Bernama today denied it had issued a news item on a statement made by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the payment of a Raya bonus to civil servants purportedly carried via the

www.bernama.com news portal.

Bernama general manager Yong Soo Heong said he believed there were efforts by certain groups to discredit the government by using Bernama during the by-election for the Besut state seat which was held today.

“ Bernama has frequently been used by irresponsible groups to tarnish the image of the government because the national news agency is famous for the credibility and validity of the news it sends out,” he said in a statement.

The Bernama headquarters in Kuala Lumpur was informed of the false news distributed through the social website, Facebook , by its reporters covering the by-election.

The two-paragraph false news also carried a photograph of the prime minister who was purportedly speaking at a press conference in Kuala Besut.

Yong said there was a possibility that it was the result of a manipulation using the ‘Screenshot’ and ‘Photoshop’ applications.

- Bernama