Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia does not blindly support its owners, the Kuala Lumpur High Court was told yesterday.

Utusan Malaysia (M) Bhd chief editor Aziz Ishak said this was unlike Malaysiakini , which he called a DAP mouthpiece, just like opposition party organs such as Roketkini , Harakah and Keadilan Daily .

“We may carry the government’s aspirations but we still care for the public interest,” Aziz was quoted by Utusan as having testified.

He was testifying in the defamation suit by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng against Negri Sembilan Perkasa chief Ruslan Kassim and six others for calling Lim a “spy”.

Aziz ( left ) also said that Utusan is the top newspaper in Malaysia when it comes to upholding the Federal Constitution.

“ Utusan Malaysia is the newspaper that is most committed in upholding the Federal Constitution and this aspiration is in line with the pledge and approach of the government,” the daily reported Aziz as saying.

Utusan also reported that Aziz as saying that there was no editorial interference by Umno, and that carrying the aspirations of Umno and the government was not unusual practice in media.

He said that in the United Kingdom, there are dailies that back the Labour Party while others back the Conservative Party, and the same goes for the United States.

Aziz also testified that Utusan had chosen to interview Ruslan because of “public interest” and did so “without malice”, even after it was pointed out that the daily did not also seek a response from Lim.

He said Ruslan was considered a “reliable source” and that Ruslan’s questions were more in the form of questions for clarification posed to several quarters, including the government.

He also said that many government leaders were criticised in Utusan , without their responses sought.