Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim’s announcement today of the RM15 million allocation to counter 'BN propaganda and biased news coverage' by the print and electronic media, has irked BN component parties.

Umno Selangor says the state government is "desperate" to resort to such measures.

NONE Selangor Umno information chief Abdul Shukor Idrus ( right ) said that the money would be better spent funding “social programmes” instead.

"Even if they want to take it out on us, they should not use the public's money. They should use money from their own party.

"Why should (the state government) waste public funds just for their political endeavours?” he told Malaysiakini over the phone today.

Abdul Shukor alleges that the move was to counter what he boasted was the “success” of Umno’s 'Save Selangor' campaign.

Two of the campaign ceramahs in Shah Alam and Port Klang last weekend saw an attendance of roughly 200 and 500 respectively.

                                        

NONE He said the campaign, featuring PKR defector Ezam Mohd Nor ( left ) in the three-week-long ceramah series, is an important tool to expose what he alleges are "problems in Pakatan Rakyat’s administration".

"Whatever Ezam had said (in the ceramah) is worrying them, that is why they are running helter skelter, and (feel) so pressured that they have to use public funds to explain their position," he added.

‘Upgrade schools instead’

MCA Complaints Bureau chief Theng Book also took his turn criticising the move as a sheer waste of tax payers’ money, suggesting the funds to be used in upgrading school facilities or broadband equipment instead.

mca theng book anti ong interview 090408 1 “If the Selangor state government uses (public) money to attack BN, and Khalid personal political enemies, that is a total abuse of the rakyat’s money,” he said.

Theng ( left ) further insinuated that Khalid may even use the media campaign to target his own political rivals within PKR, such as Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali.

He also questioned whether TVSelangor and Selangor Kini were Khalid’s own  “private limited companies”.

RM15mil for 'information war' in S'gor