'Guan Eng has the absolute right to his opinion on Johor. If true, a denial of the truth will not solve the security problem in Johor. Humility and diligence will.'

Transcript proves Guan Eng did not slander Johor

Henry Hock: I didn't know that a state/country/province/road can be slandered.

What if I say, "One must be careful when you stay in Subang Jaya. Lots of burglary lately"? Am I slandering Subang Jaya? Even if I did intentionally say bad things about Subang Jaya, can Subang Jaya (a piece of land with no soul) sue me?

I think Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has the absolute right to give his fair opinion on Johor. If it is true, a denial of the truth will cause an attitude of not wanting to solve the problem in Johor.

Humility and diligence, rather than accusing someone of slandering, will upgrade the security of Johor.

Onyourtoes: Is an apology sufficient? We say sorry when we mistakenly or inadvertently hurt someone. But did Bernama unintentionally hurt Guan Eng?

This is a deliberate attempt to provide false news to cause hatred against the leader of the country. Bernama is the official news agency of the country and, therefore, whatever it says must carry some credibility.

But is our national news agency providing this role? Why was our ‘Malay First' DPM so quick to pick up the news knowing that Bernama has a history of wronging Guan Eng.

I think apologies are no longer sufficient. Bernama must pay compensation and DPM must apologise for quoting from sources that are known to be unreliable, bias and dishonest.

We can quite easily assess the honesty of a government when that government has routinely resorted to accusing others maliciously.

We can also quite simply guess their character and their ability to govern honestly when they have routinely indulged in treacheries - from fake ICs, fake electoral rolls, fake MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) investigations, fake police detention, and now fake news.

We judge what you do, not what you say; we have enough evidence to judge you as deceitful, untrustworthy and treacherous.

Concern Citizen: As DPM, Muhyiddin Yassin should not simply say or comment on anything or anybody without getting the facts and figures.

Bernama also should not simply say anything without documentary proof. This is a very serious matter, as you are putting down other peoples' names.

Just imagine if this statement was issued by PKR leaders - what would be happening now? I believe it would be made a big issue on TV and all newspapers. Malaysia truly has serious leadership problem.

Brahman: Just sue. An apology would not stop them from such irresponsible reporting. This applies also to other irresponsible dailies.

Gerakan's Lim Keng Yaik had always subscribed to this, and it would be up to the injured party to either donate away or keep the money.

Put your money where your mouth is, as they say.

Louis: Bernama's editor-in-chief Yong Soo Heong should apologise to Lim Guan Eng, if he were a gentleman. Do not sacrifice the principles for the sake of just pleasing the powers-that-be. Report the truth, not lies.

Chuath: I guess ths goes to prove that we cannot trust Muhyiddin to get the facts right before they speak.

Any chief executive officer or chief operating officer should be sacked if they conduct themselves this way, because they set the example and the culture of their organisations. People like this corrupt the organisations that they lead.

Truth Seeker: Not the slightest hope that the Black Knight of Umno will ever apologise for saying bad about people, especially if they are in the opposition camps.

It's never been the culture of Umno or BN to apologise for their wrongdoings. Their people will always have excuses and scapegoats to take the blame so as to save their own skins.

KLeo: Bernama must enjoy printing hearsay very much because it seems to be doing it every other week.

Concerning that 'remark' that LGE (Lim Guan Eng) did not make, one should ask if you would feel safer walking about on the streets of Johor or Penang carrying a suitcase full of cash. Neither is safe, but you'd be exceedingly more foolish to do it in Johor.

CiViC: It has always been BN and Bernama's modus operandi to inflict damage first and worry about the implications later.

The rational behind this is that damaging news will spread faster and more effectively than any recalls or apologies after that. With that in mind, the objective is achieved. The opposition is given a bad image.

Jeremy Ng: Sadly, our ruling politicians are resorting to many such dirty comments and statements to confuse the public, and via mainstream media, these will be played up.

Even with corrections, some will still believe. Such irresponsible tactics is becoming a ‘Truly Malaysia' norm.

Ben-ghazi: The standard of reporting by the national news agency has deteriorated so bad that one begins to wonder.

They can't even get to report what is being said, and never bothered about the truth at all. They would not check the veracity of the news before printing it.

The result? A journalistic debacle, not to mention a potential libel suit. What's happening to Bernama ?

Is it similar to what is happening in all BN-related agencies throughout the land, such as PDRM, MACC, MCMC, and the list goes on. Shape up or resign, and save taxpayers' money.

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