Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has been roasted over a controversial letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), has warned that the Home Ministry is under attack.

However, the alert, which comes hot on the heels of the Paris bloodshed, has nothing to do with terrorism.

According to the home minister, the perpetrators of this assault are certain news portals that are sniffing for “postmen who bite dogs”.

“This year began with full of excitement. I always say the Home Ministry is under attack, yes we are,” he told his staff at the ministry’s monthly assembly in Putrajaya this morning.

These news portals, he said, were on the hunt for negative news and hence the “culture of spinning” was a norm for them.

“Some of them like chaos because, for them, good news is not news but bad news is (news),” Zahid said before entertaining his audience with a “postman and canine” analogy.

“The postman who is bitten by the dog is a normal thing, no need to be written as news. But if a postman bites a dog, that is news for them.

“So they are looking for postmen who bite dogs,” he explained.
 
For example, he claimed that such news portals never reported that the police had successfully brought down the crime rate in the country.
 
“Although the crime index had gone down by 12.5 percent when the target stated in the National Key Results Area is only five percent, who has praised the police?
 
“Do write the good news. To be transparent, please write the truth when it’s the truth,” he said.
 
'Diverting attention'

He also claimed that some of such online news portals were backed by certain groups. Thus they themselves were in a position that they had accused the Home Ministry of.
 
This, he said, was for the purpose of diverting attention to prevent action being taken on them.
 
“As we point at others with one finger, the other four point back at ourselves,” he reminded.
 
As such, Zahid said that his ministry will continue to carry its job, standing in the frontline to prevent chaos from ruining the country.
 
“We are always facing criticism. Criticism is our food, accusation is our dishes. Contumely is the blanket for our bedtime,” he mused.
 
The ministry will monitor all reports published by such online media and the public should not blame the ministry if action is taken against them, he said.
 
“The forms of the media are diverse. Print and electronic media have changed to social media and news is published on online news portals, but it doesn't mean that disrespectful journalism is allowed.
 
“We in the Home Ministry will monitor closely every single word. We read from paragraph to paragraph, from word to word. Be careful, silence does not necessarily mean that action is not being taken.
 
“When we act, please do not accuse us for being cruel as we want our country to stay out of chaos. We want a peaceful country where we can live together prosperously.
 
“This is the job and responsible of the Home Ministry and the agencies under it,” said the minister, all fired up with enthusiasm.
 
Before delivering his speech, Zahid had even requested the attendees to applaud to the reporters, saying some were "friendly" while some were "unfriendly".
 
Malaysiakini was allowed to report this event although its reporters had been banned by Zahid from entering the ministry premises on several occasions before this.