Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia has advised the royal palace not to go overboard in business.

In a column under the name Awang Selamat, a pseudonym used by the Malay-language daily to express its editorial stance, the newspaper said it was asked to convey this message to the palace.

"A veteran figure asked for Awang to convey a message to the palace.

He said royalty can participate in business, but it should not go overboard or over limit," read the column in Mingguan Malaysia today, the weekend edition of Utusan Malaysia.

The newspaper added: "Without wanting to know to whom this is directed to, Awang agrees with his view".

This, the column said, was to protect the reputation of the royal institution.

"The image of the royal institution must be taken care so that it is loved by the rakyat. The royalty and rakyat will surely be inseparable," it said.