VIDEO l 2:16 mins

PKR's Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin today said that Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan has effectively "confused" his role as deputy minister and Umno's publicity chief.
       
This was in relation to Ahmad Maslan's call on government linked companies (GLCs) to advertise more in Malay dailies Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.

"The call by Ahmad Maslan has compromised public interest by confusing his roles. He should always remember that as a deputy minister, he should always look out for Malaysians' interests first," Sim said during a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

He said that Utusan's financial standing has been severely damaged due to the various lawsuits the paper is mired in, and suggested that this is why Umno leaders are making the call for more advertisements in order to "bail out" the paper.

Sim also said that according to a Parliamentary written answer given to him in late October, agencies and departments under the Prime Minister's Department alone spent RM1.55 million on advertisements in Utusan Malaysia for 2011 and 2012.

He said the decision to advertise in the paper should be a professional decision taken by the GLCs themselves.

"They should not succumb to political pressure to do something that is against their business principles.

"To earn the people's trust and their support (for the political party involved), it comes down to effort put into good governance, and not propaganda," he added.

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