Pro-Umno blogger Papagomo has deflected criticisms over his submarine ride saying that the defence exhibition in Langkawi was open to public.

“They should understand that Lima 2011 is an exhibition. It means that anyone who came can see and take pictures. Even tourists also came and took pictures because it is an exhibition,” The Malaysian Digest quoted him as saying yesterday.

He reportedly rubbished claims that his presence on board KD Tun Razak on Dec 9 was a “security threat” because he and other journalists were only “exposed to the basic things”.

lim guan eng on board of scorpene sub 2 The blogger said he was a representative of the new media, together with TV3 and Bernama journalists during a diving demonstration of the Scorpene-class submarine, which carried Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (right) and his two deputies, Mansor Othman and P Ramasamy.

The chief minister had objected to being on board with the blogger as originally planned.

“They (Pakatan Rakyat) are using their own new media to attack the government. So we (pro-Umno) countered their attacks using new media. I was representing the new media on that day to counter all their attacks on the issue of the submarines.

‘Pakatan fears the truth’

“If they claimed that my presence could cause problems to the nation, they should realise that the opposition themselves are the ones who always smear Malaysia’s good name when they go overseas,” he reportedly said.

NONE This was despite Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi’s (left in photo) assurance that no bloggers had visited the submarine.

Another pro-Umno blogger Zakhir Mohamad, also known as Big Dog, was also spotted at the scene.

The news portal reported that Papagomo saw Pakatan’s attacks as a sign that they are “afraid of the truth”.

“Lim (was) in fact worried that I would take a picture of him in his excitement while in the submarine.

“I can still remember the pride in his face as he entered the submarine. But when he got out, he told negative stories about the submarine. The fact is, he was actually excited about it.”

Lim and his deputies took a 90-minute “trip” around Langkawi in the submarine upon Zahid’s invitation, and after Lim had questioned the costs involved in acquiring the vessels and their inability to “dive” upon delivery.