Hot on the heels of a group of students who threatened to stage a mass demonstration demanding Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to answer The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) allegations in Putrajaya earlier today, another group of student activists have spoken up in defence of Najib.

Mahasiswa Nasional (MN), a coalition of student groups such as Sekretariat Mahasiswa Nasional, Mahasiswa Turun Parlimen (Mantap), and Najib Razak Club (NRC), has voiced their stalwart support for Umno and Najib.

"We are confident and we believe that under the leadership of the prime minister, he will be able to solve and overcome the problems he is facing today," MN spokesperson Tengku Izwan Fareed Tengku Ismail said today at Putra World Trade Centre.

The Umno leadership has never lost the support of MN, he added.

He lamented that the frenzy of unsubstantiated claims shared on social media is causing the people to "punish" Najib and the government on current issues prematurely.

About 15 students attended the press conference.

Coalition not 'blind' supporters

Another MN spokesperson, Mohd Affifi Mohd Aris called social media the "silent killer".

He strongly advised the government to be more proactive in answering issues raised by the people in the social media sphere.

This would help curb the problem of misinformation being spread on social media, he said.

"In Islam, it states that every accusation must have proof and witnesses. Punishment will only be meted out after investigations are completed, along with evidence.

“Punishing someone, then only investigating the allegations, is un-Islamic," Tengku Izwan said.

To head off any concerns that they are just "blindly" supporting Umno, MN has also come up with some suggestions for the government's consideration.

Firstly, they insisted that the government and leaders of the country be more thoughtful of the sentiments of the people when they release press statements and the like.

Secondly, they suggested that Umno patches up any signs of fracturing within the party so that they can stand united once again.

Thirdly, they want more space for students and youths to be more active.

This is to keep fresh faces to join the party, which would in turn, attract more youths to join Umno, MN reasoned.

Finally, the government needs to plan for the long-term if they want to do something that might be viewed by the people as not in their favour.

The most important thing, Tengku Izwan said, is that the government stands united in the face of all the obstacles they are facing now.