Bersatu members lodge reports against Nga for 'threatening' journo

Bersatu’s young women’s wing has lodged more than 10 police reports against Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming for allegedly "threatening" a journalist.

Its information chief Nurul Syazwani Noh said the wing's state leaders lodged the reports as a sign of solidarity with the media and as an expression of their constitutional right to freedom of expression.

"Media freedom is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy, and any form of intimidation by government members is unacceptable," she said in a statement today.

Nga (above) earlier drew flak from press groups when he told a reporter from Utusan Malaysia that he would contact the journalist’s chief editors.

The reporter had earlier asked about the use of English for “I Lite U”, a tourism-related project for the upcoming Visit Malaysia Year 2026.

“I don’t want you to come here and highlight something that will spoil the whole thing. I will call your chief editors,” Nga said, explaining that the use of English was appropriate to draw the attention of international visitors.

Commenting further, Nurul said Nga's statement raised concerns regarding the existence of a culture of fear among journalists.

She also explained that two types of reports had been lodged.

The first was under Section 503 of the Penal Code for the use of criminal intimidation, while the second stresses the abuse of a public position for personal and political gain - falling under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009.

"We call on the police and MACC to investigate Nga's statements and take action promptly, fairly, and transparently," Nurul said.

Boycott calls

Yesterday, Bersatu Youth information chief Harris Idaham Rashid called on news agencies and online portals to "teach Nga a lesson" by withholding coverage of him.

He said Nga’s remarks “reflected the arrogance” of a cabinet member in the Madani government and questioned the minister’s defensive tone.

The day before, National Union of Journalists Malaysia secretary-general Teh Athira Yusof issued a reminder that as public servants, ministers must respect the media’s role in disseminating information rather than pressuring journalists for asking difficult questions.

She added that by saying he would call the editors, Nga had sent a “wrong and dangerous message,” implying that journalists should be punished for simply doing their job.

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