stories.

"The media in that country have done this many times but it has failed to stop Singaporeans from coming to this country to shop and visit. They should learn from this failure," he said.

Zainuddin said the Singapore media should emulate the Malaysian media which did not publish reports that could spoil relations between the two countries.