Some media organisations in Singapore are merely ‘jealous' of Malaysia as when one of them front-paged the recent assassination attempts in Malaysia, according to Utusan Malaysia today.

In Awang Selamat's column, which is believed to be penned by the daily's senior editors, it said the Singaporean newspaper The New Paper was carried away by an overly competitive spirit against Malaysia when it published an article under the headline "Welcome to Malaysia where... death is cheap and staying alive costly."

"I hope Malaysians would not be bothered much by the report, just understand the fate of the newspapers there (in Singapore).

"They can't criticise - never mind condemn - their (own) government, hence a neighbouring country becomes a target to sell papers," said Awang.

They added that The New Paper frequently covers up murders in the republic, as well as its high suicide rate.

The New Paper had carried the article on July 31, which reported quoted a Kuala Lumpur-based private investigator saying that it costs about RM5,000 to hire a contract killer.

NONE This came in the wake of recent shootings targeting myWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan who is battling for his life in hospital ( right ), and Am-Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi, who died at the scene.

The New Paper has since been slammed several Malaysian officials, including Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, and Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

It has since removed the article from its website and Facebook page.

"It was not our intent (to insult)," Singaporean daily The Straits Times quoted The New Paper 's editor Dominic Nathan as saying on Friday.

"We wanted to draw our readers' attention to the threat of gun violence in Malaysia... What we reported was also covered extensively in the Malaysian media."