Deputy chairperson of the Sabah Umno liaison body Salleh Said Keruak said it is not proper for Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi to criticise the government openly as this would give a negative perception on the government.

He said Mohd Puad should have used the government channels including contacting the Minister of Information Communication and Culture to get clarification on any issue involving any agency under the ministry.

"As a member of the government administration, I feel Mohd Puad has many channels that he could use including the Umno party channel.

"When we criticise the government openly in the media, it's as though we are exposing an issue to the public, thus this may provide 'political ammunition' to others especially the opposition to criticise the government..this is what we are avoiding," he told Bernama , here today.

Salleh, who is also the Science Advisor to the Sabah Chief Minister, said this when commenting on the statement by Mohd Puad on Monday claiming that the  Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had failed to take stern action against the alternative media and blogs which he claimed were now free to criticise the government.

Mohd Puad stands by statement 

In a statement later, Mohd Puad defended his stand in questioning the effectiveness of the MCMC in acting against news portal, Malaysian Insider, although his action was perceived by certain groups as improper.

He said the views given by a few academicians yesterday that he should have used other channels, besides the media, to criticise MCMC, should not happen because he was only protecting the government's image.

"They (academicians) should be able to see my intention which is to ensure that the news portal ( Malaysian Insider ) does not continue to manipulate facts and creates provocation which could undermine the country's stability.

"As a village leader and an Umno supreme council member, I can do so to ascertain the government's image is protected, as well as ensure the MCMC continues to be relevant," he said when contacted by Bernama .

MCMC is independent

Mohd Puad was commenting on the views given by some academicians over his criticism against the MCMC for the delay in taking action against Malaysian Insider for allegedly disseminating provocative news.

   

The academicians opined that Mohd Puad should have used the right channel to do so as he was a member of the government.

Mohd Puad said that even Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim had admitted through the media on the need for MCMC to be more aggressive in addressing such cases as they required more than just physical evidence.

"Although MCMC is under the ministry, the commission is an independent body. MCMC is often criticised by many groups in its handling of cases on sedition, like provocations on websites, the Namewee issue and others.

"So, to me, the issue of me questioning the jobs of other ministries does not arise because what I have done is to protect the government's image," he added.

- Bernama